The beginning of the end times

Rating: Null/10 (25 June 2017)

Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart return to their roles as Wolverine and Professor X, respectively, in this film that is almost certainly Jackman's last run as Wolverine and might just be Stewart's last as Professor X as well. And as far as swan songs go, they could not have asked for a better film.
It's 2029 and mutants have become an endangered species. No new mutants have been born in years and only a few of the old guard are left. One of the few "lucky" survivors is Logan, who is radically removed from his glory days, being reduced to a suffering husk of his former self. And he has gotten off lightly compared to Charles Xavier, trust me. But then a new mutant enters their lives. A young girl with a power set almost identical to that of Wolverine's.
James Mangold is once again directing and he continues to show that he really gets the character. The Wolverine focused on Logan's past and the human behind the adamantium skeleton and the nigh immortality. Logan focuses on the mortality of the character. On the fact that all beings, even one such as Wolverine, must grow old. Must one day, no matter how far into the future, die.
In that light I'm almost hesitant to call this movie a superhero film. Because it's such a reconstruction of the genre that it's almost a new thing in and on itself. It borrows heavily from westerns and the rougher side of Americana, while also being a bittersweet love letter to all the previous X-Men films and to all superhero films in general. While also being a brilliant film in its own right.
Here's to you Hugh Jackman. Here's to you Patrick Stewart. And here's to you James Mangold. This will not be the last superhero film. But it almost should be.