Logan

Superhero movies where the actor retires the role are faced with the challenge of leaving a satisfying conclusion to the character arc. Hugh Jackman has been performing as Wolverine for 17 years in 9 movies of the X-Men film series. His performance as the gruff and tough character has been a highlight to look forward to, no matter how great (X-Men, X2, First Class, Days of Future Past, and The Wolverine) or disappointing (The Last Stand, Origins, Apocalypse) the film is. When the trailer to his final outing in the role, Logan, appeared in theaters, it presented enough bits of the movie with intrigue and finesse to drive the hype surrounding Hugh's farewell to the characters fans. After it released, the movie was apparently so wonderful it convinced Patrick Stewart to retire from his role as Charles Xavier and immensely impressed critics. I went into the theater excited while ready to see if the experience would bring me to tears and left the theater incredibly satisfied even though it was very close to making me tear up a little.

Plot: The story takes place in 2029 where our titular protagonist is in a rough physical state and encounters a situation that forces him back to the harsh life he retired from where he takes a hard look at his perception of himself and his views on life. While he embarks on this dangerous mission, tough obstacles pushes him to his emotional and physical limits at his old age. Unlike the X-Men movies preceding this, the movie presents itself more as a character study where all that he has been through has led to his outlook on reality and the effect carried onto it by the only friends he has left in his life. There is enough development in the plot to build the increasing stakes our protagonists face once the action pops back in after a period of time. The story isn't another action piece popcorn flick but rather a character movie that takes everything they have been through into dark harsh journey that defines them. This isn't a normal superhero movie that focuses on the villains as well as the heroes but one that limits the screen time on the former in favor of the latter, which makes the story worth watching. Overall Logan's story has a dark tone as it focuses on Logan on one last mission while being reminded of his humanity from the people he has left in his life.

Characters: The characters to focus on in Logan are James "Logan" Howlett (Hugh Jackman), Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), and Laura (Dafne Keen). After living over 100 years via his healing factor and suffering emotional losses along the way, Logan is our old gruff tired protagonist who has retired himself from his X-Men life. Hugh Jackman gives his best performance as he shows this character struggling to heal from wounds physical and emotional during his dangerous mission he undergoes while being reminded of his humanity along the way. After decades of running the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters to shelter young mutants and leading the X-Men, Xavier is in terrible shape at his old age with dementia. Patrick Stewart provides a great performance as a character who still carries hope for the future despite his mental problems. What makes his performance shine the best is that, unlike his other appearances in the film series, his role is an actual main character instead of being sidelined to the background. Patrick and Hugh shares great chemistry with in their interactions with each other during the movie as well as noting their history of working together in the past films. Both characters are trying to help the other with their individual problems throughout the story, providing some great character moments. Laura is a young mutant who's an important focus in Logan's mission with a tragic backstory. Dafne gives an excellent performance as this troubled little girl with some antisocial tendencies and shares a connection with Logan. As the story movies forward, the bond between Laura and Logan helps bring out the best in themselves. Honorable mentions go to Boyd Holdbrook and Stephen Merchant for their great performances in their roles in the story. Overall the casting choices perform wonderfully bringing in characters worth rooting for and sympathizing with in the movies tough environment.

Action: The best ways to describe the action in Logan is that is earns that R-rating and everything you have been waiting to see him with his claws. Normally his berserker rage moments were pretty cool in movies like X2 and The Wolverine, but in this environment nothing is held back as any part of the human body is targeted in his attacks. What also helps the action standout is having two characters with the berserker rage capability: Logan and Laura. Considering how young and fast she is, her moments of action are great to watch. An honorable mention that goes to a certain action sequence involving all three main characters in an amazing creative scene. Overall the action deserves its R-rating while delivering the much desired action to expect from Logan in addition to what Laura is capable of.

Overall Consensus: Logan is an excellent farewell story for Hugh Jackman's character that's strengthened by great performances, bloody brutal action, an engaging story with a dark tone, and a satisfying conclusion that's worth sinking your claws into (pun intended). ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑ 🍿

Reasons to watch it: You like Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, and/or Dafne Keen. You like R-rated superhero movies with a dark tone. You like bloody brutal action. You like movies that focus on characters instead of boring popcorn action. You want to see the Wolverine movie that you have been waiting for. You don't care about X-Men chronology and just want to see Logan. You want to see how the Wolverine arc end in the final entry of that trilogy. You want to judge on your own how this movie does in showcasing the characters it focuses on.

Reasons to avoid it: You don't like Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, and/or Dafne Keen. You don't like R-rated superhero movies. You don't like bloody brutal action. You prefer popcorn action movies instead of character focused movies.

Coming up next: After beginning on a strong start, March Mayhem has three movies left. Will the next entry in what's building up to becoming monster franchise have enough good things to satisfy fans of monster movies? Will we be able to look over any potential flaws as we get closer to the large action involving the giant ape in question? I will find out next weekend as March Mayhem continues with the next entry in the monsterverse, Kong: Skull Island.