Starring
Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Dafne Keen, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen
Merchant, Richard E. Grant, Eriq La Salle, Elise Neal, Elizabeth
Rodriguez. Directed by James Mangold. (2017, 137 min).
For
those of you too young to remember when the 'M' in MTV stood for
music, MTV Unplugged was a series where the
biggest rock stars of the day performed acoustically-driven concerts
in a small intimate setting, without any flash, costumes, props,
light shows or pyrotechnics to enhance their music.
Logan
could be seen as a superhero version of MTV Unplugged,
stripped clean of spectacle and bombast. Its titular character
no longer has
a costume, modus operandi or any particular desire to save the world. In fact, the fate of the world isn't even at stake here.
 |
| "Guess who this month's centerfold is." |
It's
2029. The world has changed, and not necessarily for the better.
There aren't many mutants left, and it's suggested that most were
eradicated. The old Wolverine (Hugh Jackman, in a career-best
performance) is still around, grumpier, drunker and more cynical. Though ailing and unable to heal
himself as fast a he used to, he's still capable of carving up
enemies when necessary.
He
has the added burden of caring for his old mentor, Charles Xavier
(Patrick Stewart), who's in even worse shape (his telepathic
abilities have become more unstable and dangerous with the ravages of
age). Within the film's first few minutes, we suspect their days are
numbered, which apparently suits Logan just fine. He's been prepared
- sometimes even wanting - to die long before Laura (Dafne Keen, whose winning performance equals her heavyweight co-stars) arrives to
complicate things.
 |
| Another babysitter who probably won't be returning. |
Laura's
an 11-year-old genetically-created mutant with the same abilities -
and temperament - as Logan (no great mystery why). She has escaped
Transigen, a research lab where mutant children have been illegally
created, and now they want her back. The bulk of film becomes a
cross-country chase, with Logan reluctantly protecting her - and vise
versa - as they head for Eden, a supposed mutant sanctuary that Laura
learned about from an old X-Men comic book.
An
overall sense of inevitability that runs throughout the film tends to
render the story rather predictable, but in-no-way diminishes its
emotional impact. That's because the plot - essentially a
conflict-laden road trip - is secondary to real core of the film: its three main characters
and their relationships with each other. Their evolution into a marginally functional family provides Logan's most joyous and heartbreaking moments.
It's been oft-mentioned the primary
inspiration for Logan was classic westerns, which is obvious
because one of the genre's most classic tropes - the remorseful
antihero seeking redemption - is the most prevalent theme running
throughout the film.
Much
has also been written and said about Logan's highly touted R-rating, which
it definitely earns, but that's not what makes it unique among the
other X-Men films. Though it definitely fits comfortably
within the franchise, it exists perfectly outside of it, as well...an 'unplugged'
superhero film with a story, mood and atmosphere so unlike any
previous ones that it not-only transcends its own franchise, but the entire genre. Here, the Logan character is finally
presented as the unfiltered antihero only hinted at in previous X-men
films and Wolverine spin-offs.
Dark, violent and suitably poignant, Logan is, so far, one of the best films of the year, and a wonderful respite from all the biblical spectacle typical of the comic movie genre.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
LOGAN
NOIR - A black & white version of the film on a separate
disc. Similar to the B&W version of The Mist, it enhances
the already dark tone of the film.
"MAKING
LOGAN" - A detailed, six-part making-of documentary
AUDIO
COMMENTARY (by director James Mangold)
DELETED
SCENES (with optional commentary)
DVD
& DIGITAL COPIES
KITTY CONSENSUS
MEE-OW! LIKE BEING TURNED LOOSE IN A BIRD SANCTUARY
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