Logan Movie Review
The comic book inspired movies of recent years have really held onto the fictitious and outlandish aspects of Superheroes and Sci-fi elements. With magic, time manipulation, super abilities; Gods vs Gods, it can really take one away from any human emotion. Most films avoid the more intense reality, pandering down to a younger demographic of viewers. Many have called for daring flicks from the Superhero subgenre, and at this point studios such as Fox have delivered, though with their tails a bit between their legs. With the unexpected success of Deadpool, a vulgar R-movie among the wave of PG-13 movies, audiences showed their liking of the harsher themes in the ironically driven dark comedy. With an already expected Deadpool sequel, Fox was now willing to take on more risky projects.
For a while, many fans have been asking for an appropriately “real” Wolverine movie, as the character himself didn’t quite fit the usual timid themes of his X-men counterparts.* Hugh Jackman, the now established actor for the feral hero, has also backed up the idea of having a more violent and unrestricted movie. So, of course he took immediate action after the release of Deadpool.
There was a little feeling of satisfaction after the first Logan trailer released to the public, as audiences were relieved to finally get the Wolverine movie they've been wanting.
Logan turns away from the more traditional narratives of superhero action flicks, as it follows a grounded, almost western like plot, with Logan, the former identity of Wolverine, in a gritty pre-dystopia of a “mutantless” world.
Instead of super jets, godlike enemies, and “Cerebro”, we get a self-decaying Logan along with the crippled and almost senile Charles Xavier. The dysfunctional duo, along with the assistance of a caretaker, albino mutant, Kaliban, spend their days isolated in an abandoned factory, struggling to make do with what they have, avoiding any public attention. As briefly mentioned beforehand, there has been a significant decline in Mutants, as the genetic predisposition is now virtually nonexistent. Instead of prejudice against them, the public now neglects the presence of mutants, as it no longer remains a relevant issue.
Logan also takes responsibility for the former professor Xavier, who is no longer in control of his mental abilities, and has been deemed a national threat by the government. He spends his deteriorating hours enclosed in a room made from scrap metal, to prevent his violent thought waves from creating any disasters in a populated area. His powers are deadly. However, despite both Caliban and Logan's best efforts, Xavier manages to come into contact with another mutant, more notably a child. Eventually, the reluctant Logan comes into contact with this mysterious child, only to find himself wrapped up in a flurry of unfortunate events, trying to hold on to the small part of himself that is still human.
Logan is presented as a tragic character, stubborn to the point of self-neglect, without any intention of doing the opposite of his stated intention and really helping anyone. His prior roles usually keep a strong focus on his stubbornness, but now Hugh Jackman has amplified his performance to align with the darker tones from Logan. For the most part he pulls this off, and is possibly one of the only actors who can make a wild animalistic human seem believable. The film also contains two strong supporting characters, Patrick Stewart as the decrepit Charles Xavier, and the fairly recent Dafne Keen, playing as child assassin injected with the same weapon “X” serum that created the indestructible Wolverine. Patrick never fails to deliver a good performance, whether it be a crazed neo-nazi or an empathic man in a wheelchair, and is a true charm in the first half of the movie. X23, or Laura, is a huge standout for Logan, depicting a malicious, bloodthirsty child, with the same horrid adamantium metal ingrained into her skeletal structure, with two claws from her knuckles. Keep in mind, she is still a child, lacking the privilege of experience from normal nurturing environments, so she slowly learns more and more about the world around her as the movie progresses. Rarely does she seem to hinder the experience of the film, but adds a bit of sincerity.
However, the film isn't without its given flaws, as the movie slowly begins to fall apart in the third act, and the conclusion is rather unsatisfactory and rushed. Let’s just say a clutter of child actors might get a little silly.
In addition, sometimes the wild nature of Logan can seem less than believable, but it shows that Hugh is trying his hardest.
This is by far the most violent Wolverine movie to have come out, let alone the most graphic X-men movie. For the most part it's well placed, but can be a little too gruesome for some audiences, and if it isn't already obvious, don't expect it to be appropriate to bring children to the movie.
Logan also retains a good western-like aesthetic in the entire film, as it mostly takes place either in Mexico or deep southern areas of the United States. It shares some similarities with a Mad Max film in that regard, and it felt nice to not suddenly become bombarded with comic nonsense. They get from area to area by a truck, stay at a casino to rest, and by car chargers at a gas station. Sounds grounded to me.
Logan delivers, which is great to say especially after the mess that was X-men: Apocalypse. It’s another good example of stretching out of the normal formula that Marvel has established over the past several years. With well-acted performances, nice cinematography, grittier narrative fit for a gritty character, Logan is definitely a strong recommendation.