There’s no living with, with a killing. There’s no going back from it. Right or wrong, it’s a brand, a brand that sticks. There’s no going back. – Shane (1953)
There are certain characters throughout film history that have become forever bound with the people who first portrayed them. Though subsequent actors may have stepped into the role, one cannot dissociate the person who first brought these legendary characters to life. Famous examples include Sean Connery as action super-spy James Bond, or Harrison Ford as the swashbuckling Indiana Jones.
Although in the category of fantasy-oriented comic books, Hugh Jackman‘s Wolverine will likely be iconized in a similar vein. Ever since he first put on the metal-spiked claws for Bryan Singer‘s X-Men back in 2000 (a full 17 years ago!), Jackman has dove headfirst into his portrayal, creating a standout character across a series that was often patchy from one film to the next.
Now, through James Mangold‘s Logan, Jackman has finally come full circle. More than any of his past Wolverine standalone films, or even his high-profile performances in the X-Men series in general, Logan is the film his character desperately deserved all along. Part Western, part gritty action film, but still a superhero movie through and through, it is a truly spectacular ride.
One Last Time
Logan takes place in the year 2029. James Logan currently works as a limo chauffeur, taking people back and forth across the Mexican border. In his unusual domicile, he houses an albino mutant with the power of tracking named Caliban (an almost unrecognizable Stephen Merchant), as well as an aging Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart), who needs constant care due to a neurodegenerative brain disease. It is soon discovered that the three are amongst the last of the mutants, with something having wiped out a majority of them years earlier.
Soon, Logan is presented with a mission by a nurse named Gabriela (Elizabeth Rodriguez), who asks him to care for her daughter, a mysteriously quiet 11-year-old girl named Laura (Dafne Keen), who is being hunted by an agency for as of now unknown reasons. Logan is reluctant to assist, but soon finds himself drawn into the conflict when the same agents come knocking at his door. The remainder of the film follows Logan, Professor Xavier, and Laura as they attempt to make it to a place called “Eden”, a supposed safe haven located in North Dakota.
As alluded to earlier in the quote from Shane, Logan is very reminiscent of the classic Western story of a reluctant hero past his prime. Indeed, in a move that is perhaps a bit too blatant yet still clearly fitting, the end scene from Shane is even shown at one point in the film, in which Alan Ladd‘s title character sparks wisdom to young Joey one last time before riding off to an unknown future. Hugh Jackman has cited films like Shane and the Clint Eastwood-directed Unforgiven as major influences, the idea being the building and then deconstruction of traditional hero tropes.
Wolverine has always been reminiscent of the legendary gunslinger – the antihero that takes up arms (or claws, in this case) in an effort to save the helpless from the forces attempting to suppress them. Here, those forces are the Reavers, headed by metal arm-enhanced Donald Pierce (Boyd Holbrook), who is attempting to apprehend Laura and other people like her for reasons which I cannot fully convey for fear of spoilers.
It’s a story that has been told time and time again in the realm of Westerns for precisely this purpose: the mythos associated with the open ranges of the Old West. Here, instead of the stark red deserts and one-horse towns of the American Midwest, instead we see the broken-down factories of Mexico, and, later-on, the humdrum farmlands of working class America. Mangold‘s film imbues life into the “uncivilized” world of southern America, bringing to mind current political tensions in the process (which I’ll touch on more in a bit).
Though still very much in the superhero genre, Logan is distinguished amongst the grand lot of them in its manner of combining the grittiness of a Western with the fantastical elements of a superhero story, and in the process breaks through the boundaries of just what a superhero film can be. For those who have grown increasingly bored of the same story told time and time again through only slightly different lenses, Logan has come along and allowed us to embrace the soaring heights of potential that the genre can aspire to.
The R-Rated Superhero Film
Logan isn’t the first time that Fox Studios has dipped into R-Rated superhero territory. The first was last year, with the adaptation of Deadpool, starring Ryan Reynolds. Logan soon followed suit with the R rating, and it was suspected that it was merely an attempt to cash in on the new sub-genre of “adult superhero” films. Yet, I really couldn’t see the film achieving success in any other way.
For one, the violence of Logan is very dissimilar to that found in Deadpool. Whereas Deadpool was more cartoonish in nature, in Logan it is relentlessly vivid. From the film’s opening scene, when Wolverine takes on a slew of bad guys and ends up severing arms and legs with spouting blood, it only gets considerably worse. There are some sequences in Logan that even myself, having become slightly desensitized to violence through the years with shows like Game of Thrones, was taken aback by. It’s not that it is particularly disgusting or gory, but the violence is just so visceral in nature, coming swiftly and never fully letting up even towards the end of the film’s final act.
Amazingly, though, even with its lurid nature the violence rarely feels excessive or undeserved. Logan exists within a bleak and dark world; the violence is as fitting as it would be in the comic books from which this film draws influence through both its subject and aesthetics (it’s loosely based on a series called Old Man Logan).
There’s Still Time
For all its pulse-pounding action, Logan is, above all, a film with heart. When Logan finally agrees to help Laura escape to Eden along with Professor Xavier, the three form an unusual family unit, with Xavier as the aging grandfather, Wolverine as the patriarchal father figure, and Laura as the daughter. There is one scene in particular, in which the three are invited to a dinner after helping a family gather their escaped horses on the highway, that is gratifying poignant; of course, we know the feeling won’t last, but for a film that often stretches into long-winded fight scenes, it’s admirable to know that it also possesses an emotional core.
In the last Wolverine standalone movie, simply titled The Wolverine, we were able to finally see some vulnerability for the character, seen partway through when Logan loses his power to rapidly heal. Here, in Logan, he has not only started to lose his healing powers to some capacity, but also shows all the emotive weight of a man who has detached himself from the world due to having lost most of the people around him. Far from the once stoic badass as he was portrayed in the original X-Men, Logan is weary with age and grief – it is, above all, a film that should be celebrated for the painstaking precision with which Jackman plays the character. His Wolverine is weary and lonesome yet endearingly watchable, with an appealing quality that could only be captured through Jackman‘s precise mixture of brawn and frailty.
This is also, as stated by Patrick Stewart, likely the final time that he will play Professor Xavier. Giving the film some of its more dismal qualities through his role, Stewart plays an aging nonagenarian with incredible nuance; he doesn’t so much overemphasize his fading mental capacities as he instead languishes in a childlike state of innocence. If Wolverine is the physical body of this film, it is Professor Xavier that is its heart.
In the essential role of the young Laura is newcomer Dafne Keen, who quickly becomes the film’s breakout performance. She exudes childlike naivety along with hardened survival instincts – coupled together, they create a formidable young girl, who, through Keen‘s adoring performance, gives you something to latch onto throughout the film’s length. Who is this girl, and why are there people hunting her? We soon discover the answer to this, but the mysteriously alluring quality of her character is one of the film’s major highlights. This is especially impressive when you consider that, for most of Logan‘s length, Keen doesn’t utter a single word.
Political Relevancy
Logan was filmed from May through August, 2016, yet it is a film that feels more relevant than ever in our current state of political upheaval, brought on especially by America’s election of Donald Trump. The film’s very focus is on children, in states of distress and fleeing for their lives, attempting to cross the border of Mexico into America. And these children all possess some sort of unique power, including Laura, who has the ability to rapidly heal like Wolverine.
The Reavers who attempt to apprehend the children do so out of a supposed fear, despite the fact that they do not appear to lash out violently except when provoked. This is the very essence of Donald Trump‘s America, though: we fear what we cannot control, and those who we perceive as different to our own pigeonholed worldview. For a film whose original story precedes Donald Trump‘s bid for presidency, it is a truly remarkable work of foreshadowing. Superhero movies live in the mythos of the subconscious mind; as a result, they just might be the most effective form of political satire in addition to being amongst the most financially successful blockbusters.
Conclusion
Logan is, more than anything else, a perfect bookend to Hugh Jackman‘s years of playing the role. Through three solo films and four additional X-Men movies, all of which his character was a major part of, Jackman was always a sight to see, devoutly loyal to the role both physically and mentally (and, in Logan, emotionally as well). To see him go out on such an exuberant high is much more than anyone could have asked for.
Though I’m sure we will still have many years of fine performances ahead by Jackman, it’s still likely Wolverine that will be his most remembered. Like the great legends of old, his final walk into the sunset will be idolized by generations of superhero movie fans to come.
What did you think of Logan? What are some of your favorite final films by an iconic character like Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine? Tell us in the comments below!
Logan was released in the UK and the US on March 3. For all international release dates, click here.
Does content like this matter to you?
Become a Member and support film journalism. Unlock access to all of Film Inquiry`s great articles. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about cinema - get access to our private members Network, give back to independent filmmakers, and more.