Logan is directed by James Mangold and is both Hugh Jackman's and Patrick Stewart's very last time playing Wolverine and Professor Charles Xavier, respectively. It's also the second R-rated movie set in the X-Men franchise and, from the trailers, was promised to be not only a very violent and grim take on the character and journey of Logan Howlett, but also an incredibly gripping and emotional personal story.
And, I gotta say, it delivered.
Basically, in Logan, Logan is in a shitty place, and I'm already explaining it in the best light that I possibly can. He drives a limousine around and he hates it, but it's the only way he can earn enough money to survive and to make sure that Professor X doesn't die. He's always in a pissy mood, and both he and the professor are just done with life - they're just waiting for death to take them or to just get away from everything else. Logan then comes across this girl that circumstances explained in the movie will force him to protect, and from there, we have everything we were promised in the trailers: a violent, beautifully Americana, grim, and gut-wrenching emotional story of an old man's quest for purpose.
In case you haven't been able to tell just yet, I really like this movie.
First of all, the performances in this movie were all great. Besides Patrick Stewart and Hugh Jackman being fantastic in it (that in itself already is kind of a given), Dafne Keen (who plays X-23 in the movie) was mind-blowingly bad-ass. She had a don't-f***-with-me face throughout most of the movie - I mean, kids don't usually pull that off too well, but she does to an insane degree. Her performance also gave me something that I really haven't felt from a movie in quite a while, and that's the feeling of discovery. So props to Logan for that.
Seriously, though - this kid was really good.
Stephen Merchant was great in the movie, too. He plays Caliban (a mutant with the ability to sniff out other mutants) and serves, largely, as caretaker of Professor X when Logan's busy with his crappy limo job. He reminded me a bit of K-2SO (yeah, from Rogue One), but a more foul-mouthed and genuinely compassionate version of K-2 (if that makes sense). I thought he was great, and I would've liked to see more of his character.
I also really liked the villain/s, too. They were menacing, they were badass, and always had some sort of advantage against Logan, and I thought that was interesting.
Another thing I really liked in this movie was that they kept the story small and to a very personal level, and that was refreshing to see amidst the slew of movies with city- or world-threatening consequences. The story being that small gave us a lot of time to bond with the characters and make us care about them, a lot. It played our emotions, and that was something a superhero movie hadn't exactly been able to do for me in a while.
Have I touched on the violence yet?
HOLY SHIT, the violence.
This movie is brutal, man - faces get slashed open, limbs come flying off, people get stabbed (repeatedly, I might add), and there's a lot of blood to go around. I'd seen John Wick 2 the previous month and Logan blew my brain out of my skull. I used to wonder exactly what would happen if Wolverine punched someone in the face, and now I know. It was amazing, it was beautiful.
And I think the best thing about Logan is that James Mangold managed to put together a film that's not just a great X-Men movie, but a genuinely amazing Western-style film that, while hitting some beats that one would generally associate with a comic book movie, packs a seriously heavy emotional playmaker.
The only gripe I can find about this movie is that it moves very slowly in some scenes. Granted, Logan is two-and-a-half hours long, so it was bound to happen somewhere. However, they do maximize those slow moments to make sure that the film's length or pace doesn't bore you.
As you might've guessed, I'm more than satisfied with this very well-made farewell to Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart, and I couldn't have asked for a better send-off. It's gloriously violent, incredibly gripping, filled to the brim with emotions, and, most importantly, Logan is totally excellent.
Otherwise known as a Big George for all you old-timey fans.
If I could offer just one piece of advice before going into this movie, it would be to pack tissues.
Have you seen Logan? If you have, I wanna know what you thought of it - leave a comment below (pretty please?). And, as always, this has been Rafa. Stay classy.
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