Logan
Directed by: James Mangold
Written by: Scott Frank & James Mangold and Michael Green
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Dafne Keen, Patrick Stewart, Boyd Holbrook, Stephan Merchant, Richard E. Grant, Eriq La Salle, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Elise Neal, Quincy Fouse
Action/Drama/Sci-Fi - 137 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 26 Feb 2017
Written by: Scott Frank & James Mangold and Michael Green
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Dafne Keen, Patrick Stewart, Boyd Holbrook, Stephan Merchant, Richard E. Grant, Eriq La Salle, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Elise Neal, Quincy Fouse
Action/Drama/Sci-Fi - 137 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 26 Feb 2017
Hugh Jackman has donned Wolverine’s adamantium claws nine times in different variations of the X-Men cinematic universe. I am not counting the magazine face Deadpool wears featuring Jackman which some people say makes 10. For multiple reasons, Wolverine has always been the most popular X-Man. He is nowhere near the most powerful, but something about his gruff exterior, mysterious past, and seething rage make audiences clamor for standalone Wolverine films rather than Storm or Cyclops movies. Jackman (Eddie the Eagle) claims this is the last time he will play the clawed and flawed figure as well as Patrick Stewart’s last go around as Professor Xavier. Unfortunately, for such a built up capstone and farewell story, it’s about as fun as school in summertime.
Wolverine was always the darkest presence in the X-Men and with director James Mangold’s intention to up the maturity level and violence to tell an R-rated tale, Logan was ripe to transcend the teenager-focused standard X-Man film. But an alcoholic, confused hero, dozens of skulls punctured by claws, and a sundowning, geriatric Professor X does not a compelling blockbuster make. Mangold is no stranger to the character behind the angry claws as he was the creative force behind 2013’s The Wolverine, that odd story set in Japan where Logan fought ninjas and a giant robot. I have not taken to any of the three standalone Wolverine films not because he is nowhere near my favorite X-Man, but they come across as redundant and lack the punch of the crafty X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Wolverine was always the darkest presence in the X-Men and with director James Mangold’s intention to up the maturity level and violence to tell an R-rated tale, Logan was ripe to transcend the teenager-focused standard X-Man film. But an alcoholic, confused hero, dozens of skulls punctured by claws, and a sundowning, geriatric Professor X does not a compelling blockbuster make. Mangold is no stranger to the character behind the angry claws as he was the creative force behind 2013’s The Wolverine, that odd story set in Japan where Logan fought ninjas and a giant robot. I have not taken to any of the three standalone Wolverine films not because he is nowhere near my favorite X-Man, but they come across as redundant and lack the punch of the crafty X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Logan’s storyline appears to operate in a separate universe than the previous X-Men films. It already requires a Ph.D. to separate and correctly place where each film stands in time considering some of them jump back and forth in time launching alternate reality tangents, but Mangold and co-writers Scott Frank and Michael Green skip over and allude to a catastrophic mutant cleansing. Hiding out on the Mexican side of the Texas/Mexico border, Logan looks like garbage. His self-healing body repairs itself far slower than it used to, he can’t function without a fifth of liquor flowing through his system, and even his claws fail to fully deploy all the time.
Also back at the ranch are Professor X (Stewart, Green Room) and the mutant tracking albino Caliban (Stephen Merchant). Xavier has dementia and that is dangerous in a mind capable of interacting with and even mentally attacking any other mind on the planet. Watching a 90 year-old Xavier utter nonsense, argue with his caretakers, and whine about his treatment is about as fun as changing an adult diaper. Logan just needs to lay low long enough to earn enough money to fully retire and let Xavier live out however many days he has left. But this is the wolverine we’re talking about; the outside world can never just let him be.
Also back at the ranch are Professor X (Stewart, Green Room) and the mutant tracking albino Caliban (Stephen Merchant). Xavier has dementia and that is dangerous in a mind capable of interacting with and even mentally attacking any other mind on the planet. Watching a 90 year-old Xavier utter nonsense, argue with his caretakers, and whine about his treatment is about as fun as changing an adult diaper. Logan just needs to lay low long enough to earn enough money to fully retire and let Xavier live out however many days he has left. But this is the wolverine we’re talking about; the outside world can never just let him be.
A young girl named Laura (Dafne Keen) falls into his lap requiring protection. An evil corporation focused on genetic engineering and treating kids as lab rats as they attempt to clone mutant powers into babies to create super soldiers really want Laura back. Coincidentally, Laura has adamantium claws and the pissed off temper to match. She is reminiscent of Hit-Girl from Kick-Ass but lacks the personality to function in pleasant society and is more violent as she has no prohibition from stabbing her claws through eyeballs, ear holes, and jugular veins. Logan, Xavier, and Laura end up on a cross-country road trip complete with infighting, intermittent fight scenes, and a chance to see Logan glimpse the tranquil family life he never enjoyed.
Throwing subtlety out the window, Mangold compares Logan to Shane, the epitome of the righteous man who sacrifices all for justice and standing up to evil when leaving town to save his own skin is out of the question. Laura watches select scenes from Shane on TV while Xavier rhapsodizes about how much Shane meant to him as a child. However, Shane was never as physically and mentally damaged as Logan is here. Jackman as Logan seriously looks like shit making his brief berserk fight scenes seem that much more unbelievable. The evil henchman chasing our road-trippers played by Boyd Holbrook (Run All Night) has the same amount of empathy for his fellow man as his cybernetic hand does. There is also a fully-grown and superior Wolverine knock-off who seems more animal than human. Known as the X-24, this thing repeatedly strips so much flesh off of Logan, I cannot fathom how his body doesn’t just collapse from lack of bones and skin.
Yet, for all the action and blood, Logan is a character driven story about sacrifice and redemption. The reluctant hero sees the right thing to do right in front of him, but he’s too damn tired and hungover to see it through. Mangold brought the pieces of an effective movie to send Logan into the sunset, but put it all together, and Logan is a borderline miserable time in the movie theater. Perhaps nine movies is too many for a character not as complex as fans demand that he is. I would rather learn more about the albino Caliban than watch Logan get carved up and filleted once more. Dafne Keen as young and intense Laura is a joy to watch but that’s just me yearning for fresh blood in this played out scenario. An R-rated and pitch black plot for Logan has merit, but Mangold overplays the doom and gloom and instead of a fond farewell leaves only a sour taste in our mouths.
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