The latest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe is perhaps the grittiest and most meaningful yet. The hype for this movie was unimaginable, and usually that spells out disaster for the ratings of the movie when it does release. However, “Logan” delivered. It really delivered. I would confidently give it 9.2/10 stars.
The basic premise for the plot of “Logan” is Logan coming into guardianship of a young girl named Laura, who is unmistakably similar to the Wolverine. At first, Logan does not like the girl and wants nothing to do with her. He is aging and wants mostly to be left alone. All he really has left to live for is to care for the elderly and telepathically-dangerous Charles Xavier. As the movie carries on, Professor X starts to convince Logan that perhaps he should care about the girl. The movie follows the trio as they run from an evil corporation that wants to take Laura away for their own nefarious purposes.
One of the bigger analogies that you could draw about “Logan” is how similar it is to a classic Western. There is something timeless about a man going on an epic journey for himself or for the sake of helping another. In this case, it’s both. Along with helping Laura, Logan must also help himself along his journey, as he has lost his will to live. Even if you completely ignore the plot, just the scenery alone is enough to invoke the nostalgic feelings of a lone cowboy riding the plains at sunset.
The trailers for “Logan” were absolutely amazing bits of advertising. Most of the main trailers featured the song “Hurt,” covered by Johnny Cash. “Hurt” is a depressing and melancholy song which some interpret as a suicide note. Seeing as Logan is practically dying, and considering the depressing nature of the movie, a better song could not have been chosen to represent the movie.
At this point, you may be thinking: “This sounds like a deathly serious movie. I don’t want to be feeling sad and sorry for the characters for the full two hours!”
Fret not, dear reader.
Although there are plenty of scenes that had me and will probably have you on the edge of your seat, you’ll have Xavier for a bit of comic relief. I suppose it’s kind of insulting to say, but the older people get, the less they care about what they say. And Xavier is in his nineties. Throughout the movie, especially after certain intense scenes, the Professor will give a short quip that relieves the tension, or at least makes you laugh a little. These intermittent bits of comedy do not take over the film. If anything else, they make it flow more smoothly and create pauses to give the viewer a chance to rest from the action.
Now let me just reiterate: “Logan” is a great movie. But there is no such thing as a movie that is perfect. All have their flaws, but I could only find one in this movie, and it’s pretty nit-picky. In the movie, there are many action scenes involving Laura. Like many heroes in movies that favor hand-to-hand combat (or in this case, hand-to-claw), they yell when attacking. And boy, does Laura yell.
The amount of screaming that this little girl produced while onscreen was almost overdone. It was hard to concentrate on the actual fight scenes when all you can hear is what sounds like a five-year-old having a tantrum. I suppose it does sort of make sense as to why she yells so much, because she is a child after all. But in my opinion, it was too much. Tone it down, Laura. This isn’t a tennis match.
All in all, “Logan” was a great watch. Hugh Jackman’s role as the Wolverine in this movie is different than any of his past movies, but it definitely doesn’t detract from the movie as a whole. Any movie that involves the Wolverine slashing bad guys to bits counts as a great movie in my book. It’s not all about the violence, though. The movie is meaningful, and I had tears streaming down my face by its end, as did half of the theater. I’m not the crying type either. Go see the movie. Even if you’ve never seen an X-Men movie before, you’ll be glad you went.