Review of Logan (2017) by Vladimir J — 01 Jun 2017

The Wolverine character has been a part of cinema history for the last 17 years and has given fans some highs and some very bad lows, e.g. "Wolverine: X-Men Origins." But with Hugh Jackman announcing that "Logan" would be his wave goodbye, it was only fitting to really send the character away in the right way. So when it was announced that Fox would release an R-rated Wolverine film, it was shocking, and at the same time, refreshing because many have really yet to see the character live up to the comic book persona. The release of Logan had many fans excited and worried because could it be a half-assed send-off or the right send off for a character that will live on for ages as a beloved character.

Positives.

The film gives you exactly what you want... what you always wanted... Wolverine. The character has always been "censored" due to PG-13 ratings but it is very telling how the blood and anger displayed on the screen give you a sense of freedom. But violence aside, the film at its core is very emotional. It deals with subject matters, very real ones, that everyone deals with, e.g. the caring of an ailing father or the struggle to accept one's own mortality. The emotion displayed on film elevates it to the bar of "The Dark Knight" status and really makes all other comic book films childish in comparison.

A very good, and again refreshing, aspect of "Logan" is that it is very much a "standalone" film. That means that this movie does not rely on what happened in "X-Men: Days of Future Past" or "X-Men: Apocalypse", this movie is a single story with the purpose of telling a single tale. The movie benefits from this because it gives every single character a reason to exist in this story and you don't have to worry about why character A is this if he was in movie C and did act E. This movie goes back to an old standard of storytelling.

Negatives.

"Logan" really has little to no flaws in that you can see there was a lot of thought and care put into the story. The fact of being R-rated and not linked to a "universe" frees the movie up and lets it breathe. This may set a trend or be part of the Deadpool trend but we will have to see if studios decide to take a risk like this again.

Overall.

"Logan" is a masterpiece in the comic book genre. It is now cemented in history as one of those films that set the bar for comic book and films in general. The story, the characters, the emotions all displayed on film are enough to make this a movie you stop and watch whenever it comes on tv. This one is one of 2017?s best films to date.

"Logan" score card.

Rating: 5/5.

Rewatchable: Yes.

"Drop Everything" factor: Yes.

Entertaining: Yes.