LOGAN – Rated R

One Last Time

In “Logan” we find ourselves in the future, 2029, where Logan is attempting to live a “normal” life. Working as a chauffeur by day, a rugged-and-weakened Logan spends his money securing necessary prescription drugs to keep Caliban and Professor Charles Xavier alive. Living on an abandoned farm in Mexico, Charles is kept in an environment that keeps him away from others after an unfortunate incident which occurred a few years ago. A young woman named Gabriella attempts to track-down Logan, with the hopes that he will take her young 11-year old daughter Laura to safety in North Dakota. After their initial encounter, members from Gabriela’s employer, Transigen, begin hunting them all down. After some digging, Logan uncovers that Transigen is utilizing children to breed them with mutant DNA and threat Laura is in-fact an escaped prisoner. After being forced to leave, Logan and Charles head to North Dakota’s “Eden” to provide sanctuary for Laura and reunite her with the rest of the escaped children. However, along the way, Logan realizes that Laura is more important than he believed, even realizing that there may be even more to her than appears. The rest of the film follows their journey to what they hope will lead to Laura’s safety.

Hugh Jackman returns in his starring role as Logan/Wolverine, the mutant with healing abilities and the brutal weapons built-into his DNA; the role that will continue to define his career. Patrick Stewart returns as his iconic Professor Charles Xavier, the telepathic leader of the X-Men who is gravely ill. Richard E. Grant plays the surgical head of Transigen’s experiment, Dr. Zander Rice. Boyd Holbrook plays Transigen’s Head of Security, Donald Pierce. Stephen Merchant platys a fellow mutant with tracking abilities and Charles’ caretaker, Caliban. Dafne Keen does a tremendous job portraying Laura Kinney/ X-23, the young girl who Logan and Charles are attempting to save. Elizabeth Rodriguez plays the woman, Gabriela. Eriq La Salle, Elise Neals, and Quincy Fouse play members of a family that befriend Logan, Charles, and Laura, Will, Kathryn, and Nate Munson.

“Logan” steps-into groundbreaking territory with its’ dark, grisly, and expletive-filled take on the comic book genre, following in the footsteps of its predecessor “Deadpool” while creating a new element all of its own. The film follows major characters that have been beloved my millions for over 17 years and it takes their arcs in new and unsuspecting directions; taking major risk that equals the final product’s reward. “Logan”, as I said earlier, is filled with plenty of language, brutal violence, and some gore. One has to imagine that the success of “Deadpool” was the cause of getting this film green-lit. James Mangold’s idea is incredibly different in more ways than one, but its payoff is shocking and in the best way possible. A film with an important story as this requires strong characters (in this case old and new) and one of the greatest aspects of “Logan” is Laura and Keen’s portrayal. Her character works in every way, nailing both the scenes of dialog as well as the action sequences. We can only hope we see more of her in the future! Jackman continues to top his previous performance as the grizzled-vet and Stewart does a tremendous job portraying the physically-ill Charles. The film also does a good job of connecting the film with the past experiences and history of Logan and Charles, with a few easter eggs implanted for the die-hard fans as well. The film’s action sequences are few, but they are well-choreographed and shot; feeling like a gritty Western in the style they were shot. “Logan” also features another awesome antagonist, but you’ll have to see the film to find out who or what that is! The best way to experience “Logan” is to known as little as possible! “Logan” has a run time of 137 minutes, keeping you thoroughly entertained from start-to-finish as you find yourself witnessing these characters that you have known and loved for years. “Logan” is the most realistic and personal X-Men film yet; with a story that takes major risk and ends-up being a sublime success!

“Logan” follows him in the distant future as he cares for Charles in his old age, when he is tasked to save a young girl that may have more in-common with him than he realizes. The film features a great story, a few impressive action sequences, and the most vulgar and violent X-Men film yet! If you are heading to the movies this weekend, go see “Logan”!!

4.5/5

Tony Mosello