LOGAN

“Nature made me a freak. Man made me a weapon. And God made it last too long.”

I’ve been quite excited for Logan for a while now. While I was sceptical about a third Wolverine solo film, given the other two were, well, the other two, in my mind I knew that it would give Hugh Jackman one final chance to shine on his own. Then the rumours and reports came about the film, and my nerves went away, especially when news came that Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier would be returning too. And then the first trailer hit the internet, and I became even more excited…

Man I love that trailer...

But now the movie is actually here. Hugh Jackman’s last outing as Wolverine. God, that feels weird to say. Seventeen years and this is it…The end.

The year is 2029, and there aren’t very many mutants left. Logan, as always, is a survivor. With him is Charles Xavier, who isn’t exactly the man he once was. The world is becoming a more dangerous place for the remaining mutants, and thrown into their lives is the unstoppable rage machine known as X-23.

That’s all I’m going to say about the plot, because I want to avoid spoilers as much as possible. Needless to say, the plot is a far better effort than the first two Wolverine solo films. It’s strong, well thought through and uses the source material where it needs to, but does its own thing as well. Thinking about it, that’s one of the things the film does really well. Sticking to the confusing and complicated continuity of the X-men franchise is a difficult job, and for the most part, Logan just does its own thing. Yes the plot works within the confines of what came before it, but it doesn’t feel like the script was butchered down so it made complete sense within the franchise. Logan is very much its own story, and works mainly due to the fact that a lot has changed since the last time we saw these characters.

While the plot does work really well for a final outing, there are parts that feel drawn out. Sitting in the cinema, you’ll feel the length of the movie at times. It’s not necessarily boring, there’s always something happening, but parts of it are slow. Whether that’s for better or worse I’m not sure about yet. I just viewed it as when the plot was slowing down for a bit, the characters got a chance to shine. One of the plot’s other let-downs was that certain aspects, I won’t mention which ones, felt very similar to X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Obviously better, but still, that’s not a film you want to copy.

The film has two stand-out performances, and they belong to the two returning characters, Logan and Charles. After seventeen years of appearing as Wolverine, you’d think Hugh Jackman’s performance would be something like Jennifer Lawrence’s in X-Men: Apocalypse, bored, tired of the job and wanted to be anywhere else but there. That doesn’t show, not with Jackman. I’d say this film is in the top three of his performances in the franchise, the other two being Days of Future Past and X2.

Logan's age is getting to him, but he's still as brutal as ever...

Jackman's more personal scenes really give his talent justice, while still reminding you that he’s an unstoppable killing machine. He plays the aged and wearied Logan almost to perfection, and it becomes clear as the film goes on that this two-hundred year old man is starting to feel his age.

Patrick Stewart’s performance is Charles Xavier took me by surprise. Xavier isn’t what he used to be, his brain is failing him, and his mind is deteriorating.

It’s a side of the character, especially Stewart’s version, that I wasn’t expecting or had seen before. His performance is spot on, both for the character and his illness. Some of his scenes, and the mentions of the terrible accident he caused were genuinely moving. Part of me was quite saddened to see the character like this, especially given the part he played in the original films.

The other three main roles in the film belong to Dafne Keen’s X-23/Laura, Boyd Holbrook’s Donald Pierce and Richard E. Grant’s Dr. Rice. While Pierce and Rice serve as suitable villains for the story, there unfortunately wasn’t much meat to their characters, and in Pierce’s case, I found that his most interesting aspect was his metal hand. (Which looked awesome by the way) It certainly felt like they suffered from Marvel’s villain problem, which is weird considering it’s a Fox-made film. However, the lack of a substantial villain did mean more screen time for the heroes, and Hugh Jackman in particular.

Dafne Keen’s Laura was a bit of a surprise. I’ll admit, I was expecting a stand out role, but what I got certainly wasn’t that. While she is good in the role, especially since it’s her cinematic debut, her character wasn’t everything I thought it would be.

Yes, she’s as brutal and powerful as Wolverine, but I would've liked there to have been more to the character.

There is one aspect of the film which, from the very first scene, makes Logan feel very different. It’s not the fact that the X-Men aren’t in it, it’s not that it’s Logan’s last film. It’s that it’s a 15. And that’s means bloody and brutal combat. And it works. It works damn well. While the 15 rating does mean characters swear more, sometimes seemingly pointlessly so, it does also mean that Logan’s claws actually do some damage. Don’t be surprised when you see hands flying and heads rolling. This film is brutal, and that only makes it better.

Believe me, this is nothing...

On the whole, Logan serves as a bloody and brutal last outing for the character. While at times the plot can be slow, the attention to characters, mentions to stories of old and the fact that in this world the X-Men are the stuff of legend were all used to make the film ever better. It’s not the best film in the franchise, but it is a damn sight better than it’s previous Wolverine solo movies. And the fact that it stands largely apart from the rest of the X-Men Universe allows it to be it's own thing. I like that. Yes, there are elements of the plot that, looking back, I would change. People might not agree with me, but I’d still change them. Don’t be mistaken though, Logan isn’t a hugely fun film, unlike perhaps X-Men First Class. This is a world where Mutants are unwanted and Logan is feeling his age. This film is about its characters, the journeys leading them here and giving them a suitable and respectful last chance to shine. And shine they do.