FANS of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine will definitely shed a tear with this one.
After playing the feral mutant with regenerative healing factor abilities and adamantium claws for over 15 years, it’s hard to say goodbye. But it’s time to ride off into the sunset and this swansong performance is worth every minute of screentime.
Set in 2029, it’s a bleak age where the mutant population has declined dramatically and the X-Men have disbanded. The former hero is an aged alcoholic and lowly limo driver hiding in a backwater town while looking after an equally dishevelled Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) with fellow mutant Caliban (Stephen Merchant).
Their plans to retire on a boat at sea take a back seat when Wolverine, or Logan, gets reluctantly entangled with the specimen X-23 from a secret military operation to grow super soldiers. The 11-year-old, whose real name is Laura Kinney (Dafne Keen), has similar abilities to Logan, along with his younger self rage to boot.
Led on by Charles’ insistence for Logan to protect her, they eventually go on a road trip to get her to a fabled safe haven called Eden. Along the way they are pursued by shady operative Donald Pierce (Boyd Holbrook) and his men, who work for Dr Zander Rice (Richard E. Grant), who is behind the gruesome experiments.
There’s plenty of swearing and oodles of violence, so this is not a movie for children at all (ironically, the film has a bunch of kids in it, with Keen giving a great performance as X-23).
Stylistically and visually satisfying, it takes inspiration from various sources with the western genre being a very obvious one. Logan is a well-crafted movie that will appeal to fans, as well as non-superhero following moviegoers.
The drama is surprisingly moving at times and certain scenes have poignant intensity. Slow moving, the film takes its time to unfold but it’s never dull despite being pretty grim.
There’s also several fierce, yet low-key (in comparison to the excessive CGI-heavy grandiosity of previous X-Men films) action scenes that deliver the thrills. But it’s the familial relationships between the main characters that make the most impact.
Jackman clearly gives it his all as Logan in every scene, resulting in a gratifying watch. This film most certainly tops director James Mangold’s previous effort, The Wolverine, in 2013.
Those who haven’t seen Logan yet should quickly do so. It’s essentially an intimate look at one of the Marvel Universe’s most beloved characters. ‘Nuff said.
LOGAN
Directed by James Mangold
Starring Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Richard E. Grant, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, Dafne Keen
Duration 137 minutes
Rating 18