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Logan


Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, and Dafne Keen
Directed by: James Mangold
Screenplay by: James Mangold and Scott Frank

     The year is 2029, and much of the world has changed for our hero, Logan/the Wolverine (Hugh Jackman).  Many of the mutants are gone and Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) is not well.  Logan is living out his days chauffeuring bachelorette parties as well as caring for Charles Xavier.  They live in an old and run down building that looks like it was once a small factory or mill somewhere along the Mexican border.  Charles is suffering from severe seizures that impact not only his abilities, but can cause serious harm to people around him, and it is up to Logan and their mutant friend, Caliban (Stephen Merchant), to care for him and make sure he's on his meds.
     One day, along comes a young girl named Laura (Dafne Keen) who can't speak.  It becomes clear that she is a mutant and needs help.  She has escaped with the help of her mother from a facility where she and other mutant children are being studied and potentially weaponized.  Laura is a big fan of the X-Men comic series and carries issues of it with her in her backpack.  In one of her comics, there is a place somewhere in the north, near the Canadian border, where mutants are headed to escape the persecution they suffer.  Laura believes wholeheartedly that this place is real and is desperate to get there, by any means necessary.  She believes Logan and Charles will want to go as well so she does her best to convince them that the place is real.  Logan is unwilling to take her as he is aging, ailing, and spends much of his time drinking.  The ravages of time are clearly affecting him and he must decide whether to use his powers for good one last time, or not.  Meanwhile, the corporation that Laura has fled is after her and will follow her for as long as they can until either she reaches this place, or they capture her.  So, not only will Logan have to take her there, but will have to protect her at all costs; a decision that weighs heavily on Logan.
     There are plenty of good action sequences in this film, but unlike so many other superhero films, Logan chooses not to focus on them, but rather the more mundane aspects of being heroic.  Here, we see a superhero in the twilight of his life, and unsure what to do with the rest of it, or how he will even get by.  Logan struggles emotionally, physically, and financially.
     Logan is a unique film because it shows the hero with superhuman qualities, as simply human who just so happens to have special abilities.  He has struggled throughout his life and it shows in this film.  He does not self-heal as well as he once did, and he does not fight as well as he once did.  Rarely do we see such a flawed superhero character.  Logan is unsure of himself.  He does not necessarily hear the call to save the day like other superheroes might.  He hears it but has to think about it.  In this sense, I am reminded of Christian Bale's portrayal of Batman in The Dark Knight trilogy.  Logan is a more emotional and existential film than other superhero films might be.  This is a quality that sets it apart from much of the rest of the Marvel universe.
     Logan is a film that will draw you in emotionally.  It is a truly excellent film in this sense.  I give Logan an A-.

Image Source: www.fanboyfactor.com/2017/02/movie-review-logan-fox/

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