2017 Film Review: Logan (2017)

Directed by: James Mangold
Written by: James Mangold, Scott Frank, Michael Green
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Dafne Keen
IMDb Link

The X-Men series has had a lot of ups and downs over the years; for every X2 or First Class, there's been an Origins: Wolverine or The Last Stand. Add to this fact that FOX has multiple continuities across the franchise, and some films that are designed to straight-up erase others from the canon, and you end up never being quite sure of what you're going to get when you sit down to watch one of these films. I'm happy to say that Logan is a film that works very well despite the checkered past of the series to which it belongs.

*Warning: Spoilers Ahead*

We're shown an unforgiving world in Logan; Wolverine (Jackman, in what he claims is his final performance as the character) scrapes out a living as a limo driver in Texas, and lives in an abandoned building in Mexico with Professor X (Stewart, in what he also claims is his final performance as the character) and another mutant named Caliban (Stephen Merchant). Mutants have been all but wiped out, and no new mutant has been born in years; the Professor is in a sorry state, with poor control of his powers, taking medication to stop his powers from accidentally hurting or even killing people. Wolverine essentially passes the time between working and keeping the Professor medicated, and Caliban keeps the place together while Wolverine is away. It's a set-up that's hard to watch because of just how low these characters have sunk; a scene involving Wolverine trying to medicate the Professor is harsh, showcasing how hopeless the Professor has become in his prison, and how drained Wolverine has become in containing and maintaining him.

What's most interesting here is how different Wolverine is from his previous incarnations; simply put, he's old. Wolverine is slow, he's scarred, his claws don't always come out all the way, he doesn't heal like he used to. It's a very different depiction of the character that lends itself very well to the arc he goes through, a man at the end of his rope trying to find a reason or a purpose in life, a man destroyed by his loss.

Things start to kick in to motion when a young girl named Laura (Keen, in her film debut) becomes involved with Wolverine. An artificially manufactured mutant, Laura is Wolverine's biological daughter, and comes with his set of powers. Laura is positively vicious, ripping in to faceless soldiers with glee as she lets her animalistic side take over. She's also very well portrayed by Keen, who manages to do a lot with a character he says literally nothing until the third act; she's very meaningful with her expressions and movements, incredibly naive but not stupid, and hopeful for her future.

The plot from here is very simple; the people who made Laura want her back, and Logan is paid to take her to a place where she will be safe. It's a little like Children of Men in the X-Men universe. The simple set-up gives way to some amazing tension building from Mangold, who does a very good job of keeping the film focused at the personal level; these are the few characters you have to worry and/or care about, and the stakes set a very real precedent of danger for them. The danger is dispatched with a very bloodthirsty endeavour; the film likes to remind you of it's restricted rating by regularly putting spikes through people and cutting heads off. It's gritty, savage, perhaps a little overzealous at points, but it's also grounded in the conflict that revolves around the characters; it isn't violence simply for the sake of it, it's just violence presented in a way that make the stomachs of some turn. What makes this most impactful, however, is the moments of levity and breaks in tension that the film offers. This isn't a DC film where everything is constantly drab and self-hating, or an MCU film where they feel the need to keep everything light-hearted even the most inappropriate of moments; Logan offers both, and knows when to switch between the two without feeling like the film is giving you emotional whiplash.

The Verdict: Logan is the best film ever offered by FOX's X-Men franchise. It's also, in a lot of ways, very different from what you'd expect to see out of an X-Men film. Logan is bleak, brutal, and ballsy, offering a more grounded approach to superpowers and a satisfying end to Jackman's tenure as the Wolverine. It's a strong film, if imperfect, but I recommend it only if you can stomach the sheer violence the film offers; no punches are pulled and no skulls go un-stabbed. With this in mind, I suggest not showing this to your kids, no matter how big of a superhero fan they are.

Rating: 7.5/10

Published March 2nd, 2017