Review: ‘Logan’ closes series well

Excellent directing, relatable characters tie together to create great Marvel film

Courtesy+of+20th+Century+Fox.

Courtesy of 20th Century Fox.

The final Hugh Jackman Wolverine film, “Logan,” hit theaters Friday, March 3 and it was quite a fitting send off for Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart.

Most of the films are either set in the past or future, with only brief shots in present day. The films are known for their confusing timeline, seeing as it has been reset three times throughout the series. For those who have never seen the X-men movies, it will be especially difficult to following along.

“Logan” is set in the X-men universe, where individuals known as mutants live among everyday people. The fear of mutants is something the fans of the saga know well from “X-men: Days of Future Past,” and in “Logan” it has caused the government to begin putting mutant suppressants into the water and food. This action starts preventing mutants from being born, and the X-men disappear and are killed in some major event that occurs in the year 2026, which is alluded to in the film multiple times.

The film has a darker tone overall, but still keeps the audience laughing and crying throughout. Many heartfelt moments happen between the Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Laura “X-23” Kinney (Dafne Keen).

Returning from “X-Men: Apocalypse” is Caliban (Stephen Merchant) who provides a good couple of laughs and then sadly disappears for a majority of the film.

As with all comic book films, references are spread throughout the film, many to the X-23 and Old Man Logan comics. One scene has a tombstone that reads “Rogers,” which could easily be a reference to Steve Rodgers, more commonly known as Captain America, who is a large part of Old Man Logan. There is also a big reference to “X-men Origins: Wolverine,” a film many fans of the franchise would rather forget. The adamantium bullet Logan carries with him is the one he was shot with in “Origins,” or at least one of the same make. The bullet plays a big part in the film, with Logan contemplating killing himself with it.

Naturally, the last film in the Hugh Jackman Wolverine universe has to end with a bang. And “Logan” did not fail. The final 40 minutes unleash X-24, an unstable and near unstoppable Wolverine clone. He racks up an impressive death count, including a few fan favorites.

Overall, most of the villains are forgettable. The Reavers, led by Donald Pierce, are an interesting concept and a nice enemy from the comics, but they aren’t overly relevant. They kidnap an albino tracker who burns in light, gets cut to ribbons by the Wolverines, and that’s about it. This film was more centered around the character development of the new mutants, and saying farewell to old characters, giving reason to the overall lackluster villains.

One of Marvel’s signature acts is its post-credit teasers. Instead, viewers get something much more amusing. Before the movie starts, a brief clip of Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool attempting to change into his superhero outfit inside a phone booth to stop a mugging is shown. Reynolds himself released the clip a few days after the film opened via social media. Deadpool fails, makes a few jokes, and then the movie starts. This was a bit unusual, but with a fourth-wall breaking character like Deadpool, unusual is the new standard.

Despite the lack of an end credits scene, the forgettable villains and not seeing Logan frozen in adamantium as he is in the comics currently, the film deserves 10/10 stars. An extreme amount of bloodshed and relatable characters made “Logan” a film worth watching, and the pros massively outweigh the cons. The aforementioned Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool teaser is a massive surprise. The excellent directing, relatable developed characters and heartfelt tear-jerker final act all made this one of the best Marvel movies.