Review: Logan, Don't f**k with The Wolverine

Logan is a film deserving of praise from not just fans of the X-Men franchise, but all movie lovers. Whilst still being a film centred around super heroes, this is a story grounded in a realistic world with emotional dialogue, fantastic characters and great performances that create a truly exciting film.

To quote the Wolverine himself, "the world is not what is once was." This is the most accurate way to describe the world in Logan as mutants are mostly dead or in hiding. Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is living a quiet life by caring for a mentally deteriorating Charles Xavier/Professor X (Patrick Stewart) along with Caliban (Stephen Merchant). Charles isn't the only one who is finding his powers are failing him, as Logan's healing powers are far slower than they once were as well as having constant coughing fits to show that he really is getting old. But soon enough, things get spun into gory overdrive with the introduction of Laura/X23 (Dafne Keen) and we're taken on a thrilling chase as our heroes go on the run from a mysterious corporation, pushing our more elderly characters to the absolute limit.

From the start, this film would not work without its R rating. Following on from Deadpool's success, we are given a Wolverine who drops as many F-bombs as he can whilst dismembering anyone in his way. Without the violence and the language, this would have been another run of the mill X-Men film everyone has seen before. This new approach does not only give a more realistic and detailed view into the powers of Wolverine, but with each kill and each bullet taken, Logan has the sympathy of the audience like never before.

What's more, this is an emotional film. The performances from all of our heroes not only pull at our heart strings, but make us laugh as there are some laughs to be had in this world, however the film does love to remind us that this is a dystopian world for mutants by showing us the dark side of living in hiding, almost everyone you come into contact with ends up dead. Unfortunately, the villains fall a little short on the threat scale, but they double down on their cruelty with Pierce's (Boyd Holbrook) unrelenting motive to capture Laura, even if it means killing plenty of innocents in the process.

This isn't the best X-Men film, nor is it the best ever superhero film ever made, but it is the most unique. Logan is a film that humanises the mutants and presents them in a light where humans are the threat rather than an evil mutant out to destroy the world. I am happy that Jackman has decided to make this his final X-Men film, as the character has been well and truly exhausted but in a way that won't make fans want him back. I imagine FOX will cast a new younger Wolverine, but for many including myself, Jackman is the only Logan for me. To finish, Logan is a unique superhero film that focuses more on the humanity of the mutants more than their powers, but balances it with brilliant action sequences and a great story.

8/10