To See or Not to See: Logan

The latest film installment of the X-Men universe is Logan. Unlike the previous movies in the franchise, though, Logan is lot less flashy and a whole lot grittier.

It’s several years after the glory of the X-Men days. Age and time have not been good to Logan. He is a hero who, because of the passage of time, has been relegated to the past and lost all of his friends. He is now a limo driver in Texas. He drinks a lot. The film opens with him asleep in his limo at some gas station. He awakes to a gang of men trying to steal the hub caps off his car. They shoot him. Naturally, he slashes their limbs off. The year is 2029, and mutants have all but disappeared from humanity. With the money he makes driving, Logan is taking care of Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart)–who is stashed in Mexico. Susceptible to earth-shattering seizures now, Professor X is taken care of by an albino mutant, Caliban (Stephen Merchant). Logan’s banal routine all changes when he is approached by Gabriela (Elizabeth Rodriguez), a Mexican nurse, with a young mutant girl, Laura (Dafne Keen), in tow.

Laura is being hunted by Donald Price (Boyd Holbrook) and the security company he works for. Eventually convinced by both Charles and Laura’s abilities (she, coincidentally, has Logan’s exact abilities), Logan decides to take her to “Eden.” At that rendez-vous point, Laura will escape to Canada with her mutant friends, where they will be safe. What ensues is a heroic, bloody journey to redemption.

Logan, obviously, is not the typical superhero action-adventure popcorn blockbusters. It doesn’t rely on heavy special effects or CGI. It is similar in style to what we’re seeing in well-done superhero television shows like Daredevil; it has gritty realism and bloody violence. This allows for the story and the acting to be the main focus. And, boy, does it all shine. Hugh Jackman adds even more depth to Logan in this film than he has in any previous one. You can feel his sense of defeat and resignation. His realization about who Laura really is and the protection he can provide as his final heroic act is brilliant. Dafne Keen as Laura is reminiscent of the fantastic performances seen in Let The Right One In. She is rabid, vicious, and old beyond her years. Together, they have a great rapport and are able to bring a subtle tenderness to the story.

Overall, Logan has fantastic action sequences, wonderfully choreographed fight scenes, and stellar acting. In short, Logan is the comic book film you should definitely not miss out on.

Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox