“That Old Fighting Spirit”
While DC is out playing with a tiny plastic version of one of its biggest characters, Marvel is trying to, once again, bring one of its well-known characters to life. Wolverine’s films past has been less than stellar. While fine in the ensemble X-Men films, especially in “X2,” Wolverine’s solo movies have been, well, just plain not good.
Some critics and fans blame this on a fundamental misunderstanding of the character, despite solid performances by Hugh Jackman. Now, with this being his last portrayal of the three-clawed amnesiac, has Marvel finally brought us the Wolverine film we want in “Logan.”
Be forewarned, this film is Rated-R and takes advantage of it. Of course, there is gore, as Wolverine does have claws and he uses them for slicing and dicing, but the subject material is just as heavy as the violence. Experimentation, child abuse, Alzheimer’s, there is a lot to the film, but it is handled swiftly by an excellent screenplay and direction from James Mangold, the director of 2013’s less than stellar “The Wolverine.”
James’s direction keeps the film grounded, which largely avoids the typical superhero film tropes. This is a dirty world, teetering on the edge in the year 2029. Logan is not Wolverine anymore, and he wants to forget that life. But he’s brought back in after a young girl finds him and he and Charles Xaviar find themselves on the run while protecting her.
Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart give career defining performances here. After being with these characters for over fifteen years, it’s nice to finally see some nuance brought to them. The same goes for the rest of the cast, Dafne Keen steals the show in her film debut as Laura the young girl, and Marvel has a well performed and interesting villain once again with Donald Pierce, played by Boyd Holbrook.
There are some downsides though. Stephen Merchant and Richard E. Grant do good work with their characters, but they just aren’t particularly interesting. The film also feels too long. While every moment of the movie is well used, the heavy nature of the themes begins to weigh down after a while. If the movie was just a tad bit shorter, it would have been all the better for it.
Despite this, “Logan” is a triumph of filmmaking, especially in the superhero genre. That’s because it really isn’t a superhero film. It’s more of a character study on this broken man who has lost almost everyone. It feels deep and intriguing, like no superhero film that has come before it.
“Logan” is wonderfully acted, written and directed, with a great western inspired score, and serves as a deep character study of a flawed man. It feels like this is Marvel’s “The Dark Knight,” and just like that film, this elevates superhero films to a new height. If only it were just a little shorter.
4.5/5
