If you’ve been following this site, then you would have known that Logan has already been reviewed on this site. For a deeper analysis, I recommend you read Josh Tarpley’s earlier review. I won’t be doing a full on review per se but since it is a big film, I thought I’d share some of my thoughts on it. I will say that I liked it just as much as he did.
This film marks Hugh Jackman’s final turn as Wolverine and what a run it was. He has managed to play the role in 8 films in 17 years before this one with 2 of them being cameos and 2 of them being standalone films. Those standalone films may have not been the best but this film really gave him a chance to shine and that he did. A lot was made about this film being rated R, which was a first for the series. This was very evident by the amount of blood, violence, and language. It was different from most superhero films, almost like how Deadpool was but this felt more grounded. It does take place in the future but had little impact.
In this film, he was beaten down both physically and mentally and it showed through his may scars on his body. His healing powers were fading and that was taking its toll on him. This gave him a sense of vulnerability that we haven’t really seen. We would often see him taking on people that were often bigger and/or stronger than he was where he had to rely on his will to survive. His primary focus was taking care of Charles Xavier who is very different from every incarnation we’ve seen. He is getting older and he is now suffering from Alzheimer’s. He is very weak and can no longer control his powers. Because of this, he also this sense of humanity and vulnerability in no longer being the person he once was.
Their lives both change when they meet a young girl named Laura (Dafne Keen). In a world where there were no mutants, she was a mutant with the same powers as Logan. She was on the run from the lab where she was created. Logan was tasked by a scientist at that lab named Gabriela (Elizabeth Rodriguez) to take her to a refuge. He was hesitant at first but when he learned that she was his daughter (which was very likely considering), he ended up taking her and Xavier on a journey across the country.
What I liked the most about this was that it wasn’t a superhero movie by definition but rather a character study about a pair of men in Logan and Xavier who were beaten down from life that were given a new lease on life. The film had plenty of great action but also focused on the relationships between these characters which were even more compelling. The story was just so full of emotion as the characters cared deeply about one another. Logan acted as a mentor to Laura, teaching her about life but this relationship went both ways as she also taught him more about himself.
The performances here were amazing with Jackman and Stewart being the standouts. Jackman showed a side of Logan that we’ve never seen before. His performance had an excellent range, depicting his broken down nature and inner demons while also doing whatever it took in caring for Laura and Xavier. Instead of being an over the top character like in other films, he was more human here which made him more endearing and easier to sympathize with him. Stewart also showed considerable range as Xavier. Although we didn’t get enough of him, he was great to watch as well. He brought depth and humanity to his character in depicting his downward spiral because his illness and all the emotion that went along with it. Keen was good but I sometimes couldn’t understand what she was saying. They all had great chemistry, making them immensely watchable. Boyd Holbrook was a serviceable villain but it was more about the three leads.
Overall, this was a marvelous send off (pun intended) for Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine but was also a superhero film like none other in that it wasn’t a superhero film and more of a engaging redemption story with a well-written script and award-worthy performances by Jackman and Stewart.
Score: 9.5/10
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.
