Logan
Logan! Logan is directed by James Mangold and stars Patrick Stewart, Richard E.Grant and Hugh Jackman in his final stint as Logan or as we all know him better, the Wolverine. Now this is the third standalone Wolverine movie and the umpteenth time that Jackman has appeared as the character in the X-Men/Fox universe.
The story follows old man Logan and a very ill Professor X and their attempts to help this little girl called Laura get to safety. Logan is beaten down both physically and mentally and initially he doesn't want anything to do with Laura. It's all about Logan's journey of discovery and how he bonds with Laura and sympathises with her situation. It's a simple story, road trip movie but don't be fooled.
Straight out of the bag, I don't like the X-Men. I wasn't a fan of the comic books, the animated series and most of the movies. The only X-Men movie I enjoyed was X-Men: Days of Future Past. In fact my personal worst movie of last year was X-Men: Apocalypse. I'm sorry. So shoot me. I even rate Apocalypse lower than Batman Vs. Superman AND Suicide Squad. It's a very unpopular opinion and it's one that a flat mate of mine, Nathan, has given me so much shit for and I am more than prepared to take more of it from anyone reading it.
But, on the flip side, Logan is by far my favourite "comic book" movies of all time. And yes I use the quotation marks deliberately because this is a character drama at heart that at times have superpowered people sprinkled into it. I had NO expectations going into this movie. Heck I didn't even want to see this, I was just going to let it slide but it was a very close friend of mines birthday and he was dying to see Logan because he loves the Wolverine. I was biting a bullet going in because I was wanting to please a friend and after the opening scene I was so blown away I was choking on the fucking thing. Seriously guys, this movie was fucking incredible.
I do not want to spoil a thing that happens because I don't want to lessen the blow or the experience so this is going to be spoiler free review to the best of my ability and I absolutely have no clue as to where to start.
The performances in this movie are electric. Patrick Stewart and Hugh Jackman deliver some of their best work in years. Each get their moments to shine and have individual monologues that,I'm not even kidding, feel Oscar worthy. These two more than earn their paycheck for this. And as it is seemingly the last time that either actor will play their respective character, thank god. Two spectacular performances as two spectacular send offs. We will miss you Hugh and Patrick. Dafne Keen who plays Laura in this movie is also VERY good. Now I'm always very nervous when I see a child of her age starring in a movie as big as this but she brought it and for most of the time, due to a language barrier experienced by the characters, she remains mute. But Dafne Keen shows that there are way more ways to act and project emotion in a really heartfelt way than just the spoken word. She was amazing and her performance was great, big things coming from her in the future. Dafne Keen, kudos to you. You pulled off a performance that a lot of people your age (and even older) wouldn't be able to manage. High five to you kid.
This movies biggest victory is in it's performances and character. It is a slow build that just adds layer after layer to each and every character that gets screentime and by the time the end credits roll you really feel connected to these people. And they are as far from real as characters in a movie can get! Excellent characterisation and for me it humanises the X-Men in a way no other X-Men universe movie ever have. Again no spoilers, by the time the end credits roll, I had been balling with tears ten times over because you really empathise with these characters.
The villains played by Richard E.Grant and Boyd Holbrook are incredibly menacing. They serve a purpose to the plot and their reasoning and motivations are well fleshed out. I'm a massive fan of Richard E.Grant and I had no idea he was in Logan so I was really pleased to see him. It's not a massive, world ending plan they have and that really helps this movie. It's kept small and that's mirrored by the character interactions. Thank God we got no destruction porn a la Apocalypse. *Vomits a little*
Oh and Jesus, Stephen Merchant is in this movie. Who'd have thought it. He was cool.
So what people are probably dying to know is about the R rating. In this post Deadpool world 20th Century Fox finally came to their useless senses and thought, "maybe the Wolverine, the most violent Marvel comic book character, should get a violent movie." No shit Fox. It pays off. This is BRUTAL. And it's probably a good thing to say that it never feels gratuitous. Not ever does the violence in Logan feel senseless. It folds into the character drama effortlessly and those involved are all heavily emotionally effected by it. Oh, and it's cool as fuck to see Wolverine slicing the shit out of some bad guys.
Guys, people have been anticipating this movie for months. I don't need to tell you to go watch it. But what I can say is Logan blew me away. I could not find a single problem with this movie and I walked into the cinema looking to nitpick and rip this to shreds. It is a powerful, character driven drama, beautifully directed by James Mangold and some of the best performances from Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart. I know this is pie in the sky hoping but honestly, I'm hoping for some Oscar buzz for Logan. Imagine coming back to rewatching this, this time next year and being able to say, on his final performance after 17 years as the character, Academy Award nominated Hugh Jackman for Logan. This is a massive win for comic book movies and cinema in general. My favourite comic book film of all time (yes, even better than Dark Knight) by far and it is a fantastic movie PERIOD.
If you haven't guessed by now, as I've been gushing relentlessly for the last few hundred words or so, Logan whole heartedly gets a big fat fucking A+.
If you've seen Logan, what did you think about it? Do you agree with my thoughts and feelings on this? If not, why? Hit me up in the comments below or on Twitter (@walkermatt3).
The story follows old man Logan and a very ill Professor X and their attempts to help this little girl called Laura get to safety. Logan is beaten down both physically and mentally and initially he doesn't want anything to do with Laura. It's all about Logan's journey of discovery and how he bonds with Laura and sympathises with her situation. It's a simple story, road trip movie but don't be fooled.
Straight out of the bag, I don't like the X-Men. I wasn't a fan of the comic books, the animated series and most of the movies. The only X-Men movie I enjoyed was X-Men: Days of Future Past. In fact my personal worst movie of last year was X-Men: Apocalypse. I'm sorry. So shoot me. I even rate Apocalypse lower than Batman Vs. Superman AND Suicide Squad. It's a very unpopular opinion and it's one that a flat mate of mine, Nathan, has given me so much shit for and I am more than prepared to take more of it from anyone reading it.
But, on the flip side, Logan is by far my favourite "comic book" movies of all time. And yes I use the quotation marks deliberately because this is a character drama at heart that at times have superpowered people sprinkled into it. I had NO expectations going into this movie. Heck I didn't even want to see this, I was just going to let it slide but it was a very close friend of mines birthday and he was dying to see Logan because he loves the Wolverine. I was biting a bullet going in because I was wanting to please a friend and after the opening scene I was so blown away I was choking on the fucking thing. Seriously guys, this movie was fucking incredible.
I do not want to spoil a thing that happens because I don't want to lessen the blow or the experience so this is going to be spoiler free review to the best of my ability and I absolutely have no clue as to where to start.
The performances in this movie are electric. Patrick Stewart and Hugh Jackman deliver some of their best work in years. Each get their moments to shine and have individual monologues that,I'm not even kidding, feel Oscar worthy. These two more than earn their paycheck for this. And as it is seemingly the last time that either actor will play their respective character, thank god. Two spectacular performances as two spectacular send offs. We will miss you Hugh and Patrick. Dafne Keen who plays Laura in this movie is also VERY good. Now I'm always very nervous when I see a child of her age starring in a movie as big as this but she brought it and for most of the time, due to a language barrier experienced by the characters, she remains mute. But Dafne Keen shows that there are way more ways to act and project emotion in a really heartfelt way than just the spoken word. She was amazing and her performance was great, big things coming from her in the future. Dafne Keen, kudos to you. You pulled off a performance that a lot of people your age (and even older) wouldn't be able to manage. High five to you kid.
This movies biggest victory is in it's performances and character. It is a slow build that just adds layer after layer to each and every character that gets screentime and by the time the end credits roll you really feel connected to these people. And they are as far from real as characters in a movie can get! Excellent characterisation and for me it humanises the X-Men in a way no other X-Men universe movie ever have. Again no spoilers, by the time the end credits roll, I had been balling with tears ten times over because you really empathise with these characters.
The villains played by Richard E.Grant and Boyd Holbrook are incredibly menacing. They serve a purpose to the plot and their reasoning and motivations are well fleshed out. I'm a massive fan of Richard E.Grant and I had no idea he was in Logan so I was really pleased to see him. It's not a massive, world ending plan they have and that really helps this movie. It's kept small and that's mirrored by the character interactions. Thank God we got no destruction porn a la Apocalypse. *Vomits a little*
Oh and Jesus, Stephen Merchant is in this movie. Who'd have thought it. He was cool.
So what people are probably dying to know is about the R rating. In this post Deadpool world 20th Century Fox finally came to their useless senses and thought, "maybe the Wolverine, the most violent Marvel comic book character, should get a violent movie." No shit Fox. It pays off. This is BRUTAL. And it's probably a good thing to say that it never feels gratuitous. Not ever does the violence in Logan feel senseless. It folds into the character drama effortlessly and those involved are all heavily emotionally effected by it. Oh, and it's cool as fuck to see Wolverine slicing the shit out of some bad guys.
Guys, people have been anticipating this movie for months. I don't need to tell you to go watch it. But what I can say is Logan blew me away. I could not find a single problem with this movie and I walked into the cinema looking to nitpick and rip this to shreds. It is a powerful, character driven drama, beautifully directed by James Mangold and some of the best performances from Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart. I know this is pie in the sky hoping but honestly, I'm hoping for some Oscar buzz for Logan. Imagine coming back to rewatching this, this time next year and being able to say, on his final performance after 17 years as the character, Academy Award nominated Hugh Jackman for Logan. This is a massive win for comic book movies and cinema in general. My favourite comic book film of all time (yes, even better than Dark Knight) by far and it is a fantastic movie PERIOD.
If you haven't guessed by now, as I've been gushing relentlessly for the last few hundred words or so, Logan whole heartedly gets a big fat fucking A+.
If you've seen Logan, what did you think about it? Do you agree with my thoughts and feelings on this? If not, why? Hit me up in the comments below or on Twitter (@walkermatt3).
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