Marvel seems to have a claim over box office and quality over it's rival DC (last year's Batman v. Superman was a miss with fans while Deadpool was one of the year's biggest hits). As I always must preface when discussing superhero movies, I am not a fan of comics. I have never read them, I don't find interest in them, and maybe that's why the movies usually fall flat as a result. I have seen some of the X-Men movies so I have a general concept of the world we are seeing. Logan, however, is set after all that. Almost 15 years into the future, when mutants are no longer born and the remaining survivors have gone into hiding to live out the rest of their lives in fleeting obscurity.
Wolverine, aka Logan, aka Hugh Jackman, has now taken up residence as an Uber driver, shuttling drunk party-goers back and forth in a stretch limo. In his free time he cares for Professor Xavier, (Patrick Stewart) now nearing 100 years old (didn't he die in another film?), riddled with dementia and forced to take sedatives in order to keep his mind mellow. We hear about an incident years back where his mental powers unleashed and took the lives of several people. From once the most powerful psychic in the world, he is now a frail man without a grasp on his capabilities.
The plot: a woman confronts Logan out of nowhere and claims to have a small girl who needs to be taken to sanctuary. She is one of the first mutants anyone has seen in years, and she must be kept safe at all costs. Logan is reluctant to play game, especially considering that his own powers have long since weakened. His claws have difficulty retracting and his regenerative abilities are slowing down. The young girl (named Laura) is pursued by a military force, and we soon discover that she is escaped from a Mexican hospital where child mutants have literally been bred for war.
Laura (Dafne Keen) is mostly mute throughout the film, with troubled eyes and a calmness about her that creates for a unique dynamic alongside Wolverine. They, along with Xavier, journey via car towards this alleged 'salvation,' a place just north of the North Dakotah border into Canada. There is little proof that they will find anyone there, but with the impending threat of capture, they have no where else to go.
Unlike most Marvel movies, this movie actually had a feeling of genuine sincerity. What is little more than a road-trip/Western transforms into something that rests solely on the talents of 3 actors and how they deal with scenes, and it's so much fun to watch. Patrick Stewart, the thespian actor who has had his fair share of success throughout his career, is beyond brilliant here. Once a man in control, this is a performance that shows someone on the edge of life and reflecting back on all his mistakes. Through Logan and Laura, he begins to see that is all hasn't been in vain, and it's a surprisingly personal, thoughtful, beautiful bit of acting. Same for Jackman, who finally ditches the macho front and becomes a real man with limitations and fears.
I will be the first to admit that many parts had me scratching my head, not the least of which included a Wolverine clone that appears only when the going gets tough. Another moment discusses the back story of an albino mutant who now plays caretaker to Xavier. I'm sure these are answers that die-hard fans wouldn't think twice about. For the casual movie-goer like me, these were tiny aspects in a movie that otherwise proved hard to critique.
As a story we can see echoes of previous films like 'Children of Men' or 'Leon' or even 'Mad Max.' For whatever reason the father-daughter dynamic in storytelling is always one that is enthralling to watch. Coupled with the grittiness and violence (R-rated in the most literal sense), this finally feels like a comic book movie that steps above the ranks to become something greater.
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