Logan
Year: 2017
Rating: R
Length: 137 minutes / 2.28 hours
I’m not sure I know what to think about this movie. I mean, I wanted to like it inasmuch as I like a lot of the action-filled superhero movies that preceded it. However, the plot felt like it had less to do with these fantastic mutant abilities and more about just living life as normal people. Don’t get me wrong: there are plenty of mutant abilities on display in this film, it’s just that they weren’t necessarily the focus of it. In fact, if you took away the fact that this was based on comic book characters, you’d still have a film about a father trying to care for a daughter he never knew he had. Almost sounds cliche to me.
Regarding the Wolverine spinoff series, Logan (2017), is a strong finish after the abysmal Wolverine: Origins (2009) and slightly improved The Wolverine (2013). I did appreciate the finality of it, especially considering the whole X-Men film series started seventeen years ago. Unfortunately, unlike Deadpool (2016), which thrives on the entertainment value of its title character, Logan left me confused with just how much abuse this character could take, especially since his regenerative powers weren’t what they used to be.
I know many people were thrilled that this film was able to have an “R” rating, but I honestly don’t see what’s so special about it. I mean, we have had V for Vendetta (2005) and Watchmen (2009) before it, and even the aforementioned Deadpool fully used its “R” rating. Sure, it was fun to finally see the eponymous Logan essentially use his knives-for-hands to eviscerate the enemy in its bloody and gory glory, but I think my imagination could do that in the earlier, PG-13 versions without much of a jump. And it’s not like Logan wasn’t allowed to use strong language in previous films, it’s just that he was able to use a lot more of it in this one.
A fitting end to an OK spinoff series, I give Logan 3.5 stars out of 5.