A superhero movie, a road movie, a western, a family drama, a farewell letter, a new start. Anyway, a movie. A great movie. No label. Full of symbolism.

Rating: 9/10 (19 April 2020)

There are those films that follow formulas and that are very successful and there are those that also become recognized and gain notoriety for not following formulas or for following other types of formulas not inherent to a certain genre. This second case is where 'Logan', by director James Mangold - fits, who had already directed the also excellent 'Wolverine Immortal ". FOX and the director decided to put a definitive end to the most acclaimed hero of comics and cinema, who followed for almost two decades and the final result is one of the great superhero stories ever written for the cinema. We are facing an innovative, courageous, incredibly creative film with performances and direction that enshrine this work and will make it remember for a long time In these more than 15 years on screen, adding both great adaptations and not so happy moments, Hugh Jackman's Wolverine was in almost everyone.
Based on a story by fellow director James Mangold, the screenplay written by Scott Frank, Michael Green and Mangold himself was inspired by a more recent Mark Millar and Steve McNiven comic, 'The Old Logan'. From this story of the road - in which the aging and debilitated mutant crosses the United States in a post-apocalyptic scenario in which eccentric villains dominated the country to help an old ally deliver an illegal package - however, Logan's script takes advantage only the state of Wolverine and the idea of a dystopian future. The trio manages to deliver a first-rate drama, with a character development arc, with twists and turns and emotional and action scenes hardly portrayed in films of the genre. Being a superhero film is just one detail in the complex and striking plot. In it, we can follow a whole journey of self-knowledge and redemption of our beloved hero.
In 2029, Logan (Hugh Jackman) makes his living as a limo driver to look after nonagenarian Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart). At his side in this endeavor, we have Caliban (Stephen Merchant), one of the few mutants left. Physically debilitated and emotionally drained, he is wanted by Gabriela (Elizabeth Rodriguez), a Mexican woman who needs the help of the ex-X-Men to defend little Laura Kinney / X-23 (Dafne Keen). At the same time that he refuses to return to active duty, Logan is chased by cyborg mercenary Donald Pierce (Boyd Holbrook), interested in the girl.
Developing this idea of a dystopian future well, the director deftly creates this darker, darker world and the tone of pessimism is what prevails throughout the entire projection. However, it is in the list of characters that the great asset of 'Logan' is found. Anxious by the fans, we can see the family relationship between the weakened, calloused and scarred pupil Logan and the master, Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart), the most powerful mind in the world, who now suffers mentally with advancing age. And when the girl Laura (the excellent Dafne Keen, who dominates the non-verbal expression, showing a variety of emotions with just her eyes) comes on the scene, we have the idea of family again present in Logan's life. The interaction between the trio is what sustains Logan's actions throughout the film. In one of the scenes when they pass for a family, it is one of the best in the film, with several references to Professor Xavier's Mutants School and the relationship between them. Make-up on the edge of the unrecognizable, old and tired, Jackman and Stewart do the best job as these characters have since they started this journey. The film balances these moments exceptionally well with explosions of action and fury, setting the stage for a promising and liberating continuity from the shackles of the confused canon established in the X-Men universe in theaters.
At no time does he worry about being didactic, does not use cards or voice-overs to prepare us for this future, he passes on to us every information we need to know through his dialogues and does not waste time offering us the causes of all that . At no time did we discover Xavier's disease, Alzheimer's is only left in the air through Zander Rice (Richard E. Grant), who is also the apparent culprit for the disappearance of the mutants, a fact that we also do not understand how it happened and, fact, we don't need to know.
The film already establishes the state of the mutant in the first few seconds of the projection, making it clear that his glory days are gone. Hugh Jackman arrives with a wistful air, red eyes and a wobbly walk. The excessive use of alcohol acts as a way of escape for Wolverine not having to deal with his biggest enemy: the guilt he carries for everything he did in other times. To work this out visually, director James Mangold bets on open plans to show the ruin of the scenarios and on closed plans to create an intimate connection with the people shown there.
James Mangold makes 'Logan' a road movie with several turns. Forget if you expect a classic superhero movie, with cover heroes and scenes full of special effects. Realism sets the tone, not only in the setting, but also in the action scenes. Logan also knew how to take advantage of his higher rating to give fans the brutal violence they always wanted from Wolverine. However, management did not use this freedom to deliver rampant gore and profanity out of context - everything was used for the sake of history.
It is not an action movie with dramatic sequences, but a drama movie with action sequences. The scenes of violence in the place where Wolverine and Caliban took care of Professor Xavier are visceral. It was also the first time that we saw sweet Laura showing a side that even shocked the viewer. Talent and pure competence of the young Dafne Keen, who manages to pass the innocence and sweetness of a child at the same time that she is able to cut cold and violently with anger and fury several of her persecutors. The graphic violence of blades piercing heads, necks, arms, viscera is present to exhaustion here and is repeated in the scenes of the Harrah hotel and casino in Oklahoma, on the Munson family farm, and the last act near the border for Eden. In all the scenes, brutality, strength and realism impress and shock the audience, on purpose. Filmed millimeter, each blow or injury is felt. In the X-Men movies we never saw Wolverine really release all of his anger and show off the killer animal he is. In 'Logan', the film is not afraid to show all the blood and violence it entails.
It is certain, however, that Logan - even though he idolizes his origin in the comics all the time - could have been more "heroic". Were it not for the claws and powers, the film would go very well as an action drama disconnected from this legacy of the hero. By anchoring him in a supposed realism, looking for the adult Wolverine that fans had been waiting for years and without really exploring the potential of villains like Pierce and the Butchers, Mangold and Jackman disregard another aspect of the character that was desired ... the super -classic hero, who is once again left in the imagination - in conversations about the past and what was left behind.
A superhero movie, a road movie, a western, a family drama, a farewell letter, a new start, which teaches you "not to be what they did to you". Anyway, a movie. A great movie. No label. Full of symbolism, James Mangold's feature opposes past and present, youth and old age, nostalgia and novelty to make the baton pass to a new generation. 'Logan' is a visceral experience that leaves the bittersweet taste of questioning about life and death, about the past and the wrong choices left in it and also about the possibility of redemption.
Perhaps the film will not appeal to those who seek something similar to other superhero films, but it will certainly delight everyone who seeks a melancholy, harsh, tense drama in many moments, but above all human. This does not mean that 'Logan' is better than traditional superhero films, but it is simply different, in discarding everything we could expect from him. And the most impressive thing is that the film can do this without being pretentious. It is a film full of emotional and unique in which Hugh Jackman delivers the best performance of his career, honoring almost two decades playing the character in a farewell worthy of reverences marking his name in the history of cinema.