'LOGAN' Synopsis | the man behind the wolverine
In the year 2029, mutants are nowhere to be seen and a weary Logan cares for an ailing Professor X in a hideout on the Mexican border. However, Logan's attempts to hide from the world and his legacy are thrown into disarray when a young mutant arrives, pursued by dark forces.
‘Logan’ is without a doubt one the best ‘X-Men’ films ever to be made. Hugh Jackman continues his role as Logan, and this time, the audience is introduced to the man rather than the superhero, Wolverine.
SPOILER ALERT!
When the film open, we see Logan is laying low, working as a driver. When a group of tough guys try to steal his tyres, Logan attempts to stop them as nicely as possible. Then, Logan is shot – but as viewers will remember, bullets don’t do much to hurt the wolverine…
Only minutes after the film’s opening, we see his adamantium claws emerge, and Logan slices through the skull - flesh and bone as we have never before seen in the previous films. While watching this, we notice that Logan’s claws don’t come out of his hands in the same fashion they have in the past…
After the incident, we follow Logan into a petrol station restroom. He hasn’t healed as fast as he normally would, and when putting on a clean shirt, it’s clear to see he is shaken. Logan also seems to have scars all over his body, suggesting that his healing factor has been a cause for concern for a while now. Close ups on Logan’s face in this scene evoke sympathy from the audience. It’s a strange thing to be witnessing this hero’s private moments of weakness.
This is the first solo ‘Wolverine’ film, and the second ‘X-Men’ spin off film rated as MA for strong bloody violence. Staying true to the action of the ‘X-Men’ series, ‘Logan’ includes some fantastic chase scenes throughout the film, which work to propel the film’s pace. The action is organic to the storyline, and the characterisation is well-established - reminiscent of that written for ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’.
When Charles Xavier/Professor X (Patrick Stewart) discovers a connection between Logan and a mysterious girl named Laura (Dafne Keen), they head out to try and find ‘Eden’ - a place that the girl believes exists as a safe place for escaped mutants starting a new life.
During the journey, Logan realises he’s still got that wolverine-like heroic journey in him, and protects Laura from a team of mercenaries lead by Donald Pierce (Boyd Holbrook).
When Pierce first meets Logan, he already knows who he is – unsettling to say the least. After much drama, when Pierce later finds out where Logan is hiding with Professor X, he points out that Xavier is at the end of his life, and openly wonders what happens when a telepath with a powerful brain like X (considered a weapon of mass destruction) has seizure. Logan is then shot with a sedative while trying to intervene with the forced seizure.
This is one of Jackman’s best performances yet, highly deserving of an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
Similarly, Patrick Stewart shines as Professor X – playing him as we’ve never quite seen before, deserving of a nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
The final action scenes featured in ‘Logan’ are some of the best, although some of the saddest we’ve ever seen in the ‘X-Men’ films, as we see Logan take the ultimate sacrifice so Laura and her mutant friends can escape to safety.
‘Logan’ is the perfect send-off for Jackson’s Wolverine, having played the character for a whopping 17 years.
'Logan' is a surefire 5-star rating. * * * * *
‘Logan’ is in cinemas from 1st March 2017 in the UK, and 2nd March in Australia.
