It’s been three years since 2017’s Logan hit theaters. Hugh Jackman’s last outing as the iconic Marvel X-Men character Wolverine was a huge hit. Although not nominated for an Oscar, it certainly should have been. In the last three years, we’ve had some really amazing comic-book movies. Do any of them compare to Logan though? That’s up to personal tastes and it’s certainly not up to me to dictate whether or not you should hold Logan higher than one of your favorite superhero movies. To me, though; Logan was rare. Logan was what happens when a film director concentrated less on staying true to a cookie cutter or even a comic book storyline and just made a good movie. It’s what we saw happen with Joker. Sometimes, these kinds of movies are needed.
The Wolverine solo movies had become stale after a while. Even the X-Men movies started lacking in quality. Everyone could agree that Jackman was a great Wolverine, but X-Men Origins: Wolverine and The Wolverine were terrible. It was coming to the point where these movies were casting a dark shadow on the beloved character. So, what did everyone decide to do? James Mangold stepped up and decided, if we’re going to go out, we’re going out with a bang. Logan cared little about continuity and all that jazz and just told a story. And it was the most beautiful sendoff to Jackman’s Wolverine and Patrick Stewart’s Professor X.
You’ve seen Logan. I don’t need to tell you how fantastic it is. How heart-wrenching it is. Logan benefited from being rated R, because the movie could now finally tell the brutal story that it needed to without a PG-13 rating. It wasn’t just about being able to see Logan tear up people or curse. It was about having the freedom to portray a broken man; one who has lived for so long and surpassed all of those he loved. The man who pushed everyone away didn’t need to push anyone away anymore, because they were all gone.
Not only did Jackman bring real depressing loneliness to his role, but Stewart should have also gotten recognition by the Academy. His portrayal of an old and frail Professor X was heartbreaking. As someone who had to watch their own great grandmother battle with Alzheimer’s, Charles Xavier’s personal battle with his own mind felt all too familiar. The relationship Logan and Xavier have had hasn’t always been pleasant and I’m sure Charles didn’t foresee that it would be Logan by his side at the end. But, there was Logan, caring for the man who had given him everything, but had also taken it away.
Dafne Keen exploded onto the screen as Laura Kinney and it was pretty much fantastic seeing this little girl tear up dudes. She was truly Logan’s daughter and the bond between them was tragic and heartwarming. Jackman and Keen brought an excellent dynamic to the big screen that was truly something special in the film. Tony Stark and Peter Parker certainly had their sad storyline in the MCU, but nothing made me cry harder than when Laura declared [over Wolverine’s grave] “there are no more guns in the valley”. (A line from the real 1953 movie Shane, which played in the background in one scene).
Before I close out this article, I have to say that I feel like Boyd Holbrook’s depiction of Donald Pierce was incredibly underrated. As the villain, I believe Donald was a worthy opponent. For anyone who has watched Amazon Prime’s show Hanna, their plot felt very similar to what was happening in Logan. For some reason, Donald disliked the mutants that the facility had a hand in creating. It didn’t matter that he was “enhanced” himself, he was determined to hunt them down. I had really wanted Holbrook’s career to explode after this movie and I believe that he needs more villain roles.
Logan will continue to be one of the best comic-book movies of all time. What do you think of Logan?
A girl with too many fandoms to count.
