Logan (2017)
The Good and The Bad: Hugh Jackman (Logan); Patrick Stewart (Charles); Dafne Keen (Laura); Boyd Holbrook (Pierce, mech man); Richard E. Grant (Dr. Rice); Stephen Merchant (Caliban)
Who doesn’t like Wolverine? He’s a tough as fuck mutant and behind that loner exterior and perpetual snarl he is compassionate and one of the most complex and likeable characters from the X-Men verse. Logan marks the 3rd (I believe) Wolverine focused flick and there is no doubt that it is also the best.
The flick is set in the year 2029 and presents an aged, grizzled, depressed Logan who is not well. Aside from being pickled by booze most of the time, he is dying, actually dying. His healing abilities are stunted and pus oozes from his knuckles after he let’s loose the claws. Aside from Logan being nearly human, he has a job like any other normal human as a limo driver for hire. As the movie starts so does the action and extreme violence (which doesn’t let up) as Logan’s limo is in the process of being stripped of its wheels and he is forced to fight back with deadly force, although he seems to hesitate on being lethal…at first. Limbs fly off and blood splatter is everywhere.
Alright so I was basically starting to tell the movie in great detail, nearly scene by scene but I think I will try to condense it a bit. Logan encounters a woman who knows he’s Wolverine and begs for his help – he runs her off. He is approached by a dickhead with a mechanical arm who is looking for that same woman -he all but runs him off. Down to Mexico where Professor X is slowly losing his mind and has to be sedated or he could kill everyone. Apparently there are nearly no mutants left in world and none being born. Logan meets the woman again and a girl, about 10-12 years old, and the woman begs again for help but offers money this time. He takes it, the woman dies, the kid tags along, mechanical hand wants the kid and finds her, Laura, with Logan and Charles in Mexico.
Turns out Laura is a mini version of Logan; genetically created and surgically altered with adamantium just as he had been. She wants to go to Eden in North Dakota where she is to meet up with other kids like her, mutants created by a misguided doctor Xander Rice. The plan is to head to Canada where there is some sort of sanctuary. And off they go – Logan, Charles and Laura while being chased by mech man and his crew. Innocents die and Charles is killed by Wolverine, or at least a Wolverine look a like. I think they call him X-24 where as Laura is X-23. X-24 is pure brute and killer but under the control of Xander Rice and mech man to a point. Logan and Laura continue to Eden after he is nearly killed by X-24 and they finally find the other children from the hospital where Laura was born.
Logan is healing since they gave him a green serum that juices up the mutants and Laura is hopes he will go to Canada with them but he doesn’t and things go bad. Again. Mech man and X-24 chase them through the woods, Logan juices to the max but alas it is not enough and he dies at the hands of his Doppelganger. Laura kills X-24 but only moments before Logan dies. The kids continue to run to Canada.
Final Thoughts: I admit I am not doing this movie justice. It is so much better than described. The acting is fantastic and action is the best. Over the course of the X-Men and Wolverine movies they have been good to awful (X-Men 3) and they have been missing something – the gritty edge and violence that should come with a story that is basically about a war between the evil forces and those trying to be good and help others through the battle. The violence is punctuated so much more by Laura and her rage fueled savagery. And when she and Logan are fighting side by side, the action is incredible. The story brought the end of one of my favourite characters but Logan’s legacy continues with Laura and the new generation of mutants that are more gritty and hard-hitting than their predecessors. Logan gets 5 out 5 Wolverines.
Dawning Creates 