Logan redefines what it means to be a superhero. It also might end up being one the best X-Men films not solely in terms of its brutal action scenes but more so in terms of its heartfelt emotion. If this does turn out to be Hugh Jackman’s last rodeo as Wolverine, then he saved his finest work for last. Warning, spoilers ahead…
The film opens in 2029 and mutants are nearly extinct and Logan as you would expect, is drinking what seems like his final days away and living an isolated life along the Mexican border with a mutant outcast albino named Caliban and where he tends to a sick Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart). But his life has never been one for peace and quiet so why should today be any different? A mysterious woman tracks him down first at a funeral and later uses his limo service to draw him to a hotel where she wants to hire him to take a young girl named Laura (newcomer Dafne Keen) who possesses extraordinary if not familiar powers, to safety.
Fans have long wanted an R Rated Wolverine film and this film does not disappoint. Logan does have a slow beginning as it sets up the narrative but once it does and Logan takes ownership of Laura, the film takes off and never looks back. Laura turns out to be Logan’s daughter from an experimental standpoint. Much like how Stryker used Logan to create Wolverine, Dr. Rice (Richard E. Grant) manipulated the genes of children to create a new breed of mutants. Laura is one of those children. Tasked in finding her and the other children who have fled to North Dakota in hopes of crossing the border into “Eden”, is Pierce (Boyd Holbrook), a “terminator” type bounty hunter. Laura and the others refer to Eden because of all things, an X-Men comic book. I love how they incorporated real comic books about the X-Men into the overall story. Logan sees these books as fantasy and not how things really were for them.
We get to see exactly what Laura can do when Pierce finds Logan’s location and attempts to capture the young mutant. If you thought Wolverine is a badass, wait till you see Laura in action. She is just as fierce and powerful as daddy. Most of the film thereafter has Logan, Xavier and Laura trying to outrun Pierce and Rice to get Laura to this supposed Eden. It’s an emotional journey that we the audience go on and in many ways a fitting way to say goodbye to these beloved heroes while saying hello to perhaps the future of the X-Men.
It would help viewers greatly if they know the background and relationship between Logan and Xavier. There’s a point in the film when the two pretend to be father and son and yet that’s the perfect representation of these two men. As a son, I can’t help but be reflective of my own father and how you wish to have yet another conversation with him. Very profound stuff and bravo to Jackman and Stewart.
Directed by: James Mangold
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, Richard E. Grant and Dafne Keen
R 141 mins
LOGAN – **** (out of 5 stars)
May the Dork be with you,
JPB
The Dork Knight
