Logan (2017)

Director: James Mangold
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Dafne Keen

Synopsis:
An aging Wolverine whose powers are growing weaker must protect a young test subject from brutal paramilitary operatives.

Impressions:
The first trailer for this movie, set to Johnny Cash's cover of "Hurt", perfectly establishes the tone for what's in store for you. It is without a doubt the grittiest film of the X-Men franchise and it's all the stronger for it. This is apparently Hugh Jackman's last outing as Wolverine and he does a fine job of sending off the character, burnt out and broken down, reluctantly going on one last ride. About the only thing I have against it is that some of the initial violence and profanity appear to be mostly self-indulgent wallowing in the R rating. It takes on a more natural ebb and flow as the movie progresses, though. Patrick Stewart's Professor X has degraded into a mostly senile grandpa, which is fairly tragicomic. I want to give special mention to young Dafne Keen in her first film role as Laura (better known to comic book fans as X-23). She has no dialog most of the film and will swing from unnerving silence to off-the-handle rage when provoked. I'll be looking forward to her work in the future. (Perhaps she has a future of continuing as X-23 if they keep this continuity going or do time travel shenanigans in an upcoming X-Men movie.) The villains weren't that impressive, but they did their job adequately. They touch on a few speculative themes for the near future, which may resonate with some people. After the widespread disappointment of Apocalypse (which I have yet to see for myself, so I can't make any personal comment on it), this should restore some confidence in the franchise. It's definitely worth seeing and once it hits the home video circuit, you'll probably want it in your collection.

Rating:
Own It