"Logan" is Brutal, Savage, Violent...and Probably the Best X-Men Movie to Date

   The comic book movie has become such a staple in our movie-going diet. Every character is getting their own movie, crossover, TV series, you name it. We live in a time where high-quality comic book films are being pumped out every year at an alarming rate. Of the plethora of movies, only few have been able to transcend the genre. Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight and Jon Favreau's Iron Man would be two that pop into mind right away. Both of these films don't give in to their comic-y origins and just tell a riveting story with fantastic, grounded performances. Robert Downey, Jr. will forever be Tony Stark whether he likes it or not. Heath Ledger's Joker is a brilliant, masterful performance that would have garnished the Academy Award whether posthumously or not. These movies are beyond the genre they find themselves in and that's what--I think--the comic book movie genre needs more of. Thankful, Logan is here to save the day.

   What is probably the most anticipated film of 2017, after the likes of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Logan arrives in a brutal and violent way. I was as pumped as anyone to see this movie and let me tell you it does not disappoint. Everyone going into Logan pretty much knows that this is Hugh Jackman's last outing as the claw-wielding mutant. Jackman has portrayed Wolverine for over fifteen years, appearing in (I believe) every X-Men movie to date, save for Deadpool. The X-Men franchise has had its fair share of hits and misses, but the constant variable that we've come to love and count on is Jackman's Wolverine. After seeing him in this movie, my immediate thought was "NO! YOU CAN'T QUIT NOW! THIS IS TOO AMAZING! GIVE ME MORE!" Logan transcends the comic book genre in every way, and it blew all my expectations out of the water. It's that good, trust me.

   First, let's just talk about the tone of the movie. If you've seen the trailers, the tone is the same. This movie feels more like an independant western, only with mutants and SO MUCH CARNAGE. This is like no other comic book movie, no other X-Men movie for sure. It's a small, contained story with grand and emotional stakes. Set in the future, 2029, we meet an aged and weary Logan. He's a limo driver trying to make as much money as he can. When he's not chauffering around buisness men and prom dates, he cares for an ailing Professor X in a hide out on the Mexican border. But Logan's attempts to hide from the world and his legacy are up-ended when a young mutant arrives, being pursued by dark forces. This movie is about family, about forgiveness, and it seems to be wrapped up in a western-type feel, chalked full of brutal savagery. That's one of the biggest strengths, however that's where my one and only gripe lies. The movie is long, and it sorta drags in the middle, but knowing that this was the last Hugh Jackman Wolverine movie, I didn't mind so much. In the end director James Mangold has captured what will be considered the quintessential version of Wolverine, with Hugh Jackman giving his best performance of the character to date.

  This movie is violent. I mean REALLY violent. Like it or not, we have Deadpool to thank for that. The success of Deadpool as a hard R-rated comic book movie helped to make this movie possible. Deadpool was violent, but mostly for comedic sense. The violence in Logan showcases the brutality of the character and the situation we find him in. From the opening sequence we learn who Logan is at this specific place in time, we get a sense at how savage the violence will be, and it sets the tone for the rest of the film. Hugh Jackman gives, what I think, not only his best performance as Wolverine, but probably one of his best performances in any movie to date. The level of emotion and action he partakes in is astonishing. There's no holding back, people get effed up like crazy! And Logan isn't alone in the death-dealing. Young Dafne Keen plays Laura, or X-23, the little girl Logan and Professor X go on the run with. She's essentially a mini Wolverine, and when those claws come out she's a ferrel, savage little fighter. I don't want to go too much into her character, trying to stay spoiler free, but I'll just say that Keen kills it. She's truly amazing in this movie. I don't know how much of her own stunts she did, I'm sure there were stunt doubles, but man is it seemless. The chemistry between her and Jackman is really, really good.

   The level of love and care that was put into this movie is apparent, from all parties involved. There is no exaggeration here when I say that for me, Logan is the best Wolverine film, probably the best X-Men film, and by far one of the greatest comic book movies I've ever seen. A lot of that is attributed to all of the films before this one, the X-Men films in particular. Hugh Jackman has played this character for over fifteen years and to be able to deliver a version of the character that fans have wanted to see ever since there were rumblings of an X-Men movie, has got to be so satisfying as an actor. Like I said, Jackman is brilliant in this movie, giving us all the things we've come to love about his Wolverine while piling on levels of emotion and baggage that the history of the franchise plays into. He's not alone in this either. Patrick Stewart as Professor X in this film will completely blow your mind. It's so good, unlike any other version of the character. I feel like I'm not doing the movie justice, and I'm buggin' out big time because I want to see it again. GAH! This movie is awesome, as I'm sure we all expected it to be. For a last ride, a final send off, the last time we'll see Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, you couldn't ask for a better film.