When it comes to film, high expectations are often difficult to fulfill. I’d much rather go into a film with a neutral state of mind—or even better, with low expectations—yet if that were the case, most of us wouldn’t see films in the first place. People seek films they anticipate to enjoy (save for those brave, masochist critics who go out of their way to view the worst so you don’t have too), and Logan and The Lego Batman Movie have been two films I’ve highly anticipated since their announcements—the former for its beautifully put together trailer (an eye-catching promo, appearing unlike any previously made X-Men film), promising R-rating (a rarity to see in the superhero genre, and even rarer to be seen done effectively), and clear-cut influence from a certain critically acclaimed video game. Yet does Logan live up to my unreasonable expectations? While not the masterpiece I desired, Logan is a very good, albeit flawed, film, a successful attempt at a serious R-rated superhero movie, and one of the best X-Men films to date.
Set in the year 2029, where Mutants have nearly gone extinct, our ex-hero Logan (aka Wolverine, aka Hugh Jackman) is slowly dying due to the Adamantium within his body poisoning him—causing him to age and his healing factor to fade. Logan works as a limo chauffeur, using his earnings to buy medicine for his old friend/teacher Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), who is gradually losing his mind due to Alzheimer’s. One day, Logan is approached by a woman seeking the Wolverine for assistance—offering a large sum of money for him to transport a young girl named Laura (Dafne Keen) to a safe haven in North Dakota. Logan accepts the deal, and, after a close encounter with the biotechnology corporation Alkali-Transigen (who wish to reclaim the girl), begins his long journey with Charles and Laura.
MAJOR SPOILERS THROUGHOUT THE REMAINING REVIEW! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
Logan’s R-rating isn’t just for show; the F-word is thrown around at least a couple dozen times (Logan’s sailor mouth has been upped to eleven), and there is gore: lots, and lots of vibrant, visible gore. The film’s opening scene involves Logan dismembering several limbs and impaling skulls with his claws (all in plain sight), while it introduces Laura’s mutant powers by having the girl off-screen mutilate several tough enemies—revealing her carrying the decapitated head of their strongest as she menacingly approaches the remaining foes. Logan contains thoroughly engaging, spectacularly gruesome action scenes—some of the best combat sequences I’ve seen in film this decade. The scenes get creative with their violence as well, such as when the Professor experiences a telepathic seizure—paralyzing everyone in the area except for the Adamantium-coated characters. The scene is exhilarating to watch as Logan gradually advances (slowed down by Charles’ psychic output) towards the surrounding enemies—all frozen and looking utterly terrified as the Wolverine begins impaling them one by one, helpless to stop his assault.
Like Father, like daughter, Laura is a beast when it comes to ferocity. Her first fight sequence alone displays just how badass a little girl she is—slaughtering men left and right in a vicious display. I must applaud director James Mangold for having the balls to showcase Laura’s healing abilities through gruesome injuries. Most films (even R-rated ones) will avoid severely injuring children, or at least not openly display it; Logan, on the other hand, has an antagonist fire a freaking harpoon rifle visibly into Laura’s stomach to restrain her, blood and all. The moment alone showcases:
- Laura can be injured despite being a kid
- Laura is not invincible/invulnerable despite being a kid
- Laura is being treated, by both director and foes, as a dangerous fighter (which she is) despite being a kid.
Logan effectively balances its father and daughter’s moments of helpfulness and helplessness. Laura needs help sometimes, and Logan, likewise, will require backup from his mini-Wolverine. Such balance is best showcased during an awesome scene where father and daughter team up to tear apart a bunch of fodder soldiers, before tag-teaming to fight X-24. By doing so, the film avoids making Laura both a faux action girl and an unstoppable Mary Sue.
Logan contains a solid amount of successful foreshadowing and Chekhov’s Guns throughout the film—whether it be the more apparent Adamantium bullet playing a decisive role in killing “Logan”, or the more subtle mention of Logan’s dislike for guns: making the villains’s unpreparedness at his use of one more believable (as well as giving a rather cathartic death to a main antagonist). Jackman, Stewart and Keen all give impressive displays. Anyone who’s seen Patrick Stewart in a comedy knows the man can be crude, crass and hilarious, so seeing him bring such vulgarity to his famous X-Men role was an unexpected delight. One of the Professor’s first lines is telling Logan to “F@#% off”, who amusingly replies; “So you do know who I am?” In a later scene, Logan demands to see that Charles swallowed all his pills, to which the Professor replies with an adolescent “ahhhugg!” while sticking his tongue out. These arguments between Logan and Charles are both entertaining and touching; just two old companions, who’ve been through so much together, bickering—both trying to keep the other “alive” in their own way. While not my favorite of his performances (Prisoners being his magnum opus), Hugh Jackman still gives a damn-solid delivery—being a terrific way to end(?) his character’s legacy. The newest and youngest of the main cast, Dafne Keen, delivers a similarly praise worthy performance—going above and beyond what’s expected from an 11 year old actor (Keen nails the screams of a feral, overpowered child).
MAJOR DOUBLE SPOILERS FOR BOTH LOGAN AND THE LAST OF US BEGIN: Now I know some of you will argue Logan’s plot took more from its comic source material than any video game, but I stand by that the writers took some clear-cut influence from The Last of Us; perhaps not as much as I initially anticipated from its trailers, but still a noticeable amount. From what I noticed, both the film and video game share these similarities:
- There’s a middle-aged gruff, yet badass male as its protagonist.
- The protagonist has developed a cold heart from intense loss of previous loved ones, and now only cares for himself and his closest companion(s).
- The protagonist is paid to smuggle a young girl across the country to an apparent safe zone.
- The girl is a badass in her own right, and isn’t afraid to fight, kill and/or (later on in the film’s case) talk back.
- Along the way, the protagonist tragically loses his then closest companion.
- The protagonist and co. meet an African American family who they bond with.
- The girl gets her own scene with the youngest male of said family.
- The family end up all dying in some horribly tragic fashion, their last scene involving the oldest male aiming his gun at the protagonist.
- The protagonist stays aloof to the girl for some time, before gradually bonding with her.
- The girl saves the protagonist’s life at some point, who eventually thanks her after some hesitancy.
- At some point, the protagonist becomes afraid of losing the girl as he’s lost loved ones before, and tries parting ways with her after “completing the objective”.
- The two have an argument over such splitting, with the girl wanting him to stay.
- The protagonist ultimately cannot leave the girl, and returns to her side.
- At some point, the protagonist gets impaled through the chest.
- By the story’s end, the protagonist and girl have formed a strong father-daughter bond.
- The majority of the story’s noteworthy characters die.
- There’s a lot of swearing and violence.
- The story’s ultimate theme is of family and love.
- The story is quite somber and tragic, yet ends on a relatively hopeful note.
Logan’s biggest fault is its villains and the focus given to them throughout the film. The film’s primary antagonist, Donald Pierce (Boyd Holbrook), is a somewhat enjoyable asshole at first, yet quickly grows trite and frustrating as his villainous plot armor allows the relatively normal human to continuously survive deadly situations until the finale (where he, admittedly, receives a rather satisfying death). The character should have served as an early roadblock for Logan and Laura: fighting and dying during their initial major battle, before he became a mundane, stock villain. The film’s other, non-Wolverine, big baddy (Zander Rice, played by Richard Grant), likewise suffers from problematic villain traits: he’s a bland, stereotypical mad scientist who survives situations where he clearly should have been killed (particularly by Logan). The film constantly interrupts its protagonists’s journey to check in on what these "devious" foes are up to. Not only does this take away from the film’s main focus (the growing bond between Logan and Laura), as well as disrupt the plot’s pacing, but it’s also pretty tiring as the villains aren’t entertaining/interesting enough to warrant such check ins.
It also would have helped if the villains didn’t perform so many clichéd actions—such as Pierce continuing to restrain and/or kill Logan while having the mutant pinned down and powerless instead of completely ignoring the dangerous man once Laura appears. And why does Pierce and his men go about capturing Laura—a powerful mutant with super strength, speed, healing and Adamantium claws—so lightly? As if expecting the feral child they’ve trained to fight to simply surrender? Fewer villain clichés would have definitely made the film’s quality better, as well as made for much better villains. X-24 is the film's most tolerable antagonist, and that’s because he works the most effectively with Logan’s plot direction. X-24 is simply a mutant-terminator: he doesn’t talk or monologue, he has both amazing offensive and defensive abilities (making his survival understandable), and his sole purpose is to pursue and capture Laura (slaughtering anyone who gets in the way). Being Logan's carbon copy, likewise, allows for some unexpected and tragic moments. The way I see it, Pierce and his men should have all been slaughtered in their first action scene. Rice, realizing how much he’s underestimated Laura and Logan, sends out X-24 to pursue them (taking Caliban with him)—giving the film its sense of tension from a pursuing monster, who would not require lengthy check-ins on, while allowing the film to focus even further on its main relationship.
Predictability is another standout problem in Logan. Despite being one of the darkest superhero films, Logan retains the usual superhero tropes, only here they’re mixed with common apocalyptic motifs. It’s easy to tell where the plot is going, and it rarely deviates from the expected. Who didn’t expect the Munson family to brutally die the moment they introduced themselves? That’s another issue actually: there’s a ton of deaths in Logan, yet only two I felt genuine sorrow for—with those two happening to be the franchise’s main characters (one who’s already “died” in a previous film). While the film does give effort to developing the Munson family, the effort is so minimal they barely come across as anything more than tragic victims. Poor Caliban (Stephen Merchant) is another example of a tragic victim, as well as an unexpected example of prejudice in the film. I find it unsettling to hear the Professor—a man who’s built his entire life around treating others equally, no matter their mutation—refer to Caliban as a “f@#%ing albino”, particularly in such a harsh tone. It’s even more unsettling for a series focused on the evil's of prejudice to use stereotypical tropes on such a character.
Despite its faults, the positive aspects in Logan are really good—some of the best I’ve seen in any X-Men film (including Deadpool). It’s a shame the film couldn’t match such high quality all-around, for had it, Logan really would have been the next Dark Knight. Nonetheless, Logan is one of the best X-Men films to be made, a great way to conclude(?) Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart’s iconic roles, and a successful R-rated superhero film.
…Oh, and that Deadpool 2 teaser/Superman parody was a hilarious delight! It felt similar to getting a Pixar opening short, only with far more violence and profanity. I truly hope they do these more often for future Fox films. It doesn’t even have to be for a sequel; just give me a Deadpool opening short and I’ll be a very happy man.
