Having lived with a character for your entire childhood takes a toll on you, it’s hard to let go. But all good things must come to an end and boy we have the ending we wanted! After 17 years of relentless and unwavering service our beloved Hugh Jackman is giving up his claws (or so he says).
The Story and Characters.
The movie starts with Logan aka Wolverine going on a killing spree when he’s overpowered by bunch of thugs. The very first scene ensures exactly what you sat down in the theatre for, which is gore, Hugh knocking it out of the park as Wolverine and a convincing world where no one even a badass character such as wolverine could be away from danger.
What James Mangold(Director) has done splendidly to this movie is that he created an immense level of hardships, vulnerabilities and threats for the character Logan and Prof Charles Xavier to overcome. The fight is more rewarding and entertaining when the hero is at his worst and yet survives rather than having no threats and fears to conquer.
You can see Logan getting punched, kicked, stabbed and shot. Which makes you believe of how much has he endured throughout his prolonged life and has become too old to take on the world single-handedly. He has to take care of his mentor-friend ‘Charles Xavier’ who is suffering from dementia and brain seizures and is currently the most harmful mutant alive. On the other hand his healing abilities have abundantly slowed down making him suffer in his own body.
The foundation of the movie makes you pity both Xavier and Logan being stranded and on the run. This might make you remember the time when Xavier and Wolverine held the president in his office warning him of an eminent evolution.
Then comes X-23 aka Laura, an extremely fierce and bleeding image of Logan. She’s an escaped child prisoner from a mutant experiment organization, having claws and temperament similar to Wolverine. Logan takes it upon himself to safeguard that child and take her to a safe haven.
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Logan on his mission finds out that Laura is in fact his daughter (obviously), and starts caring for her in secret trying to avoid any bond from building up between them. With all the responsibilities and vulnerabilities on his shoulder, he crosses paths with his own demon.
X-24 a soulless manufactured soldier with claws and face exactly the same as Wolverine, but more dangerous and indestructible. It is an immense pleasure to have seen an adversary literally equal to the original Wolverine locking claws with him; a worthy and satisfying opponent. Metaphorically it seems as if Logan is fighting with the animal that was once within him.
The Acting
Needless to say, this is Hugh Jackman’s best performance till date; he saved his best for last. His grace will forever shine upon the character ‘Wolverine’. Charles Xavier is like never before, he’s annoying impatient, powerless and broken. You don’t expect to hear F- bombs from the highly intellectual person such as Prof X, but kudos to Sir Patrick Stewart for pulling it off.
Dafne Keen played the little monster with utmost perfection; it’s highly rare to see so much rage and mercilessness from a child actress. She’s cute and adorable normally but when surrounded by danger she could bring limbs and blood to shed.
The Review
Logan is beyond any typical superhero movie, it has all the brutality, cruelty and affliction that you don’t expect from a comic based movie but pray that such characteristics are bestowed upon a Wolverine movie. You can see the hero taking the severe hit yet overcoming from it, unlike any comic book hero. James Mangold took this unimaginable and improbable surge of making a dark and R-rated Wolverine movie and excel at it.
Logan has breathtaking and jaw dropping action sequences unlike any Marvel or DC movie. Apart from all the actions the movie is mostly grounded upon the depths of the characters, characters that were once indestructible are running for their lives and making immense compromises to keep breathing. A bond that is never sparkling but existing within Logan and Charles is something to cherish. A partnership and bond between Logan and Laura as father and daughter is admirable.
The movie can make you cry or at least choke you when the climax is done. With seemingly justified execution of the story and absolutely no clichés Logan has the potential to be one of the best comic book movies ever made.
