STARRING: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Dafne Keen, Boyd Holbrook and Eriq La Salle
DIRECTED BY: James Mangold
RELEASE DATE: March 3, 2017
Logan marks the final installment of the Wolverine franchise and it by far is the most violent of the three. With it’s R rating the audience will definitely be shocked but pleased at the same time. Hugh Jackman even took a pay cut to make certain that his final appearance as the Marvel hero would be one to remember and he certainly did not disappoint with the film to date making over $100 million.
With it’s 2 hour and 15 minute run time Logan takes the audience on a thrill ride of adventure and emotion. The film begins in the not so distance future of 2029 as Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) has become a limo driver to make ends meet. Be forewarned that this is not the Wolverine that audiences are accustomed to seeing. He is weak and feeble and his healing ability is far from what it used to be. Not only has Logan been reduced to such a menial role but he and Caliban, (Stephen Merchant) a former mutant tracker, are harboring Professor X (Patrick Stewart) on the Mexican border at a compound because he has become mentally ill.
During one of Logan’s hires for his limo he encounters Gabriela (Elizabeth Rodriguez) who offers him $25,000 to take her and Laura/X-23 (Dafnee Keen) to South Dakota. Unbeknownst to Wolverine, Laura is a mutant who, along with the help of Gabriela, has escaped from Transigen Industries which is a devious company that concocts mutants to do their bidding.
Agreeing to accept the job to take Gabriela and Laura to South Dakota, Logan goes back to the compound (not knowing that Laura was hiding in the trunk) and all chaos breaks loose. There, he meets the leader of the Reavers, Pierce (Boyd Holbrook), who has been hired as a bounty hunter to capture Laura and bring her back to Transigen Industries. It is here that Logan discovers that Laura is an exquisite fighting machine with Adamantium claws in her hands and feet and that she can fight like a trained assassin.
Upon escaping the Reavers, Logan, Professor X and Laura get a new vehicle and some new clothes since they have become wanted fugitives. Along the way they meet the Munson family who give the trio a home cooked meal and a place to stay for the night but like anyone that becomes close to Wolverine their demise is imminent. After the Reavers find them, they dispose of the Munsons and Professor X and attempt to kidnap Laura. At this point of the film X-24 (Wolverine’s clone played by Hugh Jackman) is introduced to Logan and the two have a fight for the ages. At this point Wolverine’s condition is weakening him by the moment but he and Laura manage to escape.
After the two regroup they finally make it to the safe haven in South Dakota where Laura and other children who were held captive at Transigen Industries are. The children’s plan is to go to Canada and find a place called Eden where they will be able to live in peace. Of course this is a Marvel film and everyone knows there has to be a conclusive fight scene which entails the children, X-24, Laura and Logan.
Logan was an indelible film that at times pulled at the viewer’s heart strings. On the surface there was violence and profanity but on the interior there was Laura who wanted to connect with her father (Logan) whom she had never met before and Logan battling his demons that had plagued him for so long. Hugh Jackman’s portrayal of Logan/Wolverine was epic and it will be a role that will be remembered in cinematic history. Logan receives 8 stars out of 10 stars.