Logan (2017) Dir: James Mangold
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I don't know why I put off watching this James Mangold directed X-men film for so long, it certainly wasn't because I didn't want to see it, that's for sure. I think part of it had to do with superhero fatigue. In any case, it was only now that I found the motivation to watch it at last.
I've always enjoyed the slightly more grounded feel of the X-Men films, in comparison to say, the MCU, and this is the most grounded out of all of them. It takes pieces of several genres, the most noticeable being the western. I loved how Logan was presented - it felt different, without losing any of what made his on-screen persona so popular.
Something very special about the X-Men as a whole is their social commentary. The franchise has always held the flag high for minorities. In the past, it has been used as a metaphor for gay rights, and in this film, the journey of the film takes on a distinctly refugee story. Once it clicked with me, it made me appreciate what I was watching so much more. It adds a little extra meaning to an already meaningful story.
I thought the film's cinematography was fairly good, although, nothing ever really stood out hugely to me. Furthermore, there was some pretty terrible CGI during the action sequences, which was borderline distracting at points. I also want to say that, while the majority of the writing was very solid, there was a couple of bad lines of dialogue here and there, which irked me.
The film's narrative had a clear and classic structure to it, which worked well for the story being told, and provided a solid arc for the protagonists to follow. The story was gritty, intense and emotional, and gave audiences a stark look at some of the franchise's favourite heroes long after their primes. I enjoyed the family themes that ran through a lot of the plots - they gave the film a little extra kick of emotion to drive home the events that take place.
Hugh Jackman provided another excellent portrayal of the character that he has come to define, as it has him. I thought he played this older, disillusioned and world-weary version of the mutant hero very well. I was especially impressed with his final twenty minutes, which epitomised all the best bits of Jackman's Wolverine.
Dafne Keen gave a pretty good performance in her key role, although, I must admit, I wasn't blown away, by any means. She had some decent scenes, but the majority of her performance felt pretty standard. I liked her acting towards the end of the film, I'll say that at least.
Patrick Stewart was extremely entertaining, more so than ever before arguably, as the titular Professor X. He was a lot more comedic than he has been before in the franchise. That said, he also, unsurprisingly, nailed the more dramatic and emotion scenes he had.
Boyd Holbrook and Richard E. Grant weren't always the best antagonists, but that had more to do with the slightly mediocre writing of their characters, rather than their performances. I actually think both gave fairly solid performances, especially Holbrook, who I thought had some brilliant scenes early on.
Finally, I was pleasantly surprised by the inclusion of Stephen Merchant, who I found greatly entertaining. He had some of the funniest lines in the film and his delivery, understandably considering his day job, was on point.
Overall, this film combines all the most important aspects of the X-Men franchise, and centres them around its most famous protagonist in what amounts to be a gripping and highly emotional viewing experience, and a just end for this version of the cinematic X-Men story. I'm kind of glad I left it a while, because I think I felt a little more balanced towards the film than I would've been in 2017.
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