What do you get when you cross Children of Men, Terminator 2, Leon the Professional and X-Men Universe? Well if you add a bit of spicy MA15+ sauce on top you get what could be the best superhero film ever made.
Famously Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart’s swan song from the almost 20-year running film series as Wolverine and Professor X respectively, Logan has a lot of hype and after seeing the film I can see why. It has the acting, dramatic tone and catharsis of a serious Academy Award contender, despite coming out about 11 months before the next Oscars.
This is a passion project for Director James Mangold and pitched the idea to Jackman who was immediately on board. And after the success of Deadpool’s R-rating, Fox was willing to roll the dice again and so far they are 2/2 in smash hits for a more adult-oriented audience.
However, despite both movies being about experimented on and invincible superheroes who kill for a living, the two films are very different in many ways; one is a self-aware, funny, light and meta-action comedy and the other is the opposite; brooding, uneasy, fast-paced and emotional.
If you’ve played the Last of Us on PS3/4, you wouldn’t be far off the narrative and vibe of this film (sans the zombies of course). And I’m very cognizant of not spoiling Logan, as it truly is a must-see.
So abridged it is; Wolverine is now a limo driver under his real name James, he cares for an essentially bed ridden Charles Xavier, who is presently one of the world’s most wanted men for reasons I’ll let you find out. The near future of this setting (2029) is a place where mutants have been eradicated and vaccinated against like some disease.
One day a little girl comes into both their lives, a beacon of hope for the future of their kind, and our begrudging hero Logan must take them both on a road trip from the Mexican border to the Canadian border in North Dakota to ensure her safety and that of her friends, whom are lab made mutants being hunted by another evil scientist that’s hell bent on extermination – much like the baddie in all the other X-Men films.
All you need is that entrée; the rest is a thrilling, hell-bending ride rife with intense violence, swearing and weathered and sad faces. It does not take the time to hold your hand, but due to 17 years of character development, we get perfectly crafted three-dimensional relationships and arcs that mean something.
Phenomenal and perhaps career-defining performances and that perfect mixture of melancholy and misanthropy with a touch of bittersweet to make Logan a magnificent film, not just a superhero film, but film in general. To echo the majority of reviews for this picture – is a flawless ending befitting two beloved characters.
Rating: 9/10
