Review: Logan (2017)

Warning: May Contain Spoilers

Logan

Logan is the newest entry into Fox's X-Men franchise with it being the third Wolverine movie. By far this has to be the best entry in the X-Men franchise, and definitely in my top ten comic movie adaptations. When I first heard that they were adapting the Old Man Logan I was initially hesitant as Fox, (who has made the movie), only had access to the X-Men characters while Old Man Logan featured characters from across the Marvel Universe. For example, the other protagonist is Hawkeye who is owned by Marvel Entertainment/Disney. However, they managed to make a great adaptation. 

Plot

Logan and Laura

Logan is set in 2029 where mutants are on the verge of extinction. Logan (Hugh Jackman) has given up on being a superhero and is now working as a chauffeur. His regenerative ability is failing, one of his claws occasionally gets jammed, and he is suffering through adamantium poisoning (the metal which covers his skeleton). He is also taking underhand drugs for Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) who is suffering from a neurodegenerative disease and keeps losing control of his telepathy. Logan and the mutant Caliban (Stephen Merchant) have to act as carers for Xavier. One day Logan is contacted by Donald Pierce (Boyd Holbrook) who is looking for a young girl. Xavier has been in contact with the young girl, Laura (Dafne Keen), and they have to get her from one side of the country to the other before Pierce can get her. Then we find out that Laura isn't human but instead a mutant...

The plot is extremely good. I was initially hesitant as James Mangold was one of the screenwriters, as well as being director, as he made The Wolverine whose third act went badly, and in my opinion ruined the movie. However, this did not happen. The first and third acts were high paced thrilling action, (very brutal action as well), while the second was a slower paced character building act. This worked very well making it an enjoyable film throughout, although the second act could have done with more character development. It felt very much like a Clint Eastwood or John Wayne movie, in fact the Western Shane is shown and quoted, which was Mangold's intention. He did a very good with this and captured the feel of Old Man Logan. Logan manages to blend brutal action with quite dramatic emotional parts making viewing more enjoyable. The violence was intense and the emotional scenes really wrenched at your heart. Throughout the movie you get an idea that hope has been lost, perfectly matching the tone of the comic, but there is always a glimmer of hope in the horizon. I really like the tone that they took with Logan. Mangold and the other writers did a fantastic job.

Characters and Acting

The recurring characters were done well as well as being acted well. Hugh Jackman as Logan managed to balance his character's berserker rage and the broken old man aspect. It fits very well with the movie's tone of hope being lost. Patrick Stewart as always was very good. He effectively portrayed a character who is trying to stay positive in a world that is falling around them. Contrasting with Jackman as Logan it made the two aspects of the movie come together. Surprisingly for a child actor Dafne Keen did a fantastic job. Through the writing and the acting I really felt that X-23 came to life on the screen. Outside the three protagonists the acting and characters were less memorable although that is largely because of how much screen time is given to the protagonists. Even the antagonists were done well with Richard E. Grant giving a good performance which is a change from the antagonists from the last few years in comic book movies. They weren't memorable as Magneto, for example, but I definitely felt that they weren't given the same treatment as the Marvel villains. 

Action and Effects

Logan at the end of a fight

The effects were good although at times the CGI was a bit off. When the CGI was less good it happened to occur during the action scenes but as the action was so fast paced you had to specifically look for it. These included things like arms, heads and legs being sliced off by Logan. With one exception the poorer CGI only lasted for a split second so for the most part you would be unable to spot it, but if you did it would be off-putting. However, surprisingly most of the rest of the CGI was quite well done. Although I would have preferred more practical effects (with a lower budget compared to most other comic book movies using CGI was more cost effective) at times the CGI honestly tricked me. At one point in the second act there are remote controlled HGVs which are made by CGI. I could be mistaken though as they at times could be made through practical effects. When first seeing them I originally believed that they were made of practical effects.

The action is fantastic throughout the movie and extremely brutal. It is so brutal. Deapool's violence was intense but that was nothing compared to Logan. Limbs and heads fly off, people are impaled, people are brutally stabbed with lots of blood, and bodies practically explode when Logan slashes them. Especially in the final fight scene this violence is brutal and done extremely well. I am an anime fan and my biggest criticisms of Elfen Lied and Hellsing Ultimate is that the violence and gore in those anime was too over-the-top. However, in Logan the violence was excessive but not excessive enough to detract from the movie. I hope future comic book adaptations copy this style of violence if they go down the 'R-rated' route.

World

X-Men Comic

Shown throughout the movie are X-Men comics. I really liked this addition as it shows that the X-Men managed to achieve some veneration among the public. As Fox doesn't have the rights to show actual Marvel comics these comics were specifically created for the movie, and they got the excellent Joe Quesada, the Chief Creative Officer at Marvel, to make them. In the mainstream Marvel universe Marvel comics exists as an actual company (where Stan Lee and Jack Kirby tried to gatecrash the Invisible Woman's and Mr Fantastic's marriage). This was a nice touch. I also liked how they sneakily referenced the Legacy virus and other subtle hints to the X-Men universe. Although I thought that X-24 could have been Daken (Wolverine's son) instead of what we got even though I did like what they did with X-24. We also see a samurai sword in reference to Logan's time in Japan in The Wolverine. Finally, the way that they explained what happened to the X-Men having a similar fate to their counterparts in Old Man Logan. However, by the trailer I assumed this was done by Wolverine like in the comic itself. Nevertheless I did like how they inferred the X-Men's fate. Also, tigers are extinct by 2029 in this world.

Conclusion

Logan is easily one of the best comic book movies that I have seen. It is emotional, action packed and homages Westerns. If comic book movies do go down the serious route I hope they go down this route instead of the Batman v. Superman route. If they ever plan to make a Spawn, Preacher, Nemesis or Authority movie I hope they make it like Logan. Through all the reasons mentioned above I give Logan a score of 8/10. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this review.

Comics Explained: Old Man Logan

Old Man Logan

Last week (as of writing) the trailer for the new Wolverine movie, Logan, was released. This new movie will be loosely based off of the Old Man Logan story arc which first appeared in Wolverine Vol. 3 #66 written by the fantastic Mark Miller. Due to Fox not owning almost all of Marvel's characters this adaptation of Old Man Logan had to be loosely based on it. Today we shall look at the story which the film is loosely based on.

Setting off from California

Wolverine broken

The story begins with a bloodied and torn up Wolverine ambling through a forest until he reaches some train tracks. Just as the train hits Wolverine the flashback ends and we see the present. Logan is living on a farm in the Californian desert with his wife Maureen, son Scotty, and daughter Jade. The farm is in poverty with them unable to sell their pigs from previous issues with selling tainted pork, and Logan instantly shoots down the idea of selling their children's toys. His daughter asks him if it's true that he used to be a superhero to which Logan replies: there's no such thing as superheroes. Later him and his wife discuss what to do as the landlord would not let the lack of rent slide. The next day the grandchildren of the landlord come. The landlord's grandchildren are the 'Banner Clan'; the children born from the Hulk's and She Hulk's incestuous relationship. 

The Hulk Clan

After arriving and finding that Logan doesn't have the rent they beat him to a bloody pulp becoming angrier that he doesn't unsheathe his claws. They threaten that if they don't have double the rent the next month it would go much worse for the family. That night a blind Hawkeye arrives at the farm requesting help from Logan: he needs someone to help him go from the West Coast to the East Coast in two weeks. In return he would give Logan a lot of money. Reluctantly he agrees and they set off across a divided America in the Spider-Mobile (a car built by the Human Torch and modified by Hawkeye). Here we find out that when the supervillains took over the world they divided America: the Abomination got the West Coast (now called Hulkland when the Hulk killed the Abomination), Magneto got the 'Bible Belt' (now called the Kingdom of the Kingpin when the new Kingpin killed Magneto), a neutral zone in the Mid-West, and finally the Red Skull got the East Coast, now called the President's Quarter. The pair end up in San Francisco to find that the city has been pulled into the ground. Hawkeye explains that when the population hit 8 million the Moloids (a race that lived under the Earth's surface) started sinking cities to devour the population like 'the world's immune system'. Looking around San Francisco they're attacked by a biker gang (with flaming wheels) called the Ghost Riders. The bikers start beating up Logan until Hawkeye manages to shoot and kill them with arrows (using sound to find where they are). Logan explains that he has renounced violence and when the villains took over they didn't kill him but instead they broke him. As they arrive in Las Vegas (now called Hammer Falls) Hawkeye wonders why he was not targeted during the hero purge. However, Logan's attention is on something bigger...

Hammer Falls and Spider-Bitch

Hammer Falls

Some of the Avengers were killed at Las Vegas, and Thor himself was killed by Magneto and Absorbing Man. No one can lift Mjolnir so it has now become a place of worship for people wanting a return to better days when the heroes were around. Magneto, the new Kingpin, and the President (Red Skull), allow the hero merchandising and worship to happen as it can be used as a source of revenue. Hawkeye and Logan bump into Ultron-8, who, unlike his normal 'human genocide' version, has become a regular person trying to make a living. Ultron has married Hawkeye's ex-wife and is now the stepfather of Hawkeye's daughter, Ashley, who is danger. Hawkeye and Logan go to meet Hawkeye's ex-wife, Tonya, who is Peter Parker's daughter. Tonya berates Hawkeye for running off before filling Ashley's head with tales of superheroes as now Ashley has joined with a small group to overthrow the Kingpin. As a retort Hawkeye says that her father and grandfather were Avengers so it was natural that she would want to follow in their footsteps. However, he vows that him and Logan would help her (offering Logan double what he was already paying him). On the way to the Kingpin's capital of Salt Lake City they pass through Cedar City which had just been sunk by the Moloids. Upon arriving in Salt Lake City they find out that Ashley has called herself the Spider-Bitch, and that the new Kingpin is organizing a public execution of Ashley's cohorts: the new Daredevil and Punisher. The Kingpin starts giving a speech explaining why he managed to oust Magneto ('Bitch got old') and then releases dinosaurs taken from the Savage Land who proceeds to tear apart the new Daredevil and Punisher. The pair discover that Ashley is being kept in a nearby Wall-Mart so with the Spider-Mobile they crash through the building. When they release Ashley the Kingpin arrives and to their surprise she brutally murders the Kingpin. It turns out she wasn't leading a new hero revolt but really a coup to replace the Kingpin...

Kingpin's death

Ashley orders her new cronies to kill Logan and Hawkeye, and they only escape thanks to Logan. Fifty cars and raptors start chasing the pair in the Spider-Mobile until the Moloids cause the ground to collapse under them. As the Moloids devour Ashley's forces the pair manage to get away. Back on their way they pass through an America created by the villains. Paste Pot Creek in Wyoming in full of dinosaurs after people bought the extinct animals from the Savage Land as exotic pets and then released them after realizing how difficult to look after they are. Electroville (likely named after Electro) has the ruins of the Baxter Building collapsed on the giant corpse of Loki which Hawkeye says 'Man, you missed yourself one hell of a fight that night.' Passing through South Dakota they see that the Red Skull has carved his face into Mount Rushmore where the Venom symbiote lives. They stop in Iowa for a drink where Hawkeye questions Logan on his non-violence. 

Death of the X-Men

Logan reveals to Hawkeye what happened the night the heroes died. Wolverine was with Jubilee in the X-Mansion disturbed by what appears to be a global attack. They're getting requests for help from the Avengers, Fantastic Four, S.H.I.E.L.D and Wakanda. Just as Jubilee asks for Wolverine's thoughts the wall explodes killing Jubilee. In horror Wolverine sees dozens of villains including Stryfe, Dr Octopus, Shocker, Sabretooth, Lady Deathstrike, Silver Samurai and Scorpion just to name a few coming through the hole. Unable the find the rest of the X-Men he has the children hide down in the bunkers as he deals with the villains. 

Wolverine against the villains

With his friends nowhere to be seen Wolverine starts killing the villains. Eventually only Bullseye is left and the two engage in a ferocious battle tearing chunks out of one another. Wolverine managed to impale Bullseye through his heart with his claws only for Bullseye to ask why he is doing this to his friends. The Spider-Man villain Mysterio (whose power is to create images) appears to tell Wolverine that he has fallen for his greatest image yet. Bullseye turns into Jubilee and Wolverine sees that the villains he had killed weren't villains but in actuality the X-Men.

Death of the X-Men

For days after Wolverine stumbles through a forest covered in blood and crying over the fact that he murdered his friends. Eventually he comes across a train tracks and puts his neck on the track. Although the train could not kill him because of his regenerative ability and adamantium covered skeleton, but the pain was enough. Fifty years later he has not unsheathed his claws.

To the East

The next day they continue their journey reaching Dwight's Toll. Dwight charges people who wants to cross while wearing Ant-Man's helmet. Hawkeye pays despite Logan's protests but as they cross the bridge we see a crevice full of skeletons and ants crawling over them. However, their journey is interrupted by a Tyrannosaurus who has become the new host for the Venom symbiote. They are only saved by Black Bolt being teleported in who whispers causing the symbiote to leave its host. Black Bolt takes them to the Mutant Forbidden Quarter where the last mutants reside. There Logan is surprised to see a young Emma Frost (who is using her psychic powers to make Logan see her as being young). She tells Logan that mutants were really an evolutionary blip and there are only twenty mutants left. The pair leave as Doctor Doom looks down upon them where it is hinted that the only reason why the Quarter exists is because Frost married Doom or at least sided with him. When they reach Connecticut they see Pym Falls. This is not a waterfall but instead where Hank Pym was killed.

Pym Falls

Finally they reach New Babylon (Washington) seeing the dystopian city which the Red Skull rules over. Hawkeye and Logan meet Tobias and hand him Hawkeye's package. Tobias is the leader of the East-Coast Resistance and inside the package is ninety-nine vials of Super-Soldier serum to create a new army of heroes. However, it turns out Tobias is really working for the government and he shoots both Logan and Hawkeye. 

The End

The last issue opens with the fall of Washington. Captain America has collapsed in front of a destroyed Capitol Building. The Red Skull then kills his old foe by placing his thumbs in Captain America's eyes. Now in the present Red Skull wears Captain America's uniform as he spends hours standing in a trophy room full of the uniforms and gadgets of the dead heroes including Captain America's shield, Iron Man's armor, Doctor Strange's cloak, Elektra's sais, and even pelt of Beast just to name a few things.

The Red Skull's Trophy Room

The body bags of Logan and Hawkeye are taken into the Trophy Room for the Red Skull to observe the dead heroes. However, Wolverine heals and knocks the Red Skull's crony unconscious. He knocks the Red Skull into the trophy cabinet and the two pick up trophies to fight with: Red Skull uses Black Knight's Ebony Blade while Logan grabs Captain America's shield. After a fight Logan decapitates the Red Skull with the shield. After grabbing the bag of cash initially promised to him he dons Iron Man's armor and tries to fly back home. Just over two days later he arrives home only to find his neighbor outside. Tragically the Hulk Clan got bored and decided to murder Logan's family for fun when he was away. When his neighbor says to do the Christian thing by burying his family and not to seek revenge Logan replies: The name isn't Logan, bub...it's Wolverine. For the first time in fifty years he pops his claws. In Giant Size Wolverine: Old Man Logan he seeks his revenge. One by one he starts to massacre the Hulk Clan who turns out to be born of incest when nuclear bombs in California sent Bruce Banner and Jennifer Walters crazy. The first to die are sliced to pieces while washing blood off themselves in a river. Three others are killed after leaving Heff's Mansion which has now become a brothel. Eventually Wolverine goes to the Hulk Clan's lair where one by one he kills the clan. Bruce Banner, not in Hulk form, walks out to meet Wolverine and it turns out he can now use the Hulk's strength while in his human form. Banner turns into the Hulk and eats Logan. However, twelve hours later Wolverine claws his way out of Banner's stomach killing him. Only the baby Bruce is left and we see the shadow of Wolverine's claws hovering over the baby. A month later Logan holds a funeral for his family. Despite the pleas of his neighbors he decides to defeat the villains and bring back the heroes. It turns out he has adopted baby Bruce with Wolverine saying 'Besides, I got a little partner to help me out an' there's a nice poetic justice to Bruce Banner Junior bein' the first guy on my new team.' They rise off into the sunset.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.