Friday, March 3, 2017

Logan (2017) Movie Review

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For those of you that value my opinion on movies, even remotely, just know this: I literally just spent the past ten minutes trying to find something wrong with Logan. For the life of me, I couldn't do it. If you're reading this and you're in a hurry, I'll save you some time: Logan is one of the best films you will see all year.

It's a film that sucks you in with how real it actually feels. Sure, it takes place twelve years from now and it's about mutants, yet it still manages to capture a visceral realism that's unforgiving. Mutants, kids at that, fighting for their survival and having to take lives to keep their own. Innocent casualties. A corporation willing to risk everything to fatten its own pocket. All conceivable scenarios that gives Logan a roughness around its edges.

The year is 2029 and there hasn't been a new mutant born since 2004. Logan (Hugh Jackman) has become a limousine driver and his age is finally starting to show. His attempts to remain low-key are ruined when a woman abruptly appears in his life asking him to transport a young girl to safety.

The film was carried, in part, by phenomenal acting performances. Patrick Stewart reprises his role as Professor Charles Xavier. He's become a bit senile in his old age. Logan has to force feed him pills to keep him from having seizures that wreak havoc on the world around him. There's a lot to be said about some of the powerful scenes he finds himself in. There's even more to be said about Dafne Keen's performance as Laura (X-23). Silence is golden for her so she relies a lot on her body language and stoic facial expressions to get her point across. As a fan of the X-23 comics, I think she did an awesome job of embracing that role. Lastly, you get to see Hugh Jackman as a Wolverine that you've never really seen before, but you always knew was there. You can tell he had a lot of fun with this role as he got to utilize a lot of range. He can make you laugh then break your heart, all within a few moments.

The action will make your eyes grow big. A lot. Let's just say it's the Wolverine movie everyone has been waiting to see, or at least the one I've been waiting to see. I won't ruin even the slightest bit, but lets just say the trailers don't even come close to the bloody flick this film turns out to be. Expect to say "Ohhhhhh!" a lot.

Yes, they got it right this time around. I love that Logan never deviates from character. He doesn't change being who he is just because a kid is in the picture. On the surface, he's a jerk that has to look out for number one first. Underneath is a man who has a larger heart than he realizes, yet refuses to show it.

There's so much more I can say about this film. There's the slightly brilliant move by director James Mangold to not include a post-credits scene (about thirty seconds into the film, you will understand why and be totally happy about it). Then you have the excellent pacing among many other things. Logan is the overall package. I give it a 97.

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