“Logan” (now available on streaming) is the most unconstrained “X-Men” film so far, and – not coincidentally – it’s also the best of the saga, which stands at 10 movies and counting (plus one TV show, with a second on the way). I’m a fan of the franchise, but with a lot of my “X-Men” reviews, I have caveats: I say it’s good considering how many characters it tried to cram into the story, or it’s good considering that it was trying to please a mass audience.
Room for R-rated superhero films
For whatever reason – maybe a newfound maturity within the blockbuster industry, maybe “Deadpool’s” example that R-rated superhero films can sell, maybe the fact that it’s the last Hugh Jackman Wolverine film, so what the heck – “Logan” isn’t concerned with anything other than being a damn good movie.
Writer-director James Mangold and co-writer Scott Frank reprise their roles from “The Wolverine,” but they go one better. That 2013 film was Jackman’s purest embodiment of the tortured lead character, and it had beautiful settings in Japan and Canada, but it also had broad supervillain tropes.
“Logan” (2017)
Director: James Mangold
Writers: James Mangold, Scott Frank, Michael Green
Stars: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Dafne Keen
Set in 2029, the end of the “X-Men” timeline, “Logan” retreads familiar story points, but brings them together more smoothly and naturally than before. Logan, Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and an albino mutant with tracking skills named Caliban (Stephen Merchant) are hiding out in El Paso, where Logan pays the bills as a limo driver (allowing for a great opening fight against would-be wheel-rim thieves).
No mutant has been born in two decades, except in a secret lab that is has succeeded the Weapon X program (seen in several previous “X-Men” films, particularly 2009’s “Origins: Wolverine”).
Mutant kids are grown in the lab to become super soldiers, presumably for the U.S. government. When it turns out the kids have too much power and free will to be controlled, they must be killed. Several escape, including Laura (Dafne Keen), who has a distinct resemblance to Logan, namely her adamantium claws. This is where our hero comes in: Laura wants him to take her to North Dakota to rendezvous with other escapees; then they will go to Canada, the supposed site of Eden, a mutant safe haven.
He grumbles but does good
As we’d expect, Logan accedes but grumbles all the way, yet it doesn’t feel like a cliché. Although Logan won’t openly admit it, he loves the brain-addled nonagenarian Xavier and wants to take care of him in the relative safety of their sanctuary. (Only a regimen of hard-to-acquire pills keep the professor’s psychic attacks and lunacy at bay.) The aggressive pursuit by villainous agent Pierce (Boyd Holbrook) forces Logan into this impromptu road trip through the heartland.
“Logan” is a beautifully stark film with a Western vibe. It’s no coincidence that “Shane” plays on the TV at one of the trio’s hotel stops. Eden serves as a fantastic frontier, but hopefully not fantastical. In a neat twist, the primary evidence of Eden’s existence comes from an “X-Men” comic book that exists within the reality of the movie. Logan believes it’s made up; Laura still has enough childlike wonder to believe it’s real.
Laura, though, is not a typical child – not even a typical mutant child. This is most apparent when she cuts through Pierce’s troops with her adamantium claws with the brute violence of Logan and martial-arts skills reminiscent of Lady Deathstrike from “X2” – but it’s even more impressive, because she’s small and dodgy, and also has claws in her feet (!). “Logan’s” special-effects-driven fight scenes are cutting edge – pun intended.
Watching Laura in action offers all the thrills of a great fight scene, but there’s weight to it, as the girl cries out with rage during her kills. We root for this girl and cheer her victories. Partly this is because of the Western-style good vs. evil setup, and partly it’s because of the shock value of having a child in the center of an R-rated movie. (And “Logan” get its money’s worth, surpassing “Deadpool” in f-bombs within the first 10 minutes.) But young actress Keen deserves a lot of the praise: Despite not speaking for much of the movie, Laura is expressive and captures the viewer’s sympathy.
Superior, but still part of continuity
“Logan” is better than most “X-Men” films, but still part of the continuity. Logan and Xavier talk about the Statue of Liberty battle from the first film, and Laura and a surprise villain come from the Weapon X program (or its offshoot).
(The bleak reality of this 2029 for mutants comes about not from the Sentinel apocalypse of “Days of Future Past.” That film ends with a happy ending where the timeline is reset. The off-screen “Westchester incident” – obliquely referenced in this film — where Xavier lost control of his powers and killed some students, forcing the school to be shut down, is the reason why the 2029 of “Logan” is so bleak.)
And Logan’s story comes full circle: He protected a persecuted girl, Rogue, in the first movie, and does so again here. In the first Wolverine film, he accepted the hospitality of a farm family, only to bring them ruin. A similar side trip happens here, but it’s more engaging and heartfelt. Rather than feeling déjà vu, you’ll marvel at how much the saga has matured from 2000 to 2017, and not just in the realm of special effects.