Logan (2017)

Watching this film, I was struck by one glaring thing: this is NOT a superhero film. Just like Wonder Woman is a war film, Logan is western, in the vain of Sergio Leone, that includes superheroes. However, there's none of the saving-the-world-from-an-impossible-scenario bullshit about this film (see Suicide Squad for that). No Michael bay explosion porn to be found here.This film takes a realistic goal in a realistic setting and amplifies it. In the near future, mutants and their like are outlawed, with only Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) seemingly being alive. Along with Caliban (Stephen Merchant), they live in solitude. One day, however, their quiet refuge is interrupted by the arrival of two mutants: Laura (Dafne Keen) and Pierce (Boyd Holbrook), the villain. Wolverine, Professor X and Laura initially escape the threat posed by Pierce and his band of me. After this the threat becomes imposing, and the film focuses on the characters. This is where the film flourishes. Credit must go to James Mangold for his story, giving the film a depth of realism that is void in nearly every superhero film before this one. For fear of spoilers, I won't divulge any further plot points. I will say that you should see this film as soon as possible.

This film helped me breath a sigh of relief, for I thought that all superhero films produced for the rest of eternity would take the VFX and abuse it until my eyes are incapable of seeing a regular image again. Thankfully, this was different. Some of you may say "why is different so good"? Here's why. How sick were people of the VFX abuse in Suicide Squad that the film was reviled upon release? Doctor Strange came next, and while that is certainly a lot better than Suicide Squad, it too indulges in the VFX. This film was the next superhero film released, and it couldn't have been more different. This is original. There are films few and far between about which you can say that. I don't want to say that it takes a fresh approach to the superhero genre, because I don't want to pigeonhole it. Instead, I will say that it takes a fresh approach to the western genre. The last wide-release western before this was The Hateful Eight, a 3 hour stageplay amplified by Tarantino in his usual manner. Before that, there was Django Unchained, an expletive-filled revenge story stylised by Tarantino. So you can see just how different Logan is. It paints Wolverine as an alcoholic, Professor X as a loony conspiracy theorist and Laura as a mysterious experiment. Rarely has a western or a superhero film involved all three of those. Hence difference. An R-rated superhero film is also a rarity, and we have Deadpool to thank for their very existence. Superhero films can be one of two things: either cartoonish and playful or somber and overly dark. While this straddles the line of dark, it doesn't cross it the way most DCEU films have. This is because it creates realism, realism I have only seen before in The Dark Knight, the crown jewel of superhero films. It's about a man afraid to let go of his past, or even his whole life. It doesn't have a direct love interest, which I have never seen in a superhero film. It has a host of lovable characters who are not your usual sidekicks. This film is just different. Good different.

Superhero films tend to do well at the box office but lack the critical acclaim. Here lies the exception. Hugh Jackman's swan song as Wolverine is his best by far. He shows pain, anger and suffering rarely seen in the genre. In the trailer, the song "Hurt" by Johnny Cash played. It's as if the song was written specifically for this film. The same praise must go to Patrick Stewart in his final outing as Professor X. He plays an old man trying to save the last strains of his whole life as a mutant before they die out. If the whole film had been just him, I would have still seen it and probably loved it. Dafne Keen as Laura is exceptional. In a role that has next-to-no dialogue, she owns it, stealing scenes from both Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart. The rest of the ensemble do very well too. Now for James Mangold. I didn't know he had this in him. He's made good films before, don't get me wrong, but this, this is a whole new level. His direction is key but I'll focus on his screenwriting. He's not as well-known as a screenwriter, but hopefully that will change after this film. His story is exceptional and his script, along with Scott Frank and Michael Green, revels in the dialogue it uses and excels in the moments where there is no dialogue. The Oscar nomination is just reward for this outstanding piece of writing.

Everything else about this film is brilliant too. The music is exceptional. The cinematography is equally breathtaking and harsh. When I say harsh, I mean realistic or unflinching. Everything else excels. I've never enjoyed a Wolverine film as much as I enjoyed this one, nor will I ever enjoy one as much. See it, regardless of your taste on either superhero or western films. 9 out of 10 for me.

By Cathal McGuinness