When Death Became Redemption

Rating: 9/10 (19 April 2017)

"Logan" is the third and the last movie of wolverine movie series which came out on March 3rd, 2017. Though it marks the end of Hugh Jackman's 17-year-long superhero screen image, it also brings up the superhero movie into a whole new level with a deeper main idea and more realistic characterization.
Logan, once the fiercest and most heroic superhero, finally came to the end of his legend. According to the background setting of the movie, in 2029, the X-Men organization (A mutant organization set up by Professor X to protect mutants and humans) were gone and there hadn't been a newly born mutant in the world for 20 years. Mutants were dying out. Professor X, the great man who once was like a teacher and a father to Logan, now had become a miserable ill old man with serious brain disease. Logan became a private driver to make a living for himself and the poor old professor. What was more unfortunate was that he even began to lose his most powerful ability of self-healing. At this very moment, He happened to meet a girl called Laura who had the exact same super power as him: Self-healing and Adamantium (One of the most powerful alloys in the world) claws, yet was in great danger of being chased by a secret organization. Convinced by professor-X and the conscience of himself, Logan, once again, gave up his reclusive life and undertook the responsibility to do this one-last-time superhero's job. However, this time he was no longer the great Wolverine.
On the surface, this movie is still a movie about a superhero. It still contains the elements of science fictions and actions. In fact, this movie is probably the most exciting superhero I've ever watched. Thanks to the R rating, you'll be able to appreciate the bloodiest fight and action scenes when Logan used that pair of claws to fight with enemies. As for the plots, "Logan" begins to show its innovations compared to other superhero movies. I'd rather call it a Road Movie because the most parts of the movie are Logan driving the car with Laura and Professor X, but this type of narration doesn't make the movie boring. It helps to enhance the tensions of the characters instead. Anyone who likes the superhero movie is just going to like "Logan" as well.
Nevertheless, when we look deeper into the movie, you'll understand that "Logan" is more like a private movie. Actually, the main idea of the movie is to portray a vivid impression of Logan and discuss how he fought against his miserable fate but never gave up. Since the character of Logan has been on the screen for 17 years in several X- men related movies, this single movie doesn't spend much time reviewing the history of Logan but goes straight to the new harsh situation, which explains why the director changed the movie's name from "Wolverine" into "Logan". To be honest, this can be a flow to the audiences who are not so familiar with the character Logan. To them, this movie is only about a middle-aged superhero who led a horrible life but sacrificed himself to save a little girl.
However, for those who know what Logan has experienced in the previous movies, they will understand that this simple story is not just about saving a little girl, but about a redemption of a man. They will understand what it means when Logan said: "Bad sh*t happens to people I care about". Logan's super healing power can be a gift but also a curse at the same time. On the one hand, this power keeps him alive from the crises. On the other hand, it also forces him to face the sorrow when he lost the ones that he loves. What does it all mean if you are the only one to survive but no one else does? Logan has experienced this for his whole life. Thus, when he faced his "daughter" Laura, he knew he must not fail this time even he was much weaker than before. In the end of the movie, though Logan died for Laura, but he passed away with a smile because this was the first time he broke the curse and got his redemption. The vivid characterization and the violent fighting scene not only make Logan more real than ever but also affect the audiences' feelings at the greatest degree when they saw character's reactions. This connection between the audiences and the characters is what makes this movie a great one.
Although the movie has a little high threshold for the ordinary audiences, but it is absolutely one of the best superhero movies ever as it proves that a good superhero movie can also be a good movie with vivid characters and touching plot, not just some popcorn movies.