Movie Reaction: Logan

Formula: The Wolverine + Children of Men + (Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome / Mad Max)

Thank god for Deadpool's success. That movie was a game changer. Fox has spent over a decade trying to master the superhero formula. X-Men began the Marvel craze, but it was Spider-Man a couple years later that really blew up. For the first three films, X-Men and Spider-Man's arcs coincided (good first, great second, bad third), however Spider-Man beat it every step of the way at the box office. Then Iron Man came out, eclipsing Fox's Origins attempts (It didn't help that X-Men Origins: Wolverine sucked). Ever since then, Fox has been scrambling to make Frankenstein's monster versions of a big tent movie, trying both a full reboot and time-travel. While Deadpool was somewhat an afterthought for the studio when it was made, it represented the first bold move that Fox had taken with their Marvel properties since making the first movie in 2000 in a market that appeared to be poisoned by Batman & Robin. And Deadpool broke big. Real big. Fox can insist the plan for Logan all along was to give it a hard R rating, but they announced that far too quickly after Deadpool broke box office records for me to believe they weren't wavering up to that point.

So, thanks to Deadpool's success, Logan gets to be yet another big swing for what is now the most interesting studio in the superhero business. While Disney is busy building their MCU with increasingly formulaic films (which, don't get me wrong, I still enjoy a great deal), Fox is exploring what else audiences can enjoy in a superhero film.

As I've been building toward saying, Logan is not your typical Marvel movie. It still has mutants and - like the other Wolverine movies - a clunkily inserted villain in the third act. That's about where similarities stop though. The movie drops in decades in the future; even a while past whenever Days of Future Past took place. The X-Men are long gone. New mutants aren't being born anymore. Logan (Hugh Jackman) is in hiding with Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) in Mexico near El Paso. He's working as a limo driver to save enough money to buy a boat to get away on. Xavier's mind is falling apart and it's dangerous to keep him anywhere near other people. Logan isn't doing great either. He's drinking hard and isn't healing as quickly as he used to. The two are pulled out of hiding when a woman with a special little girl (Dafne Keen) comes seeking their help. They reluctantly head to one of the Dakotas to deliver the girl to her rendezvous point while being chased by a private army.

Some of the differences from previous X-Men movies are easy to point out. There's a lot more swearing, which is more fitting with Logan's personality. This is the first time that the brutality of Logan's powers is on full display. Metal blades coming from your knuckles are quite messy and the film doesn't shy away from that. That alone gives the film more gravity than any other installment of franchise: the violence is more real. Other differences are less obvious. There's a lot more regret this time around. Even with Charles. The film is sort of a western-noir, with overt references to Shane to boot. This shouldn't be a surprise when you consider director James Mangold's other films. 3:10 to Yuma is the obvious comparison, but even Copland and Walk the Line make sense tracking his filmography. This has an even looser plot than Mangold's The Wolverine and with a far less clunky third act.

This is Hugh Jackman's final time playing Wolverine, and it's a fitting farewell. Jackman is still a physical specimen, but he has aged in the last 17 years and isn't so spy these days. An Old Man Logan story is appropriate. Patrick Stewart hasn't had this much to do as Charles Xavier before. This is the first time when the character has needed an actor of his talent. I've heard a couple people throw out his name early for next year's Oscar discussion. I wouldn't disagree with that except to say that it is unlikely to happen (See: John Goodman in 10 Cloverfield Lane). Dafne Keen handles herself well for how much is asked of her. Stephan Merchant has a sympathetic role as one of Logan and Charles' allies. The villains are all forgettable, as are most of the X-Men villains not called Magneto.

I think what is most telling about Logan is that if you told me that it started as an original screenplay and was adapted to include mutants, I'd believe you. Similar to Deadpool, I'm more impressed with Logan than I am in love with it. It's a fine movie - definitely the best of this accidental Wolverine trilogy. It's not perfect, but it is such a refreshing change of pace that I can't help but gush about it. If this really is the last time we see Hugh Jackman in the role that made him famous, then he couldn't ask for a better way to go.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend