Logan (2017)
James Mangold
Writers:
James Mangold, Michael Green (screenplay), John Romita Sr. and Roy Thomas (Characters), Lein Wein, Herb Trimpe, (Characters), and Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost (X-23, Laura Kinney).
Cast:
Hugh Jackman (Logan), Patrick Stewart (Charles), Dafine Keen (Laura), Boyd Holbrook (Pierce), Stephen Merchant (Caliban), Elizabeth Rodriguez (Gabriela), Richard E. Grant (Dr. Rice), Eriq La Salle (Will Munson), Elise Neal (Kathryn Munson), and Quincy Fouse (Nate Munson).
Opening sequence:
Finally a Wolverine film that has something to offer than a humdrum story. Unlike the other Wolverine films this one has a balls to the wall kinda feel to it. The film never lets you go, it continues to grab you as the story goes along. I can say that with relief, because this is it, not going to get anything better than what you saw in this film. Not going to say much more before i go into my review, i just wanted to let you guys know where i came from on this highly touchy subject matter. R-rated films sometimes gets a bad wrap because of the material, and to be honest, it sucks, it really does. R movies have a unique way of establishing a plot, granted it is violence as heck but sometimes you need that to tell the story as it should go.
Spoilers alert! If you continue to read on, the film will be ruined for you. Do not read. If you do then know, that it's not my fault.
"Where we're going, "Eden..." It doesn't exist. The nurse got it from a comic book. You understand? It's not real." -Logan-
"It is for Laura..." -Charles Xavier-
Review:
2029, James Howlett, a mere cover for Logan (Hugh Jackman). Aka The Wolverine. All that stuff is long in the past. The Limo, trying to get some sleep. Not late to his next gig, but the limo continues to move. Logan wakes up from a well deserved nap. Logan try's to get the gang of thieves to stop. The gang has his limo jacked up, they're trying to steel the tires. But as things go, Logan tries to stop them. Suddenly the five guys beat Logan severely, each kicking, punching, bringing him to the ground. The pain, and grunts that come out of Logan continue as the five gang members beat him.
The moment of silence, the gang members continue the task of jacking the tire. But as things go, nothing is simple with Logan. He stands and tells them to stop. One guy draws his pistol and shoots Logan, but the only thing that happened was the anger, and fury that was unleashed upon this group of gang members. The claws were extended, he had sliced through one guys arm with the firearm. The blood spewed as he slashed, clawed into one members chest, he went down. The others advanced, but the outcome was bloody. The claws were to fast, Logan had pushed everything into killing the men that had tried to take what was his. He had known this way of life to many times, and to many life times, but the alcohol is all he knows now. Even after the gun shots, his chest burning from the bullets inside of him. He had known how to control himself before a fight, but these guys will never know what hit them, especially when there all dead. Logan stumbles and continues to his limo, and drives away from the bloodshed that occurred.
"You are dying. You want to die." -Laura-
"How do you know?" -Logan-
"Charles told me." -Laura-
"What else did he tell you?" -Logan-
"To not let you." -Laura-
The story of a man that looks like he has given up. Caliban (Stephen Merchant) and Charles (Patrick Stewart) are in the US/Mexico border in an abandon water plant in the Mexican countryside. The wonderful part of the film is the build up to the main gist of the story. Logan is hiding from something, or staying away from a world without Mutants. 25 years and no mutant child, nothing. The mystery behind what happened to the X-men is in Charles's head, but the film continues leaving you with some clues but no long dragged out scene. I personally love that. the story keeps you on your toes. it's without damage control, it's a solid story without giving you the whole story. It gives you enough to keep the audience there. Charles has these seizures that are pretty bad, i mean the guy is in his 90's but those seizures are so bad it makes people stop whatever their doing, and the pain rushes inside your head. A plus size migraine, you need a crap load of pills to deal wit it. That's the overall feeling. Caliban is the Morlock, for those of you who don't know the Morlocks these guys lived in dark tunnels. Sewer systems throughout major cities of the world. These guys have a long extensive history, so check it out online.
The acting by the way is more than OK, it's beyond awesomeness. These actors including all the young ones, are wonderful. The story and the folks who picked the actors to make this film happen is not only done for fan boys, and X-men fans, but they did a great service, with keeping the characters real enough to bring a smile to all fans. How many times do we see bad casting in a film. The main stream line of superhero movies sometimes make bad choices. Like the Green Lantern film, Ryan Reynolds was a bad choice for the Green Lantern, especially the direction the film went. I mean it deserved better, but they chose badly and the film paid the price. In Logan, Mangold the director had everything right, even down to the overall feel. Granted i really didn't want a duplicate of the comics but at least we get that overall feel. The film got it right, and to me that's a major battle won. I know the Reavers could have gone the way the comic but the feel and direction was right. The film was different and sometimes that's a good thing. Donald Pierce (Boyd Holbrook) was the leader of the Revears in the film. In the comic he is a major bad guy. The head of the Hellfire club, Purifiers, and the Reavers. His body is cybernetic, superhuman strength, mechanical genius and is able to create different types of energy. This major super villain is a force to be reckon with in the film. He may have not have all the super powers, but the actor did bring his fierceness on to the film.
The year is 2029, what happened to the X-men? Where are all the mutants? What the heck happened to Logan? All those things aren't really answered, but they're told visually, discreetly, almost to discreet if you ask me. But, I'm OK with that. The film went on, it had no stops, it moved, the three ACTS were perfect. Logan had those moments were laughter was necessary, and when it hit, you laughed. It was pure joy, it was real, not superficial. Granted you wanted to know more, but i don't think the story would've gone right if those answers were given throughout the film. Sometimes it's better to keep things a mystery than to just let it all out. The mystery was the terrible situation, and the truth about what happened to the mutants, and the X-men alike. You know they were hunted and killed, somehow. Pierce had brought that up in the film with his confrontation with Caliban the mutant tracker. The movie had their bad guy, which he did a wonderful job in that role of Donald Pierce. Logan is not just any film, it's a story about changes, everything has changed so drastically in this world, that no mutants could ever make it in the new society that is conveyed on film.
"There's no living with a killing. There's no going back from it. Right or wrong,it's a brand, a brand that sticks. There's no going back. Now, you run on home to your mother and tell her, tell her everything's alright, and there aren't any more guns in the valley." -Laura-
X-23 or Laura, the girl in the film who is a complete bad ass! The location where she is born is Transigen. As the story goes. A bunch of children are trained to be soldiers. Some had different abilities that made them powerful, but not against Pierce and his Reavers. The nurse in the movie, Gabriela (Elizabeth Rodriguez) was the one who escaped the facility with Laura (Dafne Keen). The rest of the children were taken away or killed. Laura aka X-23 was the same as Logan. In the comic they tried to fuse the adamantium to Laura which ended up as a success. Retractable claws in her hands and feet. The film went the same way a bit, it just added a few bad guys here and there. Like the one to carry Laura was the actual Doctor in the project. The experiments go wrong, until the 23rd time, hence X-23. Basically mimicking the weapon X project.
"Nature made me a freak. Man made me a weapon. And God made it last to long." -Logan-
Logan had a lot going for it, and it was the change from PG-13 to R. Yes, because in order to get the character right they had to establish the character, which in order to do that the right way it must be rated R. You could argue the right and wrong way, but the fact is Wolverine is a killer, he takes people out, and to present that the right way it must be R. The gal in the film that showed off her breasts in the Limo, was just part of the story, it really didn't have to go there, but it did. It should've faded to black and move on. the whole sex part, and exposure of genitals or whatever isn't why i support R rated films. The story, violence behind it is the truth of it all. You can't tell the truth about a character that kills if he is toned down 100 percent. Let's take a look at Wolverine (2013) a much better film than the last one, X-men Origins: Wolverine (2009). Both film had great character moments but they both lacked substance. The film was lacking wolverines anger, violent tendencies that made him who he is today. The main point of anger, is the control part right? How are you going to establish a story of a guy that came from anger, in a PG-13 setting. Not going to happen. The first 5 minutes of the new movie establishes Logan and then some. All the X-men movies never really had a chance to establish Wolverine, up until now. The film brings you to another place, a place of darkness, a deep down broken path that is Logan. This film deals with so many things it could've been a 20 hour film. The main gist of this film is Logan finding his way again, and how his hiding away from people is a way to forget the horrible past that has erupted to what is the future. This film is not just good, it's an eye opener. A great quality film that you should go and see for yourself, a wonderful X-men story, and a true Wolverine that is done right, it's path should entertain even the none superhero fan. Logan is a must see, a mere image of what is a head for the merry world of mutants.
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