'Logan' is the rare superhero movie that makes you think.
Film: Logan
Director: James Mangold
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Dafne Keen, Boyd Holbrook
What's it about
The end as you know it. It's not even a spoiler anymore. You see it coming with that first sputter. That first cough. The slower healing. The endless drinking. What's keeping him alive is also killing him. Wolverine (Jackman) driving a limo to save up for a boat. Professor X (Stewart) lives somewhere in Mexico in a unused water tank, cared for by a mutant named Calaban (Stephen Merchant), suffering seizures.
It's not the world of the Avengers. Or the X-Men. It's bleaker. It's 2029. Mutantkind are on the brink of extinction and are being manufactured.
What a wonderful world... it's not.
Into this world, comes Laura (Keen). Seemingly mute mutant and cared for by a nurse who's helping her escape her captors. She seeks Wolvie's help in getting her to Canada for safe haven.
Charles Xavier is game. They head out on a road trip. And it's Little Miss Sunshine all over again. Except, these are all super-powered beings in one car. Only one is good-tempered. And why does she have claws like Wolverine/Logan?
What's hot
Seeing Jackman one last time as Wolverine is well worth the price of admission. At least, one imagines, he's done with the solo outings. But the man hasn't lost his sarcasm. Or his f**k-the-world candour. His swearing throughout makes for some rather interesting laughs.
Keen is the find of the film. She is to it what Millie Bobby Brown is to Stranger Things. She has an alchemic effect on the proceedings, taking a (possibly intentional) slow, dull first half and injecting it with the action overdose you were looking for. Don't miss her first face-off with the bad guys. Or the others.
Mangold is on an even keel, crowd-pleasing and yet, appeals to the cerebral in the crowd. Watch the film to see what I mean.
This is not your typical superhero film. There's drama, character, understated humour and some amount of histrionic heft, not to mention smashing cinematography. It's much more than the average Marvel outing. And a fit ending. Or beginning. Depending on how you're looking at it.
What's not
It takes a little too long to get to the crash-bang-boom. It's heart-breaking to see Professor Xavier, in this state. He makes light of his condition, but you know it's a losing battle. There are no X-Men left.That has to be a sad place to be. A little too violent a film for a child to be in, Logan has some rather disturbing moments. Some, not for the faint of heart.
What to do
Watch it, for sure. It offers hope for the X-Men franchise yet. The future, despite the bleak one painted by this one, is one you're not going to forget in a hurry. A superhero film that entertains and makes you think? Rare breed, I'd say.
Rating: ****
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 "Logan Wolverine review")
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