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    Logan (2017): Movie Review



     
    “Powerfully connected final movie.”  


    Hugh Jackman dons his adamantium claws for the last time in Logan, the final instalment of the Wolverine trilogy and the tenth movie in the X-Men series. With its fluid choreography, surreal landscape, and affecting characters, director and screenwriter James Mangold does a superb job in creating a groundbreaking superhero film, a worthy final chapter of a well-loved hero that will surely be well-missed.

    It is 2029 and due to a virus created by Transigen Project, mutants are in the brink of extinction. Some have survived, like Logan’s trio who have been hiding in an abandoned smelting plant on the scorching outskirts of El Paso. Logan, who’s regeneration abilities have been immensely affected by the virus, works as a chauffeur, while nonagenarian Professor X (Patrick Stewart) is confined in his rickety bunk and whose temperamental seizures cause massive destruction. Caliban, an albino mutant who can detect the presence of nearby mutants, complete the trio.


    Their dreary routine soon gets shaken when a mysterious girl named Laura (Dafne Keen) comes to their door. With the Reavers led by the nefarious Price (Boyd Holbrook) and Transigen’s Dr. Rice (Richard E. Grant) chasing behind them, Logan must summon his final strength in order to deliver Laura and some kids up north, to a mutant sanctuary called Eden.

    Following the warm reception of last year’s Deadpool, Logan is the first R-rated film in the X-men series. This bold move is a game changer. Unlike previous films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Logan is cruel and heartless. Showers of blood are plenty, so do heads rolling and bodies pierced. CGI is kept to a minimum that fight scenes are organic, brutal, and dynamic.


    The film also has a strong connection to its audience that stakes feel so real and the urgency is powerfully captivating. We know Wolverine as a hero but barely as a man with fears and weakness. Charles Xavier and Laura are also beautifully written that we can identify with them and care for them in the end. There is a subtly delicious mix of poignancy, nostalgia, and humor. There is both overwhelming sadness and darkness (a notch lower than Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy), as well as sporadic moments of jocularity and hope. It is a deconstruction of the traditional MCU superhero movies and a literally heart-breaking goodbye to Wolverine.


    Jackman is magnificent as always as the titular character and filling his shoe in the future X-men films will be a big challenge. Stewart is harrowing as Xavier with his wretched plight and resolute positivity. Keen is a breakout star, as she delivers the flares and angst of a troubled mutant youth.


    Production: 20th Century Fox, Marvel Entertainment, TSG Entertainment, Kinberg Genre, Hutch Parker Entertainment, Donners’ Company
    Distributor: Fox
    Cast: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, Richard E. Grant, Eriq La Salle, Elise Neal, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Dafne Keen, Doris Morgado, Quincy Fouse
    Director: James Mangold
    Screenwriters: Scott Frank, James Mangold, Michael Green; story by James Mangold
    Producers: Hutch Parker, Simon Kinberg, Lauren Shuler Donner
    Executive producers: Stan Lee, James Mangold, Joseph M. Caracciolo Jr., Josh McLaglen
    Director of photography: John Mathieson
    Production designer: Francois Audouy
    Costume designer: Daniel Orlandi
    Editors: Michael McCusker, Dirk Westervelt


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