Logan is serious, gritty and violent action drama and best superhero movie of the year
Movie title: Logan
Movie description: The story in Logan is set in 2029. Almost all mutants are dead, and the ones who are still alive are shadows of their former self. Logan (excellently played by Hugh Jackman) here is older and broken man without much hope. He's sick, his body doesn't heal as it used to and he's drinking. Working as a driver, with mutant Caliban takes care of Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and tries to save money so that he and Xavier can buy a boat and escape from everything (there is one more reason which I won't spoil for you). Xavier himself is not in any better condition than Logan – now he's just a sick old man who needs to take his medicine. One day Logan is approached by a woman named Gabriella who asks him to take her and little girl Laura to the Canadian border. They are chased by mercenaries working for a corporation that did some experiments in Mexico. At first, he refuses, but after Gabriella is killed and Laura hides in his car, he's drawn into it against his will. So together with Charles and Laura, Logan must run from mercenaries who are hunting them. In the process, he'll discover that Laura is not what she seems and that she is pretty much like him.
Summary
Logan is a different superhero movie that stands out from the competition – it is serious, gritty and violent R-rated (SF) action drama in which all parts are very well done. Best superhero movie of the year.
Director: James Mangold
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Dafne Keen, Boyd Holbrook
Year: 2017
I recently rewatched Logan and liked it the same as the first time I saw it in theaters so I decided to write a late review for it. Loosely based on comic Old Man Logan, the story in Logan is set in 2029. Almost all mutants are dead, and the ones who are still alive are shadows of their former self. Logan (excellently played by Hugh Jackman) here is older and broken man without much hope. He’s sick, his body doesn’t heal as it used to and he’s drinking. Working as a driver, with mutant Caliban takes care of Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and tries to save money so that he and Xavier can buy a boat and escape from everything (there is one more reason which I won’t spoil for you). Xavier himself is not in any better condition than Logan – now he’s just a sick old man who needs to take his medicine. One day Logan is approached by a woman named Gabriella who asks him to take her and little girl Laura to the Canadian border. They are chased by mercenaries working for a corporation that did some experiments in Mexico. At first, he refuses, but after Gabriella is killed and Laura hides in his car, he’s drawn into it against his will. So together with Charles and Laura, Logan must run from mercenaries who are hunting them. In the process, he’ll discover that Laura is not what she seems and that she is pretty much like him.
I still remember when the first X-Men came out in 2000. It was a first successful superhero movie after disasters like Batman & Robin and Spawn almost killed this genre and showed that if you give comic book material in the hands of capable director (Bryan Singer who before this made masterpiece Usual Suspect and solid Apt Pupil) and approach it from more serious angle, good results can occur. Here we were introduced to Jackman’s Wolverine and Stewart’s Charles Xavier aka Professor X. Both of those actors did a very good job and played these characters couple of more times with the same success. Especially Jackman who was perfectly cast as Wolverine. But you never saw them like they are in 2017 Logan – old, sick, broken and without a hope. And both of them have never been better in their roles. It’s somehow sad to watch Professor X here. Same goes for Logan.
When they announced this movie, although they said they will do this character justice, I wasn’t expecting much. Wolverine: Origins was bad, next one called The Wolverine and also directed by James Mangold (Copland, Identity, Walk the Line) was so-so and last X-Men movie, Apocalypse, was probably the worst X-Men movie (yes, even worse than The Last Stand). But after I watched Logan I see they weren’t kidding – this is an R-rated action drama and first good Wolverine movie. Actually, it’s better than just good – I would say that Logan is, not only the best superhero movie of the year but one of the best superhero movies of all time. You see, Logan is really different superhero movie that stands out from the competition – it is serious, gritty and violent R-rated (SF) action drama in which all parts are very well done.
The story is solid (although not the best part of the movie), characters are well-written with clear motivations behind their actions, director Mangold and all actors did a pretty good job especially Jackman and Stewart who are excellent in their roles – actually I wouldn’t mind if Jackman got Oscar nomination for his work here. And it would be unfair not to mention Dafne Keen who’s pretty good here as Laura or X-23 and I wouldn’t mind seeing more of her in X-Men. Action scenes are very good and violent and dosed in right amounts.
As you probably know, this is the last time Jackman played Wolverine and Stewart Professor X. And this movie is an almost perfect send-off for these characters after everything they went through. If you didn’t already watch it, I recommend you to check it out. One of the best movies of the year.