A superhero movie that’s alike no superhero movie.
Since it’s 2017 release, I’ve heard the odd comment about James Mangold’s latest Wolverine instalment Logan, with both fans and superhero movie-avoidants alike claiming that this film is one of the better ones to grace the Marvel cinematic universe. I’m not super into superhero movies, I’ve gotta say, but I am into movies. And when a film can surpass the expectations that the hundreds of muscled men (and some women) in colourful tights and cheesy names have laid before them with their saving-the-day tropes and out-of-this-world powers, and when this film can venture into just existing as a good film in itself, I’m almost inclined to give it more credit than it deserves.
And so this is where Logan comes in. For someone who has not seen a single chapter of the Wolverine cinematic story before, I was able to experience Mangold’s film as simply that: a film. I’m sure a lot of the subtle backstory nods and in-joke comedic references went straight over my head, but the fact that I didn’t even notice what I missed soaring by meant that my ignorance to the Wolverine storyline before Logan remained simply blissful.
Logan is an action-adventure, dystopian-sci-fic road-movie. After forced to come out of retirement to escort an unusual young girl named Laura to a seemingly fictional safe-haven that may just be one of comic-book fantasy, Logan, a.k.a. Wolverine, a.k.a. Hugh Jacked Man, must find what hope is left in the hollows of his life in order to help Laura and surrender his faith in her strength.
From the Mad Max-esque truck-clad desert scenes to the beautifully softly lit driving scenes, to the final shot of the film that will leave you on the verge if not thoroughly in tears (no spoilers, don’t worry!), Logan just looked incredible. Stepping away from the crisp, clean Hollywood blockbuster bright-lights of other Marvel instalments, this film seems to lean toward a thoughtful, considered take on a road-movie that takes you both on a physical and emotional journey of wide-open vistas with infinite places to run but limited places to hide. Beginning at the Texas-Mexico border, Mangold has us follow Logan and Laura up and across the highways and deserts of central America, a desolate place in the dystopian future of 2029, to finally arrive in North Dakota at a place they deem Eden.
Laura, Logan’s companion that he has been tasked with helping get to this mysterious place of Eden, has a good reason for her quick hits and long metallic claws. Like Logan, she’s a mutant, and like Logan, her powers are ones of self-healing and wolf-like retractable claws. Laura’s safety from the bad-intentioned scientists trying to track them down becomes too vital for Logan to ignore, sending them on this violent, sleepless road-trip adventure.
What makes Logan so incredible a film is not the obvious visual effects that overwhelm ever other superhero movie, nor is it the whole superhero aspect of saving the day and saving the world. What makes Logan so incredible a film is, dare I say, the lack of superhero aspects to it all. At its heart it feels like a very touching story about two misfit mutants that aren’t really sure where they fit in in it all. It feels like a story of two people finding something in each other that gives them both a reason to fight. And it feels like a story of hope and ultimately, survival.
I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of watching Logan, and it goes without saying that Hugh Jackman’s presence only alleviated that experience.
Logan by James Mangold: 4.5/5
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