'Logan' A Review

Logan is a superhero/western set in a bleak near future. Logan aka Wolverine(Hugh Jackman) is an aging and ill chauffeur for obnoxious frat boys and petulant sorority girls close to the Mexican border. In a Mexican hideout he has stashed Professor X(Patrick Stewart) now in his 90's and suffering from a degenerative brain disease which makes his powers erratic and potentially lethal. Logan has enlisted the help of albino mutant locator Caliban(Stephen Merchant) to care for the Professor. While the three struggle along trying to save up enough money to buy a yacht and flee to the sea Logan is approached by Gabriella(Elizabeth Rodriguez) a former nurse at a mutant lab to safely transport Laura(Dafne Keen) to North Dakota. After a para-military attack Logan reluctantly agrees.

Jackman gives his best turn as Wolverine and one of the best performances of his career. Haunted, layered, and emotive he conveys the human of superhuman. He retains the gruff humor, the physicality, and the rough charm of his earlier portrays but this incarnation is more complicated, more pained, more vulnerable. He projects a profound regret but also an almost unshakable determination. The young Keen is incredibly dynamic and has magnetic chemistry with Jackman. As she doesn't speak for the first 2/3rds of the film its startling how much and how clearly she gets across physically given her age. It's a nuanced, sophisticated performance, violent but also almost naive. Stewart also outdoes himself in this incarnation of his longtime character. This is the first time that we not only see Professor X vulnerable, his virtually falling apart. He's weak, dying, something we've never seen. Stewart is able to imbue an incredible amount of soul into the diminished character. The supporting cast are all excellent, not a discordant performance or piece of casting in the bunch.

Although set in the X-Men world powers and CGI effects are used sparingly. The focus is on the story and the emotional arc of the characters. More a reflective character study with(impressive) action than a superhero movie. Given the recent glut of those types of films Logan feels not only refreshing by almost transcendent. That being said the action is incredibly violent, intense, and compelling. The reality of the blood and guts reflect the honesty of the characters emotion. It achieves a reality, perhaps, no other superhero movie has managed or even aimed for.

Meditative and melancholic, brutal but hopeful.

See It.