By Lucas Shim
The Mirror Staff
By Ty Willis
The Mirror Staff
“Of all the X-Men movies to date, it’s the saddest and most serious, and the one that most challenges the familiar ideas of superhero narratives.”
ENTERTAINMENT
Farewell, Wolverine
ENTERTAINMENT : “Logan” Claws its Way Up to a Dark Conclusion
Wolverine is no more… for now.
After releasing X-Men films over the past 17 years, 21st Century Fox Studios decided to let the Wolverine’s story come to a conclusion in his third solo film, “Logan.”
This film is the last that audiences will see of Hugh Jackman’s portrayal of James Logan Howlett, the Wolverine, as well as Patrick Stewart’s portrayal of Charles Xavier, also known as the Professor X, the leader of the X-Men.
In the year 2029, the world of humans born with abnormal abilities, known as mutants, has been declining. The X-Men do not exist anymore. Neither does X-Mansion, the school for mutants that was once instructed by Professor X.
Howlett, once the Wolverine and now known as Logan, works as a limousine driver for a living while also taking care of a sick 90-year-old Charles. At this time of the story, Charles is suffering from Alzheimer’s.
When a strange mutant girl named Laura Kinney, played by Dafne Keen, and a female companion meet up with Logan and claim that they are in danger, his life once again turns upside down.
Having the same abilities as Logan, such as regenerative healing and adamantium claws, she tries to escape a secret organization with the aid of Logan and Charles.
Setting off an epic conclusion to the stories of Wolverine and Professor X, “Logan” manages to sadden and elicit tears from audiences while entertaining fans with comedic one-liners and intense action sequences at the same time.
Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, and Dafne Keen each act in their own superb ways as if their characters and actual persona are one, while also bonding with each other and forming emotional relationships.
The chemistry between Logan and Charles gives the feeling of a father-son bond. This is probably due to how Charles, who led the X-Men, guided Logan throughout the films into becoming a man with morality and finding his own purpose in life.
The movie’s violent and bloody action sequences amazes audiences especially with 12-year-old actress Dafne Keen, who steals the show. Keen manages to perfectly bond with Jackman with a father-daughter relationship throughout the gruesome scenes, practically since both of them slaughter people with adamantium claws.
Although some may not know what Keen’s character sounds like because she never speaks in the trailers, those who already watched the film may find Keen’s voice to be surprisingly high-pitched, which may give audiences a different perspective of her throughout the film. However, this does not ruin the movie in any way because it is due to her young age, which is understandable.
A big plus contributing to “Logan’s” success is an R rating, because the film contains excessive violence, gore, and profanity. This was never done before in the X-Men universe until “Deadpool,” one of the previous films that was also R-rated, received positive reviews.
While “Deadpool’s” success made “Logan” possible, the two movies take radically different tones with the same basic ideas about how family makes tragedies survivable.
“Deadpool” finds cynical, bitter, and playful humor even in the most miserable situations.
“Logan,” on the other hand, embraces its misery, positing a world where heroism and kindness are always brutally punished, yet personal connection is the only meaningful resource left to its characters.
Of all the X-Men movies to date, “Logan” is the saddest and most serious, and the one that most challenges the familiar ideas of superhero narratives.
But its uniqueness and its complete devotion to tragedy makes it feel like the most adult story this film series has ever told. The weight of graphic, grotesque violence hangs over the entire movie. But the daring emotional violence still lingers on, well after the lights go down on the final shot.
This is indeed Academy Award material.
The movie is a comic book adaptation of Old Man Logan, written by Mark Millar, which tells a similar story taking place in an alternate future where superheroes no longer exist, and the Wolverine has grown into an old man.
Dafne Keen’s character, Laura Kinney, is an adaptation of X-23, an experiment that is the clone-daughter of Wolverine, a character similar to the one from the movies.
X-23 was originally not in the comic books but was written by Craig Kyle for an animated series called X-Men: Evolution. She eventually appeared in her first comic book NYX #3 in 2004.
Looking back at the last 17 years, Hugh Jackman starred in every released X-Men movie, including his own solo films, X-Men Origins: Wolverine and The Wolverine. He only made brief appearances in the prequels, X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Apocalypse.
Patrick Stewart portrayed Professor X in X-Men, X-2: X-Men United, and X-Men: The Last Stand. He only played small cameos in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and The Wolverine. He later took a long break from his character before finally reappearing with a large role in X-Men: Days of Future Past.
This was because actor James McAvoy began to portray a younger version at that time of his character in a prequel film, X-Men: First Class.
McAvoy will continue to portray a younger Professor X in more prequel films as he already had done so in the most previous film, X-Men: Apocalypse.
Patrick Stewart was asked in an interview if he would be interested to play the character in Legion, an FX television series that tells the story of Charles Xavier’s son, David Haller. He replied, “Absolutely, one-hundred percent!”
However, there is currently no information as to whether he will actually appear on the show.
Although some may be saddened by the departure of Hugh Jackman as the Wolverine, Jackman released a statement to the public that it was the right time and perfect way to end his story in the franchise.
He stated that he would have thought about staying if the Wolverine was able to join the Avengers.
The next film taking place in the X-Men universe is “Deadpool 2,” starring Ryan Reynolds, Brianna Hildebrand, Zazie Beetz, Karan Soni, and Stefan Kapicic.
“Logan” will be released on DVD/Blu-ray and Digital HD on May 23.
The Blu-ray version will contain a “Black and White” filter of the film.