Review of Logan's Run (1976) by Jonathan G — 05 Mar 2008

Cheesy and campy, Logan's Run wants desperately to be the movie that THX-1138 was, but has more in common with Buck Rogers than George Lucas. Michael York and Jenny Agutter struggle through slippery American accents and cardboard scenery, the lowest point being Logan's wrestle with a Blue-Peter-made-earlier tin foil robot who was no more a threat than a cardboard box. The fact that no-one else has ever gotten past said robot says nothing for the overall IQ of the characters.

As mentioned earlier, the special effects are ghastly. This is not due to it's 70's restrictions, considering Stanley Kubrick's 1968 masterpiece 2001, Star Wars (which came out a year after Logan) and Superman all had similar restrictions. This is just shoddy filmmaking. Even Moonraker stands the test of time next to this.

For the first half of the film, the music screeches electronic noise until a more epic approach in the latter half, causing one to remember what Jerry Goldsmith really could do. The rest is just an appalling waste of a potentially good premise. Logan has no real consistency in his motives and Jessica has nothing better to do than whine and look pretty. And now we come to the film's saving grace: the gorgeous Jenny Agutter. No, that's it. She just needs to be there. Peter Ustinov is pretty good as well.

Hollywood, THIS is the kind of film that needs a remake. Not Halloween, nor Rear Window, but things like Logan's Run and, as evidenced, Ocean's Eleven. Films that were sub-par but with great potential in story. 2010 promises such a remake, but as of writing, it is still in development hell.

So, to sum up, if you saw this when you were younger, you'll be disappointed when watching it again, you probably only thought it was good because you were 12 and Jenny Agutter captivated you...