Directed by James Mangold, Logan takes place in 2029, 6 years after the events of X-Men: Days of Future Past.
In this dystopian future, we meet Logan (Hugh Jackman) hiding out with a mentally ill Charles Xavier (Sir Patrick Stewart) near the Mexican border. Early on, it is revealed that there are no more mutants present in society due to a major accident dealing with Professor X. As a suicidal Logan struggles to find a reason to keep moving forward, he is approached by a young mutant, Laura aka X-23 (Dafne Keen). X-23 is being hunted by an organization called 'Alkali Transigen'. As they seek to capture her and turn her into their personal killing machine, Logan and Professor X must take her under their protection.
Praises
Hugh Jackman delivers his best performance as Logan/Wolverine. Already one of the best actors alive, he is expected to deliver in every one of his portrayals as Wolverine. This time around, he exceeds all expectations. Let's face it, Logan has had the shittiest life in comic book character history. As he reaches the end of his road, he is more broken and devastated than ever before. Jackman's performance was powerful and very emotional. I could tell how deeply he felt about this character that he's been portraying for nearly 18 years. In one particular scene after a very crucial plot point, Jackman delivers one of the most emotional lines in the movie. The scene alone expanded my love for the movie larger than it already was.
Sir Patrick Stewart also delivers his best performance as Charles Xavier/Professor X. This role was extremely different from his other roles as Professor X, but he nailed every scene. Xavier is slowly losing his mind and it one of the saddest things to see play out on the big screen. After so many years as a powerful leader, his last on-screen appearance is as a weak and battered old man. The role is an extremely hard one to pull off, but Stewart is a natural and makes it look easy. Although a more serious movie, Stewart brings much needed comedic relief to his role. His chemistry with Hugh Jackman is as strong as ever and is present throughout the entirety of the movie.
Dafne Keen surprises everyone as she portrays the legendary Wolverine clone, X-23. This could have easily been the biggest misfire ever, but she is perfect in her embodiment of Wolverine's daughter. Even though she had a limited amount of lines, she demands all the attention when she is on the big screen. She was great and had an extensive amount of chemistry with Hugh Jackman and Sir Patrick Stewart. I hope the X-Men universe includes X-23 because she is too good to leave out of future projects.
For a 2 hour and 30 minute movie, Logan never feels dragged on or boring. This has to do with the amazing plot and concept of the film. The storytelling is phenomenal and damn near flawless. There are plenty of curve balls thrown at the audience that could easily fail the movie, but it ends up delivering efficiently.
Although a superhero movie, Logan focuses on the element of family more than any movie of its genre. Logan and Professor X have always had a father-son bond, but Logan expands this connection into deeper context. While Logan and Professor X are both experiencing a shitty ending to their long lives, they never lose the love and appreciation they have for one another.
I, unlike many others, love long scenes of pure dialogue between essential characters. Logan had many of those scenes with plenty characters throughout the lengthy film. For the first two acts, Logan and Professor X had a handful of dialogue filled scenes that added so much context to the movie and its emotionally drenching plot. As the journey eventually centered around Logan and X-23, they had great scenes together that bonded the two perfectly fleshed out characters.
Finally, we get an 'R' rated Wolverine movie! Better late than never, right? For the first time ever, we get to see Logan obliterate his foes. The amount of blood shed in this movie is ridiculous... and I loved every second of it! The first two minutes of Logan basically lets you know what type of movie its going to be.
Polishes
The third act was great, but it tended to shift the focus from Logan himself and aim it at the minor characters. Although I loved the berserker rage, it felt overshadowed by the newly added characters. It would've been perfect for the focus to be entirely on Logan and X-23 during the last part of the movie.
Verdict
The film does a very good job with its story and characters. The theme was aggressively present throughout the movie. James Mangold does a very good job in blending all the different genres together as he sculpts a masterpiece.
Overall, Logan is clearly the best way possible to say goodbye to legends Hugh Jackman and Sir Patrick Stewart. It is so hard to say au revoir, but it feels great to welcome the new generation in Dafne Keen. I, much like the majority of comic book nerds, have full faith in this amazing up-and-coming star.
I'm not ashamed to admit that I was crying throughout various events in this film. It is more than just a superhero movie, but since it's still classified as one, it is easily the best one. Wolverine's trilogy ends off on a perfect note with Logan.
Damn Near Perfect - 97%
