Over 17 years we have seen nine ‘X-Men’ films some come close to hitting their mark with die-hard fans while others were just straight up mediocre. Well I’m glad to say that X-Men fans will finally get to see Wolverine in all of his adamantium rage and glory in the James Manigold directed film Logan. The indestructible superhero’s only weakness when it came to his lone adventures in films was that dreaded PG-13 rating and Logan’s R-rating takes the shackles off the beast.
Logan marks the second time Manigold pairs up with Hugh Jackman as the beloved X-Man and it’s absolutely brilliant. In the film based loosely based of the Old Man Logan comics written by Mark Millar and Steve McNivan,we see a very old and very weary Logan. His body is being poisoned by the one thing that makes him indestructible and his vaunted healing factor isn’t quite working as well as it used to. In the relatively mutant-less world, his superhero past is behind him and Logan is reduced to being just a legend and limo driver (I jokingly refer to him as a Uber X driver).
He is also caring for his mentor/friend Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) one of the worlds greatest minds who is now a mere shell of his former self thanks to battling Dementia.
Logan’s aspirations are to save up enough money to buy a boat so Charles, another mutant with extraordinary tracking abilities Caliban (Stephen Merchant) can live and eventually die in peace.
As mutants become nothing more than fiction in Logan’s bleak world, human soldiers have become more advanced thanks cybernetic implants. Logan’s reclusive life comes to abrupt end when a mysterious young girl Laura (Dafne Keen)is thrown into his life.
Logan quickly learns that Laura isn’t just a regular girl and both she and him are the same in many ways. As we unravel the mystery of the young mutant, the trio of Logan,Charles and Laura have to evade the cybernetically enhanced soldiers for hire (Reavers) lead by witty baddie Pierce (Boyd Holdbrook).
Logan plays like a western with a X-Men spin on it, you can tell Jackman had the most fun ever playing Wolverine ever this time around. We get to see many sides of the reluctant hero such as hopelessness, despair as compared to the always aggressive care free Wolverine. The dynamic between the Charles and Logan is stronger than ever as you get the feeling that these two characters have been through a hell of a lot in the new world and are just getting by the skin of their old teeth.
BUT the star of this film is Laura make no mistake, from the moment she appears in the movie she grabs your attention with her deafening silence and innocent stare. When we are finally introduced to the real Laura in the film and we get to see that hidden rage we realize that this young lady is no joke and could easily serve as Wolverine’s replacement. With the help of some amazing camera work, choreography and Manigold’s direction Laura quickly becomes a force to be reckoned with.
Final Verdict
20th Century Fox took a gamble with the R-rated 2016 masterpiece Deadpool and now they have hit another home run with Logan. With the shackles off we get to see rage that Wolverine is known for in all it’s glory. Logan is an absolute masterpiece, the perfect swan song for Hugh Jackman and his portrayal of the iconic Marvel character. Dafne Keene (Laura) was brilliant as the young mutant and Patrick Stewart’s final portrayal as Professor X was as powerful as the characters mind. Logan screams award recognition from its peers and I personally think belongs in the ranks as one of the best superhero movies ever made!
5 out 5
Logan is in theaters March 3rd!
Photos: 20Th Century Fox