Logan : Movie Review



Title: Logan
Released: Blu-ray™ and DVD from 10th July 2017
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Stephen Merchant, Boyd Holbrook, Dafne Keen
Director: James Mangold
Length: 137 minutes
Rating: 15

The year is 2029.With most of the X-Men gone, a weary and ageing Wolverine, now more commonly known as Logan (Hugh Jackman), is hiding out near Mexico with Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart). Logan is unable to regenerate as easily, or quickly, as before and some unknown poison is destroying him from the inside. Charles is now now well into his 90s and suffering from failing mental health that leaves him unable to fully control his mutant powers. They are aided by Caliban (Stephen Merchant) who was once a mutant tracker working against his own kind but now cares deeply for Logan and the Professor.

When a group ofartificially created mutant children with various different abilitiesescape from a research laboratory, with the help of a sympathetic nurse, one mutant is able to find Logan. This young girl by the name of Laura (Dafne Keen)bares a striking resemblance in personality and temperament to Logan. Could she be his genetic daughter?

Logan is the very best instalment of the Wolverine series so far, but it is also almost certainly the last. The film is different in tone from the 2009 origin story Wolverine and its 2013 follow up The Wolverine, but its all the better for it. Partly action packed with gore, blood and violence, partly dark, meaningful and introspective the film serves up action and fight scenes but also takes time to really examine the characters of Logan and Charles more intimately than we’ve seen before. This is due to the deliberate lack of a major villain who can often steal precious screen time.



Mangold’s direction is direct and effective, the camerawork assured and slick. The storyline which is basically a chase movie is taut and exciting. And of course the acting from Jackman, Stewart and newcomer to the series, Keen, is excellent. Boyd Holbrook as Pierce is perhaps the only weaker link, as we don’t really find out much about him or his motivations. Merchant seems at first to be an unusual choice for a role in a comic-book movie but effectively adds both humour and heart to the story.

The X-Men franchise will no doubt continue with James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender for some time to come. If this truly is the end of Logan’s story then this film is a fine way for Jackman and Stewart to conclude their involvement.

Author : Kevin Stanley