A gritty, more adult Wolverine film

Rating: 9/10 (7 May 2018)

It is 2029 and Logan is getting old and tired. Most of the mutants are long gone although Professor Charles Xavier is still alive; he too is old though and as his mind goes so does the control of his powers. Logan is working as a limo drive in the area near the Mexican border and is approached by a woman asking him to drive her and a young girl, Laura, to North Dakota. It turns out Laura is a mutant with similar powers to Logan; unlike him though she isn't a natural mutation but one of a group of new mutants created in a lab in Mexico City as part of an experiment to create super-soldiers. When the experiment was judged to have failed the children were due to be killed so their carers are trying to get them to safety. Logan is initially unwilling to get involved but eventually ends up heading north with Laura and Xavier. They are pursued by those determined to retrieve Laura; everybody who gets in their way is expendable.
Those expecting another 'X-Men' film will certainly get a bit of a shock; this is not an exciting superhero movie suitable for all but young children. Instead it is almost consistently downbeat with some fairly brutal violence as Logan and Laura remove limbs and puncture skulls with their adamantium claws. There are some genuine surprises as bad things happen to characters one would expect to be safe. Hugh Jackman is great in the lead role, showing a different side to Logan; he is no longer young and angry, instead he is old and world-weary. Young Dafne Keen impresses as Laura; an almost feral girl who makes Hit Girl from 'Kick-Ass' look gentle! There are nods to other films; most notably 'Shane', which Laura watches with Xavier and their search for the possibly mythical Eden in North Dakota reminded me of a different Logan's search for Sanctuary in 'Logan's Run'. I'd certainly recommend this to older X-Men fans but would caution against showing it to younger fans as it is very violent and has some pretty depressing moments.