MOVIE REVIEW: LOGAN (2017)

**CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS**

I wasn’t a massive fan of the Brian Singer directed original X-Men series which began in the at the birth of the Millennium. However, as big budget popcorn fodder the early cinema offerings were highly entertaining and the idea of good and bad Mutants with special powers battling each other was very exciting. Of course, the biggest villains were the humans – politicians, scientists or military – attempting to control the mutant population as their kind were seen as dangerous outsiders; like multi-coloured and multi-skilled vermin who must be destroyed.

So, thematically, the X-Men comics and films are very strong as they represent the worst side of humanity which attempts to vanquish that which is different and does not fit into the hegemonic, natural and conventional norm. Indeed, human beings have (including Deadpool (2016) throughout ten films both attempted to weaponize or destroy the mutants, but it hasn’t worked! There are many more films to come.

Having said that this, I have read, is Hugh Jackman’s final adventure as Jimmy Howlett AKA the Wolverine. Jackman’s presence alone is worth the admission fee on Logan and his physical prowess and acting ability, allied with his jaded wreck of a persona make this outing an entertaining, if slightly over-long popcorn muncher. I had somewhat higher expectations based on other reviews and fan responses on social media I had read. Because here was a different Wolverine film apparently, full of depth and sadness and real emotions. Well, it has that but essentially it’s another chase movie with the requisite explosions, spiking deaths and mighty roars!

So while James Mangold and his army of writers package the usual generic and nefarious mercenaries (led by Boyd Holbrook) and a mad Scientist (Richard E. Grant) in pursuit of Wolverine, aged Professor X (brilliant Patrick Stewart) and a young girl (impressive newcomer Dafna Keen), we do get some swearing and fantastically brutal violence that really added to the enjoyment of the movie. The action scenes are also expertly handled and the surprising mutant baddie who appears is a frightening joy.

The opening scenes of the film were my favourite as Wolverine, Charles Xavier and their albino assistance Caliban – portrayed with pale compassion by an unrecognisable Stephen Merchant – are holed up on a desert-based industrial complex just trying to survive day-to-day. With Professor X’s health failing his mind is a ticking time-bomb as what seems to be Alzheimer’s takes a grip. I thought if most of the film had been like this it would have been a risky yet rewarding character drama. Indeed, the quieter moments are the best such as Logan putting his ‘father’ Xavier to bed and when they momentarily play “happy families” at the dinner table. Yet, it’s not long before the soldiers arrive again to spoil the peace and all hell breaks loose.

Overall, Logan (2017) is not as good as X-Men: First Class (2011) or Days of Future Past (2014) in terms of sheer cinematic joie de vivre in my opinion. However, the power of Jackman’s, Stewart’s and Merchant’s performances ground the film in a pathos and believable humanity many comic book adaptations lack. While I’m more of an Avengers fan it will be sad not to see Jackman and Stewart back in their iconic roles. While this is a very good X-Men genre film the opening scenes offered something far deeper than the chase movie we got. So, while it has some sad stuff it’s probably not as deep as everyone says it is. But it is an enjoyable film and a fitting finale for Jackman’s muscular-cigar-chomping-head-splitting-cynical-mutant-with-a-giant-adamantium-heart called the Wolverine. (Mark: 8 out of 11).