Logan - Best X-Men Movie Ever ?

If you were to compile a list of iconic Marvel comics, theres a few that would certainly jump out at you. Civil War, Planet Hulk, The adventures of Animal Man issue 1 (wait a minute...). Another that would undoubtedly make the list is Old Man Logan. Featuring many of the most prominent figures in Marvel comics and telling the unnerving end (for now) of Wolverine. And whilst, due to rival studio restrictions, there is no way that Logan can be an exact adaptation of the Old Man Logan storyline, that is the issue from which the latest entry to the Fox X-Men universe is based upon. Now, obviously using such a popular comic book leads to massive amounts of pressure from fans who want to see their favourite storylines done well. Especially when you consider that the current X-Men universe have ranged from "yeah it was fine I guess" to "OMG what have you done stop making these you monsters!". However I'm pleased to announce that Hugh Jackman's Wolverine has been giving a worthy send-off because Logan is incredible.

Set in 2029 (Don't even try to figure out how this fits into the timeline of the universe, its broken, Fox admitted it themselves, just go along with it okay?), its not looking good for mutant kind. A mix of a mutant virus and another event that I won't spoil, has led to mutants being wiped off the planet. It looks bleak too for the few survivors. Wolverine is fighting with an internal sickness and Professor X is approaching death. However, the emergence of X-23, a young mutant with extremely similar abilities to Logan, leads to the uncovering of a horrifying experiment, which forces Logan to return for one last stand - to save mutant kind.

I feel it's only fair to start with Hugh Jackman, seeing this is his last X-Men movie and the universe owes him so much. For years now his excellent portrayal has in many ways propped up the at times mediocre X-Men franchise, to the point where its hard to imagine anyone else playing the role. He's just as fantastic here. He captures the spirit of Old Man Logan perfectly. Bitter, broken and just about ready to end it all. The ageing (and de-ageing) of his character of course assists the performance, but its Hugh Jackman's portrayal that brings the character to life. In fact, the whole cast is good. X-23 was surprisingly good, this is probably the best performance Patrick Stewart has given as Professor X and the villain is also pretty solid. The interactions between all are great as well.

It a risky strategy to make your movie R rated. You run the risk of excluding enough people to make the movie tank in the box office. However, with the immense success of Deadpool, studios are becoming increasingly more open to the concept. Fans of Wolverine know that he has been known to murder his enemies in a very visceral manner, especially in Old Man Logan. Thats exactly what we get here. The action throughout the movie is spectacular. I was particularly impressed by X-23's combat and Wolverine's is dead on to the character. I don't have a problem with the very graphic violence in the film, as its used to further emphasis just how broken Wolverine is. Initially he may have spared some people, but now, after all he has been through he is taking no prisoners. Also contributing to the R rating is the the use of profanities. There are some moments that 'f*ck' is used to be humorous and provide welcome moments of levity in what is on the whole a very dark film, but to be honest I did begin to feel that the use of bad language got a little bit excessive with out serving much purpose to the story. I can certainly see why this movie got an R rating, and would probably recommend you didn't take any younger children to see it.

Being a comic book movie, there are of course countless references to the X-Men film universe and X-Men comics. I won't spoil them for you, but I though I ought to mention it simply because the way that they are crafted into the narrative is almost seamless and they will have your inner fanboy jumping for joy.

Overall, this review was pretty tricky to write. A lot of what I wanted to discuss was sparked by some pretty major plot points of the movie that I don't want to spoil for you now. But that, I suppose, is arguably one of the biggest compliments I can pay to this film. This is the first X-Men movie that has ever got me excited for the future of their universe. Which is infuriating, as this could potentially be the last one, although the narrative does leave some room open for future movies. If those future movies were to the standard of Logan, I'd absolutely be on board. The cast is great, Hugh Jackman of course but X-23 I feel deserves a special mention. The action is amazing, exceedingly violent but it contributes to the story. This is undoubtably the best X-Men movie that Fox have made, and I urge you to go and see it fast. Maybe don't take the kids though :)

4/5 Stars