I’ve seen a lot of movies, let alone many comic book films in my 36 years on the planet, but I’ve never seen one quite like ‘Logan‘ before. Starring Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Patrick Stewart (Professor X), Dafne Keen (Laura), Boyd Halbrook (Pierce), and Stephen Merchant (Caliban), Logan is an exercise in how to get the emotional resonance of a film to be pitch perfect. From James Mangold’s superb direction and out of the park performances from the main cast at hand, this is truly a movie that should strike some sort of a chord with you by the time the end credits roll.
Why? It connects flawlessly to the human condition of importance of family bonds, friendship, the tragedies associated with failing health/old age and of course the evils of corporate and government greed. Now, regardless of how egregiously high the violence level gets in this film, for some reason it manages to not overshadow the heartfelt moments you see as Logan and co. stand up for the sanctity of their values (and livelihood).
I should also single out Patrick Stewart’s performance as a very fragile and old Professor X– There’s one scene in particular, where he essentially loses control of his powers, and as he witnesses the fall out from this he is extremely apologetic and soul-crushed over what transpired– Quite a heartbreaking moment, indeed. Later on in the picture, he gets to somewhat redeem himself and throughout it all it’s Stewart’s masterful set of acting chops that makes you believe that even though his character is at his most vulnerable, he still has a ton of heart deep down. Add to it, the explosiveness of Jackman’s Wolverine, who is a very beaten down version of the iconic character you’ve been used to, and you find yourself rooting for him more than ever before during his moments of rage, burn out and depression.
Last but not least, the real “X” factor (no pun intended) during these festivities is Keen’s character of Laura– Just an incredible display of believable acting from such a young-ling here. When she senses danger, you believe it to the nth degree. If this character had been cast with a different actress it could have changed the entire tone of the picture, but Keen delivers one of the best young actor interpretations of a new character I’ve honestly ever seen.
By the end credits, you too should feel the adrenaline rush of following this group of characters as they fight back against those who wish to do them wrong. There’s a lot of sadness but somehow that feeling of hope still rises above all the beautiful chaos on full display from start to finish. This isn’t just a great comic book film for the ages, it’s just a darn good film in general that executes proper character motivations to make the blood and gore you see on screen to feel secondary to the real star of the film: substance. Go see it! Nuff said.
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