‘Logan’ claws his way back into fan’s hearts

DF-03259+-+Caliban+%28Stephen+Merchant%29+and+Logan+%28Hugh+Jackman%29+in+LOGAN.

Ben Rothstein.

DF-03259 – Caliban (Stephen Merchant) and Logan (Hugh Jackman) in LOGAN.

Frank Guitron, Co-editor-in-chief

Hugh Jackman reprises his role as the beloved rage-filled Canadian mutant and superhero Wolverine in a final, no -holds barred adaptation of Marvel’s “Old Man Logan.”

“Old Man Logan” is a graphic novel written as an eight-part series where Wolverine rejects his role as an X-Men after most of the other superheroes were killed off by the countless supervillains who teamed up together.

Fifty years into the future within “Old Man Logan” Wolverine attempts to find a sense of peace within himself by becoming a farmer and a pacifist after he is “broken” by super villains, specifically Mysterio in particular, who causes the troubled hero to murder his fellow X-Men through hallucination.

In the comics, Hawkeye was a friend who accompanied Wolverine on the road trip and although Hawkeye was blind, he insisted on driving.

“Logan” the movie has the timeline of mutants nearing extinction being moved to the year 2029, instead of following the comics storyline of 50 years into the future which would have been around 2058.

20th Century Fox also changed Wolverine from being the reason why the mutants have gone extinct, and for spoilers sake, let us just say they made an interesting alteration to who killed off the X-Men. Wolverine is accompanied by professor Charles Xavier, played by Sir Patrick Stewart, and X-23 or Laura, played by Dafne Keen.

The cinematography is gorgeous and fast paced. They used several panning shots to keep you in action as Wolverine was fighting an entire army single-handedly in the third act. Another boon granted to this movie was its gamble in deciding to make the first R rated X-Men movie within the series, allowing the director James Mangold to let Wolverine be as violent and bloody as he needed to be for an accurate portrayal of the comics.

The ensuing blood bath that is “Logan” involves limbs being cut off various villains, impalement from adamantium claws, and an unafraid amount of blood being shown courtesy of Wolverine and X-23’s metal claw carnage.

The first and third acts were the most captivating, they seemed to have a finality and a sense of urgency and desperation within them. Jackman’s portrayal of a wounded and broken Wolverine helps  keep the stakes raised, as he could not immediately self-heal anymore, making his up-close and personal fighting style a bit of a gamble if an opponent had a gun.

Some weaknesses I found in the film were within the second act, while being on the road together was a great way for the heroes to develop their characters, the audience could have used a bit more character development with maybe one or two more scenes with them on the run. Not to mention a disappointing lack of traditional Wolverine costumes within “Logan” which no one will never see again due to Hugh Jackman leaving this iconic role behind to pursue other acting parts.

“Logan” is a great way for Jackman to hang up his claws while showing fans of the X-Men and Wolverine series as well as movie critics that comic book movies such as “Logan” and “Deadpool” can have an R rating and still be engaging.