*Light spoilers are in this review*
Time……
Time is the one thing that can’t go in reverse (unless you are the Flash, but that is totally different universe).
It is true that as time passes and we experience more things the grumpier we get. If you think about it, it makes perfect sense, because the older you get, the more aware you become that you are going to die.
Many people get old with a LOT of regrets and that makes them even more grumpy.
As I watched the movie Logan two things really stood out. First was that this is the Wolverine I read in the comics. Wolverine isn’t this aw shucks Superhero like say a Superman or even a Spider-Man. He doesn’t have a moral code like Batman, he is just a screwed up dude with claws, who has some serious rage issues.
They have watered him down for the movies, but in LOGAN they let the REAL Wolverine out and that guy isn’t pretty. It becomes very clear from the opening scene this isn’t your older brother’s X-Men style movie.
The second is that this is a movie about death and coming to terms with it. I’d imagine it is a little different for mutants, but death is still death. Right from the beginning you know that the main characters time is limited including Logan whose Adamantium is finally starting to degrade and poison his body (lasted for a good 80 years though). All Logan wants to do retire on a boat with Charles (who is going through his own thing, which might be rougher than Logan to be honest), but things keep slowing down the process.
Alas, it hard to leave for your yacht when a break baby is dropped in your lap.
Let me just say the girl who plays X-23 in the movie Dafne Keen is EXCEPTIONAL. She is by far the best thing about the movie. I had doubts about the X-23 storyline because it didn’t do much for me in the comics and even in the movie it is a bit convoluted, but she is such a good actress you will overlook it and simply be waiting for her next scene (especially the fighting ones).
With that being said there are some scenes that absolutely make no sense at all and I gather a lot was left on the cutting room floor. It is nitpicking but for example I am still trying to figure out how a 12 year was able to drive a truck 100s of miles to a location with just longitude and latitude coordinates in the middle of nowhere. But like I said, those are small things you need to get over.
Part of getting old if you are lucky is to see younger better version of yourself in your kids. In Logan it isn’t just X-23, but all the mutant kids are variations of other mutants (yes, even Magneto). It is something that Logan struggles with the entire movie, but as you will see eventually in a very touching way he sees the light.
Now that we got the sappy and sweet stuff out of the way let me tell you that this movie really reminded me of the steroid era in MLB, because EVERYONE is juiced up or heavily medicated in the movie.
I am sure that isn’t what they were going for, but I kept thinking this is probably how MLB locker rooms were in the 90s.
This by far is the best Wolverine movie because it finally allows Wolverine to be Wolverine. It is sad that the early rendition didn’t quite capture the rage like this one did (but they try to remedy that in a very unique way).
I wouldn’t bring super small kids to this movie, they will probably have nightmares, so that is a little warning, but it is definitely a must see if you are a fan of the genre or if you just like to see a lot of Mortal Kombat style deaths.
One last thing and this is a HEAVY spoiler so I am going to allow you to flip the page to read.