Logan

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In the year 2029, Logan (played yet again to perfection by Hugh Jackman) is skirting by as a limo driver in the borderlands. He makes just enough to get medicine for an aging, senile Professor Xavier (also played to perfection by Patrick Stewart). He is aided in nursing the former leader of the X-Men by Caliban (Stephen Merchant). This is a world where mutants haven’t been naturally born in 25 years, and most of them have been dead for some time. Things change for Logan (wanting to shed his reputation as “The Wolverine”) when a woman approaches him, asking for help with a young girl named Laura (excellently portrayed by newcomer Dafne Keen). This movie is a character study, a somber look at a superhero that is now past his prime. Logan is the hard-R movie it needs to be. This is movie where he chops off limbs, gets blood on his claws. He doesn’t heal like he used to, so you see a lot of his injuries. Director James Mangold directs the movie’s action scenes perfectly. They are violent and bloody, but they all feel distinct from one another. Boyd Holbrook portrays the film’s primary antagonist, Donald Pierce. He brings a sort of slimy perfection to his performance. Without spoiling anything, the film’s ending fairly bittersweet for me. The storytelling and structure is pretty damn solid (if not a little bit uneven). The first two acts are excellent and flawless. The third is good, but not always as good as what came before. There are some pretty damn heartbreaking moments in the third act, and they work perfectly. However, they introduce a character that, to my knowledge, wasn’t in the comics. I didn’t necessarily hate or dislike it, but it did take me a little while to warm up to it. Overall, despite a couple minor problems here and there, Logan works because of excellent acting, great direction, and a fantastic first two acts.

9 / 10