As you might be able to tell, I am more of a DC fan than a Marvel fan, and even lower than that, an X-Men fan. I have rarely seen any of the films in that franchise except for Days of Future Past and Apocalypse, which were quite underwhelming. Up to par with The Dark Knight and Iron Man, this is one of the best superhero films ever made. Logan is an expertly-crafted solo film which tells the story of Wolverine in his late years after almost all of the X-Men have vanished. This is absolutely a must-see film.
The plot of this film follows Logan, played by Hugh Jackman, as he navigates the world of 2029 after all of his fellow X-Men have either disappeared or died. His reliance on the adamantium in his body is growing weaker and weaker as he grows sicker every day. It does not help when he discovers that he has a genetically-cloned daughter known as X-23, or Laura. The performances by the actors and actresses in this film were absolutely breathtaking, as they embodied their characters so well. The greatest performance was definitely Hugh Jackman. Throughout the film, I found myself absolutely dumbfounded by how amazing Jackman was in his role. I often forgot that it was actually Hugh Jackman who was portraying Logan as I only saw the actions and emotions from the character that were so intriguing. This focus on Jackman was broken only when his portrayal of the evil clone X-24 initially appeared. It is truly the mark of an incredible actor when he can be two radically different characters at the same time and still manifest them to the highest degree, which, I believe, proves that Jackman's performance is definitely Oscar-worthy. Other performances I loved in the film were Patrick Stewart as Professor X and Dafne Keen as Laura. Patrick Stewart played the perfect stereotypical "crazy old man" and even though this was his final appearance as Professor X, his legacy will live on forever. And as for Dafne Keen, she did not even utter a word until the third act of the film, but she did not need to because she was so great as Wolverine's daughter. Her silence spoke volumes and it worked very well for her character.
Other aspects that I loved about this film were the tone and setting that were used throughout. Since this film is based off of the graphic novel Old Man Logan, it was quite appropriate to give this film a hard R-rating. The violence throughout the film, while not gratuitous, was used very well and helped advance the story. The action scenes were absolutely beautiful, and seeing how painful it was for Logan to fight just made Jackman's performance that much more riveting. This definitely added to the tone of the film, because it was very dark and bloody. This tone, while very appropriate, gave way to a much more positive and uplifting tone towards the end of the film, even though Logan (spoiler alert) is killed in the conclusion. I also loved the settings throughout the film, especially the Mexico/Texas border areas that were used. This setting gave way to Mexican culture mixing with the story and it added to Logan's character as well. It showed that however much of an old, hardass Logan was, he did not come off as racist or conservative in any aspect. Not that he came off as liberal, but this representation of his character was written very well.
Logan is an astounding film that, honestly, deserves an Oscar. The performances and tone of the film made it the amazing movie that it is, and James Mangold deserves an immense amount of credit for directing one of, if not THE, greatest superhero film of all time. I loved how the conclusion of the film gave way to the new generation of mutants with all of the children that Laura was raised with. Not very many movies have made me cry, but the final scene where Laura turns the cross on Logan's grave to an X definitely did it for me. Hugh Jackman has the longest and most impressive legacy as a superhero, and this film is such a gorgeous and touching end to Wolverine's story.
My Rating: ★★★★★
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