Is anyone getting just a little bit bored of your standard superhero movie? I can't believe I just typed that, especially considering a superhero movie tends to be my most anticipated movie of the summer or even year, but I can't deny it any longer: everything's becoming a little bit standard. This is especially the case with MCU movies, which tend to follow a formula, or the DCEU movies, which are all just chaotic messes at this point. Audiences, myself included, are longing for something more, something deeper in their moviegoing experiences. That said, it's never going to stop the endless waves of money we are going to throw at Marvel and Disney, but any deviation from the formula at this point is a welcome change, especially if it is done well. "Logan" is one such change, and, not only is it done well, but it is done to a phenomenal standard. Admittedly, the standalone movies starring Hugh Jackman's Wolverine have had a rocky track record to say the least, from the downright dreadful "Origins: Wolverine" to the absurd (but still more enjoyable) "The Wolverine" in 2013. "Logan" is a different beast all together, with a proud 15-rating (R-rating for US readers) allowing for a deeper, more meaningful story than we've seen before. Oh, and of course the heavily advertised violence which is as brutal as the trailers have showcased it to be. In short, this movie is fantastic. It is not only one of the best comic book movies ever made, but rivals some of the best movies of recent years. Let's take a look at why.
The story of the movie takes place in the year 2029, and focuses on an older, world-weary Logan. Stuck working as a chauffeur and struggling to make amends to pay for the medication needed for a now ancient Professor X (played one again by Patrick Stewart), this is Logan in a worse place than we've ever seen him before. Worse still, from the very beginning, we get the impression that his abilities have started to slow him down in age and may even be contributing to damaging him further. However, his broken life is only thrown further into disarray by the appearance of a little girl, Laura (played by newcomer Dafne Keen), who may have more in common with Logan than it may first appear. Now being pursued by the sinister Reavers of an evil corporation, headed up by Boyd Holbrook's Donald Pierce, Logan finds himself forced to rekindle his inner Wolverine one last time for the sake of Laura and himself. It's a considerably more mature story than any X-Men movie, or any other superhero movie for that matter, in recent years. There is maybe not as much action in the movie as fans might initially suspect (or hope for, given the brutality of the trailers to date), but this is not a hinderance on the movie itself. This is very much a character driven piece rather than the usual CGI-fest that has infected the genre. Director James Mangold and the crew have taken this opportunity to forge an emotional story of regret, legacy and coping with the losses of the past. These themes are much more adult and mature than any that have perhaps been explored in past X-Men movies, but they are especially fitting for the character of Logan. This is a character who has lived for at least 150 years. He has fought and been beaten, tried and failed to find peace, and loved only to lose everyone he has cared about. From the very outset of the movie, we know that this is the story this crew have always wanted to tell, chartering the last stand of the Wolverine. It is his attempt to cope with this regret, having turned to alcoholism in his old age, that makes this such as an engaging story and his evolving relationship with Laura that drives it forward. Finally, one bit of symbolism that the writers have ingeniously worked into the story is the subtle of imagery of the internal conflict of Logan. I won't dive too deep into spoilers here, because you should absolutely see this movie, but it does a fantastic job of exploring a conflict that has been hinted at throughout the series, that between Logan and the Wolverine inside him, the man and the beast. This conflict is given a satisfying ending by the end, and, if this truly is Jackman's last outing with the character, it ends on a satisfying high point.
The more world-weary Logan returns, once again forced from his isolation.
The brilliance of the story at display here is equally matched by the quality of the acting on show. Hugh Jackman has given his all to this character for the last 17 years, and it is his acting that has made audiences almost unanimously attached to this character regardless of what they might have thought of the franchise (because they have undoubtedly ranged in quality). However, as this is his swan song performance as Logan, it is only fitting that this is his most impressive outing yet. Jackman delivers his lines with such raw emotion throughout the movie. Logan has always been an angry and short-tempered character, but it is in this movie that we as an audience are really sold that this anger is to compensate for his tragic past. As is hinted at throughout this movie, the events of past movies and more recent off-screen events haunt Logan, and are the reason that he has been driven into this self-sentenced exile and isolation. His chemistry with all of the actors on screen is fantastic as well, particularly with Patrick Stewart (with whom it should be said he has always worked well with) and Dafne Keen. I don't say this lightly, but in my honest opinion, this performance would have landed Jackman a Best Actor nomination (at the very least) at the Oscars, BAFTAs, and other award shows if it had been released earlier and, who knows, maybe it still could next year. Equally, the aforementioned Stewart and Keen are excellent in the movie in their own right. Stewart somewhat surprisingly delivers most of the comic relief of the film, again in how he bounces off of the stoic Logan, but the very condition this character is in in comparison to past appearances makes this another tragic performance, fitting of one of the Shakespearean plays Sir Patrick is known for. Turning to newcomer Keen, she is a phenomenal addition to the movie, despite having to remain largely silent for her screen time. If you want a comparison, think of Eleven from the (amazing) Netflix show, "Stranger Things". In a similar way to Millie Bobbie Brown's performance in that show, Keen does an incredible job emoting almost solely through facial expressions and body actions, a feat that can only be considered all the more impressive when taking into account her young age, and almost empty filmography to date. She works extremely well with Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart, and there's no doubt after her performance we will be seeing plenty more of her in future movies.
Dafne Keen as the young Laura, who shares a very familiar mutation.
Following on from the main heroes of the movie, the main problem critics seem to be pinpointing frequently with this movie is in the villains of the piece, and I can understand where they are coming from, although I don't wholly agree with all of the criticisms. The main villain who the audience sees on screen is Donald Pierce, a robotically enhanced security chief, played, as I said, by Boyd Holbrook (who you may know from Netflix's Narcos). Pierce makes an appearance relatively early on in the movie, and Holbrook immediately does a great job of making the audience despise this character. Holbrook plays the character with a smarmy, and yet subtly intimidating edge. Although he does not get heavily involved in the action, we as the audience understand from his actions earlier in the movie that he is a force to be reckoned with, particularly after viewing his overwhelming forces (known as the Reavers for extra intimidation points), as well as how Pierce continually chooses to stand up to Logan, despite his quick acknowledgement of the Wolverine and his previous actions. In fact, I enjoyed every moment Pierce was on screen and Holbrook's performance. The issue lies in what that screen time is used to do with he character. He never receives any development throughout the movie or get any further insight into his past backstory with other characters, which would have been particularly effective after the introduction of a certain group of characters in the second half of the movie. Another villain who appears in the second half fully after being hinted at throughout the first act is Richard E. Grant playing Dr. Zander Rice, who is about as stereotypically mad scientist-esque as you might be able to think of. The character is mainly in the movie to hand out some helpful exposition towards the end, and does not serve to contribute much else to the story. However, that said, once again, the issue is not in Grant's performance. In fact, for those of you who know Grant's work, you may know that he plays a fantastically sinister villain, and he puts his skills to good effect here. Although the development of these villains is not necessary to the story, and although it never heavily affected by enjoyment of the movie as a whole, some backstory perhaps would have been useful to allow the filmmakers to humanise these characters more, and understand their motivations beyond a hatred of mutant kind (a trope which is in itself becoming a stereotype in this franchise). These are not the only villains, however. There is a much more powerful villain for Logan to tackle who appears towards the end of the second act of the movie. I will not go into details concerning that character here for the sake of spoilers, but this was actually an effective contribution for me. Although you might question that character's actual existence once you see the movie, consider one of the things I've already mentioned in this review. Once you see the movie, you'll be able to see what I mean and the brilliance of the writing involved with this inclusion.
Boyd Holbrook as the despicable but enjoyable Donald Pierce.
With all that said, however, many fans were not sold on this movie based not he character moments of the trailers. What has sold a number of audience members is the promise of finally seeing the true "berserker" Wolverine we know from the comics, with the trailers showcasing brutal, bloody action that could never have been shown if this movie had remained 12-rated (or PG-13). Having seen the movie, I can now happily and with relief report that the action of the movie is on point. The action is appropriately violent, with Logan no longer holding back on killing Reavers and other villains throughout the movie in an wrenching, gory fashion. Limbs are severed, his claws pierce through Reaver skulls, and Laura uses some more gymnastic skills to great effect in their action scenes together. However, what really makes the action of the movie effective is the enhanced weight and stakes that every action scene Logan is involved in now has. As I have mentioned a number of times, this is a much older Logan. He is hurt when his claws come out, while his reactions and his healing is much slower (and in some cases the wounds do not heal at all). The reasoning given by the movie beyond his age for this makes sense but the effect this truly has on the action is for once it feels like this character could easily meet his end against any of his opponents, even the average solider, making it all the more tense when he faces Pierce or the secret character I mentioned earlier. This is something we as an audience have never really felt in one of the standalone Wolverine movies to date. In "Origins: Wolverine", his healing was intact throughout the movie, and so the stakes never felt particularly high. "The Wolverine" is slightly different, because they did take the healing of the character away fro a large portion of the plot, but, largely due to the 12-rating, the action again did not feel as real or as tense as it could have felt given a more mature rating. The action and stakes only cements more that "Logan" was the Wolverine movie that the character deserved to do him justice, the movie that fans have always wanted to see the character in, and the movie that will shock but equally please general viewers and audience members.
"Someone'll come along..." "Someone has come along."
Throughout those action sequences, the effects on display are also of the highest calibre. Not a great deal of the movie is composed of CGI, but the small parts that do put this to use are incredibly realistic. Probably the most frequent example that we see on screen is Pierce's robotic, prosthetic arm, as well as those of all the other Ravagers. When the movie was finished, I actually had to check whether these arms were practical effects or not, and was slightly let down but equally impressed to find that they were created through the use of CGI. The majority of the movie, however, makes effective use of practical effects, which is honestly the route I prefer that moves take. The use of practical blood spurts and effects adds to the gritty realism of the action in the movie. This is considerably more effective than other modern movies, many of which struggle to resist the urge to use CGI because they can in this instance, often leading to ridiculous and over-the-top beatings and death, often ending with an arm, leg, or head being severed or exploding in a strangely cartoonish manner. We should be incredibly thankful that Mangold and his team have resisted the temptation in this area. What's more, the stunt work and choreography is relentlessly brutal throughout the movie. Again, this is an area where "Logan" deviates from the usual superhero tropes. There are no meaningless flips or martial arts on display in this movie. It is simply brawlers beating on each other to the death, giving every hit much more weight and tension to it. We feel like this is a real fight despite Logan's claws and mutant powers, and therefore can't help but be more affected by every punch, kick, stab and bullet we are forced to see Logan suffer through.
Professor X (Patrick Stewart) in a more vulnerable state than ever before.
There are only a few more points which I want to talk about before wrapping up (I know this has been a longer review, but I needed to talk about all of the detail of this masterpiece). First of all, the cinematography of the movie. This is perhaps not something your general cinema audience will be looking out for while watching the movie, but it is fantastically filmed. In case it wasn't clear, the tone of the movie is very sombre, particularly at the beginning, and the cinematography of the movie reflects this. Slow-moving and elegant, the audience is given the opportunity to take in every detail of every frame we are seeing on screen. When the action gets started in the movie, the camera begins to go faster, but never to the extent that we cannot understand what is happening on screen. Every shot is kept crystal clear, and yet also reflects the brutality of every stab and wound inflicted to every character. The cinematography is a key part to allowing the audience to feel the pain of characters such as Logan and Xavier, and allows a much deeper emotional connection to the characters, even more so than that solely provided by the screenplay. Another filmmaking tool used to great effect throughout the movie to build the atmosphere effectively is the score. Largely composed on the piano, but with some percussion and other instruments used in supplement, Marco Beltrami uses the dark piano chords and dissonance to build a melancholy scene around even the simplest scenes at the beginning of the movie, a sense of dread when focusing on the villains, and a fear within the audience about the possible fate of the lead character during the action scenes. It is an amazing score, although devoid of any main theme that usually accompanies the modern superhero movie. Not that those themes are particularly memorable in their own right (if I had to cite a couple it would be the themes of the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy but even they are quite obscure, and good luck singing any others). I would much rather have a score that was effective within the movie in its own right than an attempt to build a single memorable theme which fails and leaves the rest of the movie without a score to enhance the emotions and weight of what we are seeing on screen.
"This is what life looks like: people who love each other, a home. You should take a moment. Feel it. You still have time"
What more is there to say about "Logan"? As if I can't emphasise it enough, I adore this movie. A few days on and writing this review, I struggle to think of anything which I do not like about this movie. Perhaps a couple of underdeveloped characters, and nothing else comes to mind even after reflecting on the story, characters, action and every other aspect of the movie. The story is hard-hitting, emotional and gritty. The acting is phenomenal and believable from all of the cast. The action is brutal and unforgiving. The music is brilliantly heart-wrenching. The cinematography is both gorgeous and intense where appropriate. These are all undeniable facts about the movie. Yet none of these are the reason I love this movie so much. I love the characters of the comics, and I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing them portrayed on screen for the last 17 years. It's rare that you find casting in a movie that transpires to be so perfect and inspired, especially in a comic book movie where fans will avidly compare the character and portrayal to the source material, often obsessively looking for some slight change to complain about. I can say without a doubt, that Hugh Jackman as Logan has been some of the most perfect casting put to screen, not just in a comic book movie, but across the board. We have fallen in love with this character. We have cheered when he was victorious, been saddened when he fell, and felt the pain from the beginning of his life as the Wolverine to the end of this movie. This movie is fantastic, not only for all of the above reasons, but because of the respect it has for the character of Logan. It understands the ending this character needed, the sorrow and the joy both being shown throughout the movie. If this truly is the end of the road for Hugh Jackman as Logan, it has been an incredible journey, and all credit goes to director James Mangold, and all of the actors and crew involved, for crafting an incredible swan song for this character. This movie is a modern day classic, and should be regarded as such for years to come.
Pros
Oscar-worthy acting, especially from Jackman
An engaging story
The handling of mature themes in a meaningful way
Brutal action
Spectacular effects
Gorgeous cinematography
Great music
The deserving, emotional swan song for this beloved character
Cons
A couple of underdeveloped villains, but even they are still enjoyable when on screen
Rating: 10/10
Original Release Date: 1st of March, 2017
Starring Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Boyd Holbrook, Dafne Keen, Stephen Merchant, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Eriq La Salle and Richard E. Grant
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