Review of Logan (2017) by Pickleassassin — 26 Mar 2017

Even beyond the gore, clear setup and failed execution of comic relief, and depressing atmosphere, Logan has a muddled plot that ditches exposition and character development in favor of comic book references and severed limbs.

Logan has the setup of a standard Marvel movie, attempting to balance gritty, engaging action with light-hearted comic relief. Its sad, dark angle befits the premise: the main character is being poisoned by his own super-powered skeleton. This angle, however, crosses the line from dark to melodramatic as mentions and visual imagery of blood, pus, brains, and guts overshadow the "internal struggle" Logan is supposed to be enduring. The supposed "deep existential crisis" that Logan suffers regarding his repeated murders of people around him is unbelievable when he repeatedly, intentionally goes out of his way to kill people when he had the option to do literally anything else. His counterweights, the optimistic Charles Xavier and adorable daughter Laura balance out Logan's grit and angst...or, that is, they would if they had anything meaningful to say throughout the movie. Laura is mute until the very end, which serves as a clever bait-and-switch at the expense of her narrative potential as a character, and Charles spends most of his time on screen explaining that Logan is indeed dying without adding why it's happening or what to do about it. Even the villains are carelessly slapped together: their organization manufactures child soldiers from the DNA of mutants like Wolverine and are trying to track down Laura and the other mutants like her because they are the creations of said organizations and do not deserve to see the outside world. Individually, however, these characters have no depth. There's a scientist, a bounty hunter, and a Wolverine clone, and that's all you'll ever learn about them.

The Good: convincing acting, Charles being adorable when he's not spouting faux exposition, Laura being charming when she finally opens her mouth.

The Bad: sub-par comic relief, lack of clear exposition and motivation for villains, two most engaging characters rambling on about how Logan is "being POISONED" and staying mute for most of the film, respectively.

Verdict: I'd recommend this to die-hard fans of X-Men who would watch anything with Wolverine's face on it and literally nobody else. There is no substance to speak of in this Suicide Squad-esque cash grab of a film.