Logan (2017)
D: James Mangold
W: Scott Frank, James Mangold, Michael Green
S: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, Richard E. Grant, Dafne Keen
One last ride with the Wolverine. In this tenth installment of the 20th Century Fox's X-Men franchise, we see what maybe Hugh Jackman's final outing as the arguably the most famous member of the Marvel superhero team.
This time around it's the year 2029 and mutants are nearly extinct. Logan, Prof. X (Patrick Stewart), and another mutant named Caliban (Stephen Merchant) are living in the middle of a desert in Mexico. Prof. X's mind is slowly losing control of control of his mental powers, and Logan is getting weaker. Soon, a mysterious mutant girl named Laura (Dafne Keen) come into their lives and they must journey to a safe-haven to protect the future of their kind.
The X-Men movies have been a mixed bag, haven't they? On one end, you have a top notch films that has a lot at risk with wonderful character moments - X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), but then you have... well... crap - X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009). This film? This film, as of right now, takes the top spot of best X-Men film. This character-driven story pulls no punches and is a proper ending to his legendary rendition of this character.
One of the noted aspects of the film is that its rated R and it is needed. The rating is not simply to have gory effects and to have Logan curse, but it actually adds something. This is a tired and weary Logan who has less control. In previous films, you'd see him go after villains and sticking them with his claws, but in this film, in the first scene he cuts off limbs! Dang. But again, this is a Wolverine who probably doesn't care anymore about leaving a trail.
The combined violence, themes, and setting made me think that director James Mangold drew a lot of influence from Sam Peckinpah. Think about. A lot of Peckinpah's films deal with aging desperadoes in a changing time, violent action scenes, and tragic endings... oh sorry, um, spoilers. The only thing missing in the movie is slow-motion deaths. But there are other elements that play into the Western motifs and themes. The desert setting at the beginning, the characters stop at a farm to spend the night, at one point the characters drive in an old Ford Bronco which they use to get Logan to see the old town doctor. Also, the final fight takes place in a forest in North Dakota and it sort of reminded me of the climax to of Peckinpah's Ride the High Country (1962).
When it comes to this being a proper outing for this character, let's compare this to his origin movie, which sucked. That film was full of cliched and over-the-top action scenes, so over-the-top that I can't take them seriously. I mean, there's literally a "NOOOOOOO" scene in the movie. And let's not get started on the bad CGI and that HORRIBLE excuse of a Deadpool.
Seriously, WTF?!
But with Logan, we have him towards the end of his life, he's even more desperate to lead a quiet life, all of his friends and colleagues are presumed dead, and his powers are wearing off. Throughout the movie, we see him wanting to be left alone. He's at the point where he doesn't want to even help Laura. It doesn't make us hate him because we understand where he's coming from.
Of course, the performances are top notch. Hugh Jackman knows that this character helped him skyrocket his career and so he knows what makes this character work and how his tenure as the character should end. He is amazing in the movie. His performance, along with the story, moved me to tears. Patrick Stewart also gives a fantastic performance. This is a Prof. X we haven't seen before and we see him in a vulnerable, slightly dangerous, and desperate man. It's also nice to see Stephen Merchant in the film. And newcomer Dafne Keen shows promise as an actress.
I know I'm late the game in making this review but never-the-less I wanted to get my thoughts out there. If you still haven't seen this film, please do. You won't regret it.
