Logan (B- or 2.5/4 stars)
For me, 'Logan' - the 3rd Wolverine film in the X-Men franchise - is one of those movies that I KNOW is well-conceived, well-acted, well-choreographed in general ... but it just didn't do much for me. I can not give this film a negative review, but I just didn't care for the story here, its abundance of profanity, its gore quotient, and the inherent, dare-I-say exploitative joylessness of the proceedings -- more on that later. Directed by James Mangold, 'Logan' opens in the year 2029, where we find that Wolverine/Logan (a grizzled, grey-haired Hugh Jackman) is not what he once was. His healing powers are drastically waning, everything is more laborious for him, & he's in constant pain {nursing his internal & external wounds with way too much alcohol}.
He drives a limo for a living & hides out in a desert compound with the now 90-ish yr. old Prof. Xavier (Patrick Stewart), who's succumbing to a neurological disease and who's still suffering from his chronic psychic fits; light-sensitive albino mutant Caliban (Stephen Merchant) joins them as well. No new mutants have been born in 25 yrs. & the existing ones have been hunted to near-extinction. Then a desperate nurse shows up, pleading with Logan to look after an 11 yr. old girl named Laura (Dafne Keen) & to take her to a safe place circa North Dakota called 'Eden', where mutants are nurtured. Along the way, Logan learns that the girl is his similarly rebellious, metal claw-wielding daughter {in a WAY}, created in a laboratory experiment using his special DNA. Logan goes into parental protective mode as the sinister man who created (and lost) Laura, Dr. Zander Rice (Richard E. Grant), along with his cyborg henchman Donald Pierce (Boyd Holbrook), is coming for her.
Again, 'Logan' is well-done & contains more than a few thrilling components. I also "admire" its fatalistic look at regret & loss. Ditto the theme of: everyone grows old & dies -- it's just ballsy to have that melancholy theme permeate the superhero genre. But I have quite a few issues with 'Logan'. The slow-motion, mayhemic gore on display was almost too much (for a serious superhero flick that has succeeded in the PG-13 realm for 17 years). I also feel like the level of profanity {I believe f*ck was uttered nearly 60 times} was off-the-charts. Like, why? Why must we hear all that for 135+ minutes for no good reason? And the level of miserablism is also off-the-charts. 'Logan' is all business, no play. Everyone's feeling sorry for themselves. The proceedings are dire, grim, & lacking in fun. At least R-rated Deadpool was FUN. These X-Men movies (and superhero movies, in general) can be heavy & cathartic all they want, but you can't forget the FUN.
And worst of all, there is a sequence that occurs near the mid-section that includes a savage slaughter of innocents that is SO unearned & SO gratuitous that I kinda knew it would be a deal-breaker for me for coming around to loving this film. Honestly, there's no good reason for 'Logan' to be this violent except that it CAN be; which is a sucky reason. I love a thrilling burst of violence like anyone else. I enjoy healthy dollops of blood & guts tossed across the big screen. I excite in a good chorus of "f*ck" when called-for. But for me, very little of the explicit gore & cringe-worthy profanity felt ORGANIC to the motion picture. I just didn't like it. As 'Logan' drags on, the film's gloomy nihilism & all-around joylessness nearly sunk it for me in the end.
Thank goodness for Hugh Jackman's beautifully-realized, heartfelt, world-weary portrayal of Logan, here. Whether guzzling booze, stumbling around physically, throwing himself into a brutal fight, caring for Laura, staring down an unforgiving/grim future, or whatever else ... he commits 100% to the role; giving it a complex mix of regrets & self-doubt. Yeah, Jackman is truly great. So is Patrick Stewart. I've never seen him better; and he made me tear-up. The bad guys were good, too. I loathed them, so they did their job. I like the neo-Western feel that director James Mangold gives 'Logan'. The look & feel of this movie is consistent throughout. The textures onscreen are cracked, dusty, woebegone ... just like the inner feelings of the characters. But again, there's no let-up! The whole movie is one big downer. Rather than rejoicing in some exhilarating action, the overall tone was too deliberately wearisome for me to exalt in praise.
He drives a limo for a living & hides out in a desert compound with the now 90-ish yr. old Prof. Xavier (Patrick Stewart), who's succumbing to a neurological disease and who's still suffering from his chronic psychic fits; light-sensitive albino mutant Caliban (Stephen Merchant) joins them as well. No new mutants have been born in 25 yrs. & the existing ones have been hunted to near-extinction. Then a desperate nurse shows up, pleading with Logan to look after an 11 yr. old girl named Laura (Dafne Keen) & to take her to a safe place circa North Dakota called 'Eden', where mutants are nurtured. Along the way, Logan learns that the girl is his similarly rebellious, metal claw-wielding daughter {in a WAY}, created in a laboratory experiment using his special DNA. Logan goes into parental protective mode as the sinister man who created (and lost) Laura, Dr. Zander Rice (Richard E. Grant), along with his cyborg henchman Donald Pierce (Boyd Holbrook), is coming for her.
Again, 'Logan' is well-done & contains more than a few thrilling components. I also "admire" its fatalistic look at regret & loss. Ditto the theme of: everyone grows old & dies -- it's just ballsy to have that melancholy theme permeate the superhero genre. But I have quite a few issues with 'Logan'. The slow-motion, mayhemic gore on display was almost too much (for a serious superhero flick that has succeeded in the PG-13 realm for 17 years). I also feel like the level of profanity {I believe f*ck was uttered nearly 60 times} was off-the-charts. Like, why? Why must we hear all that for 135+ minutes for no good reason? And the level of miserablism is also off-the-charts. 'Logan' is all business, no play. Everyone's feeling sorry for themselves. The proceedings are dire, grim, & lacking in fun. At least R-rated Deadpool was FUN. These X-Men movies (and superhero movies, in general) can be heavy & cathartic all they want, but you can't forget the FUN.
And worst of all, there is a sequence that occurs near the mid-section that includes a savage slaughter of innocents that is SO unearned & SO gratuitous that I kinda knew it would be a deal-breaker for me for coming around to loving this film. Honestly, there's no good reason for 'Logan' to be this violent except that it CAN be; which is a sucky reason. I love a thrilling burst of violence like anyone else. I enjoy healthy dollops of blood & guts tossed across the big screen. I excite in a good chorus of "f*ck" when called-for. But for me, very little of the explicit gore & cringe-worthy profanity felt ORGANIC to the motion picture. I just didn't like it. As 'Logan' drags on, the film's gloomy nihilism & all-around joylessness nearly sunk it for me in the end.
Thank goodness for Hugh Jackman's beautifully-realized, heartfelt, world-weary portrayal of Logan, here. Whether guzzling booze, stumbling around physically, throwing himself into a brutal fight, caring for Laura, staring down an unforgiving/grim future, or whatever else ... he commits 100% to the role; giving it a complex mix of regrets & self-doubt. Yeah, Jackman is truly great. So is Patrick Stewart. I've never seen him better; and he made me tear-up. The bad guys were good, too. I loathed them, so they did their job. I like the neo-Western feel that director James Mangold gives 'Logan'. The look & feel of this movie is consistent throughout. The textures onscreen are cracked, dusty, woebegone ... just like the inner feelings of the characters. But again, there's no let-up! The whole movie is one big downer. Rather than rejoicing in some exhilarating action, the overall tone was too deliberately wearisome for me to exalt in praise.