Movie Reviews
After 17 years and 8 movies, did we really need another movie starring Hugh Jackman as Wolverine? Turns out we did. And if the others were anything like Logan, I would say we needed even more.
The year is 2029 and Logan (Hugh Jackman) is tired. His iconic sideburns have become a frazzled beard, his wounds barely heal, he drinks way too much and he makes a living driving a limousine through dusty, semi-post-apocalyptic Texas. He has made a… well, home is stretching it a bit… in an old building where he and Caliban (Stephen Merchant) take care of Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), who is losing grip over his tremendous powers. The three of them are part of a dying breed. After all, the other X-Men are all dead and it has been over twenty years since another mutant was born. But then they meet Laura (Dafne Keen), a girl with extraordinary powers, and Logan is once again called on to save the day.
The difference between Logan and all the other X-Men movies is that you don’t need to be a fan of superhero movies to enjoy this movie. Director James Mangold makes everything look amazing and has turned the superhero movie upside down. This is not your usual hyperkinetic spectacle, it is a dark drama disguised as a blood-soaked western disguised as a blockbuster.
Did I already mention that it is bloody? If not, you will find out soon enough once you start watching. The movie opens with some gangbangers trying to steal Logan’s car without realizing he is in the car, recovering from a night of heavy drinking. Fast-forward a minute or two and we have adamantium claws sticking through someone’s skull and severed limbs flying all over the place. Yeah, this is not your typical X-Men movie.
The story itself is not all that different from what we have already seen in the past. The biggest difference is that Logan is geared towards an adult audience, and I’m not just talking about the violence. As a result, it has more to do with Nolan’s The Dark Knight than with any of the other X-Men movies. It’s an approach that makes me wish they had started using it sooner instead of waiting until Wolverine’s swan song.
