Logan (UK Rating: 15)
From director James Mangold (3:10 to Yuma, Walk the Line) comes Logan, a movie about the man behind the superhero known as Wolverine from the X-Men team. It stars Hugh Jackman (X-Men, Les Misérables), Patrick Stewart (X-Men, Star Trek: The Next Generation), Dafne Keen (The Refugees), Boyd Holbrook (Milk, Narcos), and Stephen Merchant (Hot Fuzz), among others. Such an all-star cast promises a lot, but does Logan deliver? Is it the emotional send-off people were looking for with a strong focus on Logan, and if it has issues, where do they lie?Logan starts off with an adrenaline-pumping intro that perfectly illustrates the situation: Logan no longer heals as well as he once did, and his issues extend to his emotional state. The glory days are over, and the days of the mutants are over - they are somehow nearing extinction. Logan is no longer connected to anyone: the X-Men were the only family he had, although he might try to deny it. He plays the role of a limo driver, looking at his clients through his rear view mirror begrudgingly, but at the same time envying their purity and carefree lives.
All of this is even intertwined with a sense that mutants and humanity just don't go together, even though it wasn't the humans who caused Logan's problems. No, it's more about anger at being a mutant, and how their human failings, combined with that mutanthood, cause so many problems. This last theme could have been expanded upon more, as the humans vs. mutants theme has been the fundamental idea behind the X-Men movies, but it's satisfying nonetheless. The opening scene is very slightly funny, as well. Without spoiling anything, it should be said that it's not so much that it gets in the way of the dramatic storytelling. In fact, it fits the movie's atmosphere of hopelessness.
Logan lives with the mutant Caliban in a kind of dysfunctional spousal relationship, with Logan as the typical badass sneering at others' complaints about their problems. Suffice it to say, he doesn't do that because he's so tough. Every day is a bad day, he says, trying to rationalise it.
The scene introducing Charles Xavier (played excellently poignantly and fatherly by Sir Patrick Stewart) is unfortunately a bit vague, with it being unclear if his medication causes some issues, or that it's simply due to his age or lack of medication. When he immediately starts talking and thinking lucidly after getting a shot, with Logan responding with ''so now you know who I am, huh?'' it makes you think Xavier was simply doing an act. It wasn't quite clear if that was the case or not.
On the topic of Xavier, he serves as Logan's conscience, often telling him the truth and hoping that Logan is willing to face it. This relationship makes it very clear that Logan and Xavier have a powerful bond, and that fact is strengthened with a very emotional scene later in the film. Regardless, viewers will wish Logan and Xavier had one or two more friendly moments. Instead, Logan is placed in a fairly long-winded scene with a character he had just met, taking precious time away from interaction between the lead characters. At the same time, the fact that the characters don't get to say everything they want to, or need to say, adds to the movie's sad tone. It's just not executed very well.
Laura is the main plot progresser. An evil bio-engineering firm, called Alkali-Transigen, which tries to manufacture and manipulate mutants, is after her, and it will stop at nothing to get her back to its facility. She, no doubt, has displayed her gruesome skills before, prior to being saved by an ex-employee of the company. She now wishes to be escorted by Xavier and Logan to Eden, a safe haven for mutants in North Dakota.
Dafne Keen is great at coming across as aggressive, but there is a sense of tension missing from her portrayal. If the outside world is alien to her, anyone would think she would respond to the unknown with a bit more trepidation, not only blind rage. Keen often puts on a specific kind of expression, while each situation should demand a different intensity of anger. She just seems too comfortable in the world she's thrust into.
It could be that the movie's problem is that it has too many lead characters, which spreads out the focus too much between all of them rather than allowing them to bond strongly. Nonetheless, the movie's emotional moments are tear-jerking, relying mostly on showing the bond between Xavier and Logan, and showing Logan's flaws and how he himself hates them and hates how he was made to be Wolverine. The character of Laura gets wedged in-between a bit unsatisfyingly, and it makes something said in the final scene feel a bit contrived.
With all that said, though, in the end Logan is a movie about… Logan. Hugh Jackman does an amazing job as a more emotional Wolverine, while at the same time staying true to his tough guy persona. The way Jackman looks in fear and with immense hatred at his enemy when he first meets him is perfect. His voice hits all the right tones and he doesn't pull any punches. The action is wince-inducing most of the time, as well as very up-close and personal, which fits the overall tone perfectly. However, in one scene it looks a bit preoccupied with showing Wolverine's power rather than his speed and ferocity.