So Logan was released in cinemas in Australia today. Being fairly big nerds, my two brothers and I went to watch it. We were hesitant, after the mess that was the previous Wolverine films and X-Men: Apocalypse, but given the trailers and our general trend of going to watch every superhero movie released, we went and watched it.
I was not prepared.
This movie hurts.
It's one of the most genuinely impactful movies I've seen in a fair while. I'm not going to be ridiculous and claim it's the most emotional movie ever, but it tries, and for the most part, it does what it sets out to do. And what it set out to do was punch me in the gut, repeatedly and unendingly, until I walked out of the cinema in tears.
If you're going to watch one movie this year, I would not hesitate to recommend this movie. Perhaps there are better movies out right now, or perhaps there will be a better movie out later in the year; but I don't care. I would recommend this in a heartbeat. This is one of the best, most emotional movies have seen in the past several years.
It's a solid 9/10, perhaps even a 9.5/10- and anybody who knows me at all knows what praise that is.
It takes a lot to make me cry over a movie. I do not cry easily.
Now, on to actual review stuff;
The choice of actors for the most part was, for the most part, excellent. Hugh Jackman is a fantastic actor, of course, but he portrays a weary and hurt Logan perhaps better than he ever carried the character previously; and an aging Patrick Stewart, in turn, portrays the deteriorating Charles Xavier perfectly. The chemistry between the two actors has always been phenomenal, but Logan takes it to another level.
And Dafne Keen, portraying the young Laura- X-23- was perfect for the role. (I cannot understate how perfectly she portrayed the role of the wild young girl. This was the best acting I have ever seen out of a child, easily surpassing even the likes of shows with otherwise phenomenal child acting such as Stranger Things.) Not only did she portray the character well, her interactions with Hugh Jackman turned what could have been a well-acted but ultimately forgettable performance into something that will linger in my mind for years to come.
And the action scenes were, well, brutal. The movie definitely earned its R rating.
There have been many comparisons with the previously successful Deadpool, but I don't feel the two are particularly comparable. Where Deadpool revels in its violence to disturbing and yet often comedic effect, Logan portrays its violence as savage and brutal, fitting the character of the eponymous Logan. It does not shy away from the kind of violence that someone with Logan's powers and skillset will necessarily commit when thrust into these circumstances.
But despite that, Logan does not revel in its violence. Indeed, the impact that violence has on those committing it, even when said violence may be necessary, is a recurrent theme in the movie. It is clear, at least to the viewer, that both Logan and Laura are suffering from some form of PTSD; this is almost made explicit in a scene early in the final arc, but one does not need that scene to understand it. And this is good. It's a theme not often explored in these kinds of action movies; the acknowledgement that killing people, even people who you genuinely believe deserve to die, even people who are attempting to kill you, will damage your psyche, and that you are going to have to learn to live with your actions.
I have placed this under a spoiler tag, but for the sake of emphasis, I will write this again; major spoilers for the film follow. You have been warned.
Most fans of the movie who saw the trailers have guessed that Xavier would die in the movie, but seeing the relationship between Jackson's Logan and Stewart's Xavier only makes the inevitable death hit the viewer harder. It is made very obvious in context that Xavier is a very strong paternal figure to Logan, and it is very, very clear that Logan cares a great deal for Xavier. This makes their trials and tribulations hit even harder- and when Xavier is inevitably killed, and dies in Logan's arms, I was one of the few people in the cinema able to refrain from bursting into tears. At least, for that moment.
A lot of movies have attempted to tackle the topic of a man's breakdown after the death of a close parental figure, but seeing Logan unable to handle it and lash out at his car in a violent rage was made all the more difficult by being cast through the eyes of Laura, a girl who has just lost her second parental figure in almost as many days. Seeing her witness Logan's violent breakdown, and how unaffected Laura was by the savagery in it, only made the following scenes all the sweeter- setting us up for further hurt.
Xavier's death was not the only death expected to come, but the second death- that of Logan- was of a somewhat more speculatory nature. It is obvious to anyone who watches Hollywood movies that Hollywood dislikes killing off characters, and the source material that served as much of the inspiration for Logan did portray Logan as not only surviving the events of the comic books, but also regaining his powerset. It is easy to expect Logan to survive the events of the movie, given the context surrounding the movie; and so, despite the constant talk of Logan's degeneration and his ever-worsening wounds, I was prepared for the inevitable disappointment of Logan surviving the movie and heading off into the distance with his new daughter.
Watching the slow death of Logan was a brutal experience. I have used that word a lot, because it is the only word I can use to describe much of the movie; it wants to hurt you, and it does so, repeatedly. There are bright spots, but make no mistake; this is not a happy movie. And Logan's slow degeneration only shows that further, as his physical condition only deteriorates over the course of the movie, in a very obvious manner.
In a way, it would not be inappropriate to say that the movie was a long death scene for Jackson. In fact, I would say that is quite fair.
I am not going to delve into the particulars of his death scene, but the acting between Jackman and Keen was phenomenal during Jackson's final scenes- if I had not already been completely sold on Keen's acting, this scene would have done it. The final scene between the two, in fact, was what finally drove me to tears- tears that would only grow worse through the final scene of the movie.
This movie will make you hurt but it is meaningful and impactful and everyone needs to watch it.
One small favor: they ended the movie with Johnny Cash playing over the credits. It was The Man Comes Around, which was musically dissonant but lyrically appropriate.
If they'd ended with Hurt, I wouldn't have been able to leave the cinema.
The best film in the X-Men franchise. In the top 3 best superhero films ever made (in the league of Dark Knight and Civil War), and certainly the most emotionally affecting of the three. A film I'm going to return to again and again once it's released on Blu-Ray.
It's a tour de force of brutality, heartbreak, and heroics that left me with a clenched throat in one scene and a clenched fist in the next. I went in expecting a great film from all the glowing reviews, but I still wasn't prepared for the magnitude of greatness this film brings to the superhero genre and films as a whole.
It's a great superhero film, it's a great noir, and it's a great drama period.
That final shot should've been so stupid but it was so right. I have never been as invested in a movie as I have in Logan. I could not stop myself going "fuckimup" whenever it was warranted (you know the times) in all the ways "JEEEEEEAN" *waves harmless tickleckaws* never could. It was so much like The Last Of Us in all the best ways. X-Men truly began the superhero boom and now it's brought us its maturity in a way Superman dourly staring down at Metropolis never could. Fuck I'm kind of buzzed in a weird way. Is this what satisfaction feels like? I think it's making me unwell, my body is rejecting such a foreign sensation.
I will say though, now that I've had some distance, I wish they hadn't had Xavier curse so much. I understand where they were taking the character and why he'd be willing to just tell Logan to fuck off these days, but a there were a lot of times it just felt like "well we have an MA15+ so chuck another 'fuck' into Patrick's script". I feel like it would've been marginally (and I do mean marginally) improved if there'd been maybe... hhhhalf as many expletives in Xavier's dialogue?
I will say though, now that I've had some distance, I wish they hadn't had Xavier curse so much. I understand where they were taking the character and why he'd be willing to just tell Logan to fuck off these days, but a there were a lot of times it just felt like "well we have an MA15+ so chuck another 'fuck' into Patrick's script". I feel like it would've been marginally (and I do mean marginally) improved if there'd been maybe... hhhhalf as many expletives in Xavier's dialogue?
Honestly I felt like they were doing it to highlight Xavier's mental state. He's degrading and that's causing him to become increasing frustrated which is why he's lashing out.
Fucking slapped me right in the face. Xavier's degenerating state of mind as well as his dreams getting stepped on really justifies a lot of the cursing, though ironically it's when he expresses anger without swearing that it cuts the deepest.
And yet, Charles is still trying to give people a happy ending. Is it any wonder that someone as bitter as Logan or self-centered as Erik would do almost anything for the guy?
Honestly I felt like they were doing it to highlight Xavier's mental state. He's degrading and that's causing him to become increasing frustrated which is why he's lashing out.
I will say though, now that I've had some distance, I wish they hadn't had Xavier curse so much. I understand where they were taking the character and why he'd be willing to just tell Logan to fuck off these days, but a there were a lot of times it just felt like "well we have an MA15+ so chuck another 'fuck' into Patrick's script". I feel like it would've been marginally (and I do mean marginally) improved if there'd been maybe... hhhhalf as many expletives in Xavier's dialogue?
Eh, I think the "fucks" worked for me. There were too many all around, but that to me showed the general degradation of the characters; they weren't cursing for show but out of pure frustration and lack of any real way to get out of their own skins.
I loved the film, so instead of gushing over it I'll give the two parts which I thought weren't up to par. First off, I think X-24 was completely unnecessary and just too on the nose. Yes, we get that he's Logan's rage and trauma. Yes we get that Logan is literally running from him. I just don't think they needed to make Young SnicktBub a real thing.
The other is that it seems that they were contractually obligated to give the black kid lightning powers. I mean really? Couldn't he have been Mentos, Chia, or Bic?
It's just that black guy gets lightning powers is so far beyond cliche at this point; there's nothing wrong it per se, just that it just. keeps. happening. They even parodied it in Irredeemable.
