Review of Logan (2017) by Travis W — 08 Jan 2018

For most of the film, the most blatant bit of CGI is when Logan thrusts his adamantium claws into the back of some guy's skull and they come tearing through the guy's face out the other side. That happens a few times.

The effects in Logan are earthy rather than supernatural. Blood and curse words seem the proper habitat for an alcoholic with knives for knuckles, and writer-director James Mangold allows Logan his natural state before his final send-off. Hugh Jackman finally gets to drop the mantel of the X-Men and fully embrace all the humanity underneath the mutation.

The name Wolverine has been cast aside along with the costume; the colorful array of comics traded in for a pallet of sepia browns. The saga has been brought down to earth and prepared ultimately to be laid beneath.

By keeping the Wolverine at bay, Mangold revives the plundered aura of the superhero. Logan exits the Marvel Universe as a figure with history and purpose, not as merely a commodity that's outstayed its shelf life. So, when Wolverine does bare his claws that one last, final time, he's a mythological force, not just a last gasp.