Review of 'Logan'

logan.jpg It is the year 2029 and we find a much diminished Logan (Hugh Jackman) (formerly “Wolverine” of X-Men fame) driving a limousine in El Paso. Logan aided by an albino mutant Caliban (Stephen Merchant) is caring for a mentally damaged Professor X (Patrick Stewart) in an abandoned factory site in Mexico where a steady diet of pills keeps his mental powers in check. Now an alcoholic, Logan dreams of buying a boat and living on it with the professor. Gabriela (Elizabeth Rodriguez) approaches Logan to ask for his assistance in protecting a young mutant girl, Laura (Dafne Keen) from a powerful corporation, Transigen who will stop at nothing to get her. Laura has similar powers to Logan with retractable claws in the hands and feet as well as his incredible recuperative powers. Gabriela wants to get Laura to “Eden” a place in North Dakota with people she believes can help get Laura to safety in Canada. Initially reluctant to get involved, Logan is forced to act to protect the child when Gabiela is murdered. Is it too late, can Logan save Laura and in the process save himself?

This is most definitely a departure from previous X-Men films with a far more brooding and dark story. The characters here are far more world-weary and there is a sense of futility throughout. Yeah, not really a fun superhero movie, if that is what you were expecting. Stewart, as always, puts on a compelling performance as the decrepit Professor X and Jackman's Logan is equally nuanced.

The violence, when it comes, is brief, personal, and, often, brutal with blood and body parts flying everywhere leaving little to the imagination. Unusually for a Marvel film the language is also, as they say, quite “fruity” throughout (read: lots of swears). This is most definitely not a film for younger viewers or those of a more sensitive nature. In previous films featuring Wolverine the slashing of his claws is largely sanitised and off-camera…not here. The violence inflicted by the young bloodthirsty girl Laura is particularly disturbing…

A thinking man's superhero movie. Not really a fun one but mesmerising to watch as the characters we have learned to love try to dig themselves out of a pit of despair. It has been made quite clear that this is Jackman's last outing as Logan and this is a fitting, if somewhat poignant, finale to his tenure.

Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”

Review Date: 2017-09-15


Directed by: James Mangold

Studio: Donners' Company

Year: 2017

Length: 137 minutes

Genre: Action/Adventure

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3315342/


Other reviewed films by James Mangold: