18 February, 2017
We have just under a month to go until we discover whether or not writers and co. can deliver... The auto is stopped, and stopped suddenly.
The film establishes its template in the credits sequence, as our scruffy anti-hero is brutally attacked by would-be carjackers who then meet grisly ends.
James Mangold, he of the fairly engrossing 3:10 to Yuma remake, he of the now oft-parodied Oscar nominated biopic Walk the Line, and of course the man behind the camera on 2013's The Wolverine.
The movie hints at a past tragedy and no new mutants have been born in years, though Xavier's delirious rantings speak of a new mutant. When an army of mercenaries shows up to take her back, Logan and Professor X must take her on the road to keep her safe. Constant redefinition may be more risky financially - you never quite know what you're going to get - but when it works, it can be handsome. Some may say that the violence is excessive and unneeded, which in places it is, but Logan is so good in terms of its narrative and well-written characters that you soon forget about all of that. Plus, it's kind of awesome just how young Jackman looked and sounded when this series got started.
Into their dying world steps a former nurse named Gabriela (Elizabeth Rodriguez) and a young, mute girl named Laura (Dafne Keen).
Right from the start, it's clear that Jackman's Wolverine is a fading man.
Logan Trailer: Stunning stills from the upcoming Wolverine movie. His body bears the scars of his life's scrapes, and his wounds no longer instantly heal. She holds her own against vets Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart like a pro and successfully navigates away from the clichés that befall many a child actor. Logan himself relies on his assorted addictions just to get through life. (The reveal of which is better left for seeing in theaters). There are moments that refer to adventures past, and an underlying assumption that you know the key basics of the character. After a couple of encounters with a woman who could either be a Wolverine superfan (because X-Men comics exist in this movie, so they have fans) or somebody who desperately needs the retired hero's help, we are introduced to both X-23 (Dafne Keen) and the enhanced humans who are out to retrieve her, led by the aggravatingly charismatic Donald Pierce (Boyd Holdbrook). From that description you may think Logan lacks originality, but using these iconic tropes allows the filmmaker to pay homage not only some of the greatest motion picture visionaries to ever grace the screen, but also to the source material that embedded deep into Wolverine's DNA. But what I do feel comfortable saying is that the way the relationship between Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Logan is depicted in this film is unexpectedly intimate and powerful. Turns out that's correct, just not the border you may be expecting. At times the bloody gore is so graphic, Logan feels like an actual horror film, even exceeding that of Deadpool. The film is opening the Berlin Film Festival today which explains the uncommonly early embargo drop for reviews.
But then it feels real as a outcome. Sometimes in the real world, not everything has an explanation, and that's what happens in Logan.
That plus a a slightly ridiculous villain appearance that came off as too cartoonish for the rest of the film, to the point where this viewer was momentarily taken out of the film, are the only sour notes the film leaves. It also means that they pack over two hours of movie with everything they wanted to get out of their system before sending Logan off into the sunset, leaving the middle of the film dragging.
There are handsome moments, too.
