Saturday 4 March 2017

Logan (15)

Thanks to the wonders of the internet, our finely-honed review of Logan got buggered. It's gone, disappeared, kyboshed, lost, vamooshed.

Which is a real pisser, because it was full of praise, observations, valid points and a joke about Chernobyl.

OK, that last bit was a small fib, but the vanished review is all true.



This being the internet we can't even say the dog ate it.

Of course, I can't remember for the life of me what was actually scribbled down, so this is take-two. And like all sequels it won't be as good.

First up, let's just stress that this isn't Origins or The Wolverine - very much the dull and dumber of the Wolverine back catalogue.

What this is instead is a character-driven film, with passion and heart, which has all the beaty-uppy bits you want, humour, feeling, swears and jokes.

Inspired by the success of Deadpool, writer/director James Mangold has set out to deliberately make this a film for the older age group - and it's a wise move.

Logan is old and ailing, specs are now needed to read phones and he's a barely-functioning alcoholic.

No cigars, though, 'cos smoking's bad. Drinking good, cigars bad. Got that? Good.

Hugh Jackman has actually been given something to work with here, too.

Where as previously he just needed to be grumpy and punchy, now he's looking after an old Prof Xavier and he clearly cares despite himself.

Giving Prof X a dementia-esque condition also helps the film.

First, Patrick Stewart can actually act so the Prof is given more weight, heft and heart than previous outings.

But it also serves to show us that even mutants aren't immortal - which, while not necessarily cheerful, is a good direction to head in as it gives the characters something else to say, a new light to be seen in.

In essence Logan is a two-hour road movie, as the Prof and Wolvie are chased across America by the requisite sciency bad guys.

What changes the dynamic, however, is the presence of Laura - played by the frankly amazing Dafne Keen.

A young, engineered mutant, she's able to add an extra spice and twist to the bloody violence as we see an angry little girl rip armed goons to shreds.

Sure an adult could do this, but it just works so much better when you see an eerie kid doing it.

This isn't a perfect film by any stretch, but the flaws (needlessly flashed boobs, the lack of cigars) in no way detract from the entertainment being served up.

Where as previous, lycra-clad outings have been a tad sanitised, and the last two Wolverine films being just plain terrible, Logan is darker, more sinister, and far more bloody.

And this is a good thing.

In the books, Logan has always been a dark character - so to finally have that realised on the screen is fantastic.

To have the added weight of the inter-personal relationships of Prof and Wolfie (plus Laura) is simply superb.

Maybe I've just been watching too many Oscar-worthy films of late, but Logan actually moved me.

There were action scenes where I was holding my breath, there are at least two scenes that almost brought a tear to the eye, and the story makes far more sense than when he was off in Japan.

As I said, Logan isn't perfect - and my popcorn-munching viewing companion feels one particular line ruins the whole film - but it's damn good.



There's the swearing, there's the violence, there's the action, there's the humour, there's Stephen Merchant putting in a frankly amazing performance.

Sure it's not Winter Soldier or Guardians, but it's not trying to be. Jackman and Mangold have simply put a good story together, and coupled it with strong performances and gripping action sequences.

In doing so, they've managed to make you forget the other two films exist - something that has been too long in coming.

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