Saturday, March 4, 2017

Logan

Wolverine finally has his The Dark Knight.

Hugh Jackman's Wolverine has carved out many iconic scenes on film (six X-Men movies and two Wolverine ones) and he may be the single most iconic onscreen superhero, but the flicks have always come up short. Wolverine has never had a great movie—until now.

For starters, Logan is unburdened of comic book trappings. There is no doomsday villain nemesis nor aliens invading our planet. This down-to-earth film fulfills the promise of those first scenes in the original X-Men (2000) where we were first introduced to the Eastwood-gruff character. The R-rated Logan is gritty, raw, original and before the film is over, we finally get to see Wolverine let loose. And it's about bloody time.

It's 2029 and mutants are a thing of the past. Logan is graying, tired and worse of all—driving for an Uber-like service when trouble comes his way. That trouble sets up a road trip film that is part Road Warrior, T2, High Noon and Shane, a western noir which is utilized within the film. 


There's a lot to love about Logan. Jackman and the esquisite Patrick Stewart share some powerfully-written scenes that rise above the format. Fans will be pleased and first-timers will have a stand-alone film to love. Cue the sunset.

Simply put: Logan is the Wolverine movie we've waited 17 years for.

Award potential: If this were a different time of year, I could entertain some Golden Globe discussion about Jackman and Stewart even though it's a comic-based movie, but these super performances won't be remembered as award-worthy a year from now.

The Ten Buck Review: Worth ten bucks.