Movie Information
Release Date: March 3, 2017
Director: James Mangold
Writer: Michael Green, Scott Frank, James Mangold, David James Kelly, Roy Thomas, Len Wein, John Romita Sr. Herb Trimpe, Craig Kyle, Christopher Yost
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Dafne Keen, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Richard E. Grant, Eriq La Salle, Elise Neal, Quincy Fouse, Al Coronel, Frank Gallegos, Anthony Escobar, Reynaldo Gallegos, Krzysztof Soszynski, Stephen Dunlevy, Daniel Bernhardt, Ryan Sturz, Brandon Melendy, Jeremy Fitzgerald, Luke Hawx, Chris Palermo, Paul Andrew O’Connor
MPAA Rating: R
Runtime: 135 minutes
Production Company: Donners’ Company, KInberg Genre, Marvel Entertainment, TSG Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Genre: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Language: English
Country: USA
Budget: $127,000,000 (estimated)
For the longest time I’d given up on 20th Century Fox’s adaptation of the X-Men series (2000-2006). The first two films from Bryan Singer were fine, but the third was an abysmal mess. More films came around, like X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), which followed suit. Then Matthew Vaughn came shaking things up, rebooting the franchise with X-Men: First Class (2011). That film is beyond amazing, but Fox destroyed its potential by linking it to past films through X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014),
with the mindset of a larger universe. DOFP was a great film, but still
a missed opportunity on how magnificent it could’ve been. In all, the
one flaw with the character of Logan (Wolverine)
in all of these films is that despite being the ultimate warrior with
claws for weapons there is an absence of blood and carnage. James Mangold addressed this with The Wolverine (2013), but was still too afraid to go all out with the character. Finally, with X-Men: Apocalypse
possibly being the worst of them all, it seemed like the franchise died
a horrific death. Though Mangold wasn’t going to give up. He promised a
worthy X-Men film through Logan (Hugh Jackman)
and gave us exactly what fans have been longing for. Not only is Logan
one of the best X-Men films to date, it’s possibly one of the most
entertaining comic book movies of all time.
Separate from Marvel Studios’
cinematic universe, the world of mutants has always had their own
continuity to hold things together. Though when it comes to continuity
within Fox’s X-Men lore, it’s all over the place, being loosely
connected to each other. That doesn’t matter here, and Mangold sets the
environment in the not so distant future. It’s a smart idea to have all
the stakes stand on their own, and it gives the writing team more
freedom to explore. This works well for creating the overall tone of the
film without feeling like anything that came before. As you’re watching
you forget it’s a comic book movie at times, until all the action
starts ramping up; which is a plus on many standards. For a while now,
other critics and fans have complained about a super hero/comic book
fatigue that some feel, and Mangold takes care of that issue from the
first frame of the film. Instead of some action blockbuster, Logan is
just a man tired from life, reminiscing on the past, and wanting to die
peacefully. I think we can all relate to that at some point.
Hugh Jackman
has taken on this character for the past 17 years, and as a fan of the
character myself, this is by far his best bout. Without any words from
him early on, whether you’re familiar with the material or not, you
sympathize with the guy. He’s cursed to live a long life that he didn’t
ask for, and is plagued by the constant greed and supremacy of foes from
his past. He’s nearly given up on everyone, which could turn you off,
but in his case, you can’t blame him. It appears that everyone he cares
about suffers, which haunts him psychologically and brings his persona
down to the lowest levels. The irony being that he’s such a powerful,
unstoppable force physically, but is dying on the inside emotionally.
Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) is back as well with all his
wisdom. It’s sad to see him this way, with him having been such a
respected figure when he led a school many years ago. Though seeing one
of the most powerful mutants of all time possibly in his last days
struggling with disease and the effects of old age was humbling. He’s
still powerful beyond measure, but doesn’t possess the same control as
before; which warrants a few scenes of comic book greatness.
Even though on the
surface this appears to be more than a comic book film, what’s a comic
book film without well-choreographed nonstop action. The action does
start and stop, but when it’s up and running it pops loud and comes from
all directions. James Mangold and team take full advantage of all of
Logan’s mutant powers, giving the character the justice it deserves.
This is by far a hard R feature, with legs, limbs, and blood flying
everywhere. It’s not over the top, and each kill serves a purpose
besides just catering to fanboys who want mindless carnage. Logan is not
a character running looking for a fight. He just wants to be left
alone, and the fight comes to him. He warns his enemies to leave him
alone, and if they don’t it will be their end. Never has it been more
exciting to see the three blades come out each hand, because after they
do the first time, the remaining scenes are near perfectly executed to
annihilate all forces with an evil agenda. It’s all heart pumping chaos
of wonderful destruction from one of the most popular mutants of all
time. At least fifty people got stabbed in the face, and you’re smiling
ear to ear as you witness it all. It’s so inspiring, motivating you the
audience member to get stronger yourself to dish out such punishment on
those who deserve it. It’s like Logan is powering up after each kill,
which makes it all even more enticing. Yet that’s not even the half of
it. Let’s not forget the inclusion of the newest mutant on the scene,
Laura/X-23 (Dafne Keen). This little girl was a wonderful
addition as the mutant clone of Logan/Wolverine. She was just as
barbaric as Logan and had every right to be. The casting choice here was
perfect, but I will admit I’m not too familiar with the character.
Though when a film inspires you to do more research on a character
because your interest is piqued, it’s safe to say justice was served.
Seeing Logan and Laura/X-23 team up on screen was the perfect pairing
and a love letter to all comic book films worldwide.
There’s still some
nitpicks that were slightly noticeable throughout the film that should
be brought up. The film is around two hours and fifteen minutes, but
didn’t have to be. As our heroes are along their journey, there were a
few pit stops along the way that were necessary, but they didn’t have to
spend so much time planning things out. It felt long at times, but not
remotely close to where you’re breathing heavy in your seat ready for
the next action bit. During the action that was near perfect, it was
hard to ignore the barrage of bullets that conveniently missed a
character or two. There’s a ton of cannon fodder at the mutant’s
disposal for good reason, but to have so many men with so many guns I’m
sure a bullet or two would’ve slowed our mutants down. That brings up
another small issue. If the antagonist is trying to capture certain
mutants instead of killing them, it would make more sense to use
tranquilizers instead of bullets. Maybe they did, but with the action
moving so fast it is not fully explained. The last gripe is that Laura
is a stone cold killing machine when she’s ready, but her level of skill
seems to far exceed other mutants around her same age group. At times,
some of the exposition conveniently takes place through cell phone
footage that wouldn’t happen in reality, but these are all small moments
that most will overlook.
I went into this with low expectations, thinking I might be disappointed. My feelings after walking out were the exact opposite. I’m thrilled at the success level that was accomplished here by 20th Century Fox. They knocked this out of the park, delivering the perfect Wolverine film. It is a textbook example straight out of the Marvel cyclopedia. This will easily fit in the top 10 superhero/comic book movies of all time, and deserves it two times over. It’s not too often a film will have you dancing in your seat from excitement from the wonders the film presents in front of you. Hugh Jackman stated multiple times that this is his last time playing the Wolverine character, and if so it was the perfect send off for the role. Though if possible, it would be a great pleasure for him to take on this role again, and again, because what he did with Logan is a comic book dream come true.
