“The buzz going in was that this was the best movie in the X-Men franchise and that it was unlike anything else we’ve seen from a superhero movie. One of those points I wholeheartedly agree with. The other, not so much.
Yes, it’s very different. I didn’t think that could really be possible, but Logan doesn’t feel like a superhero movie. It’s more along the lines of Mad Max than X-Men. It’s a bleak post apocalyptic survival story that just happens to be about a beloved mutant. And it’s more unapologetically violent than anything we’ve seen from this genre on screen, more like what you’ll find in the darkest of the comic books. Let’s face it, Wolverine was never much of a hero himself, and this film is fitting for his character. I love that we can break the formula of what’s expected for a franchise and deliver something one off and unique. The futuristic timeline was genius since it allows it to exist without upsetting the current mythology.
Then why don’t I agree that it’s the best X-movie? The pacing. That’s become a bigger and bigger pitfall for me lately. While I appreciate streamlined and uncomplicated stories, if it’s too thin, I lose interest. I need the story to move along and do things, and I felt like we weren’t getting a lot of that. There was some incredible character development, but it was such a slow burn that it was difficult to fully appreciate. Everything I talked about in the previous paragraph is lost if the film is putting me to sleep.
I will give another redeeming quality, and that was the child mutant, Laura. Especially when you factor in her grandparentish relationship with Professor X (after seeing this, who wouldn’t want Charles as a Grandpa?). She was one of the toughest and most interesting characters I’ve encountered recently, all the more impressive given her age. I wouldn’t mind continuing her story, as long as all the rest of the elements are there. For me, we were just short of the incredible movie this had the potential to be.
Logan – \m/ \m/ \m/”