Logan, greatest solo superhero film

Rating: 9/10 (16 October 2018)

Logan, easily the best movie to come out of theaters in 2017, was a well written story from the opening scene to the closing shot. The story follows Logan, one of the last two living X-Men in a time where mutants have been killed off. Through genetic manipulation done by Alkali-Transigen, many new mutants are created. One of those new mutants is Laura, a little girl with the same genetic makeup as Logan. His embarks on a journey to protect her and get her to safety at Eden, a place the children all met up to make it to safety.
Logan's role in the film is not only Laura's guardian, but her mentor, showing her to be better than he ever could be.
The film takes you on the journey of an aging and dying Logan, attaching you to him during his struggles, knowing that it was his final film.
The movie has the audience leaving and thinking about not only the future of the X-Men saga, but the many years that that Hugh Jackman spent playing his character, 17 years to be exact.
Scott Frank took a very different yet successful approach to the original "Old Man Logan" story, giving them the chance to finish off one character and opening up another one very well but his only downfall was the seemingly quick third act, going from the death of a friend to the very end.
With this being James Mangold largest movie directed to date, his storytelling and character development shine and each scene feels involved with the camera angles and movements.
Michael McCusker's shining moment in the film was the scene where Logan goes to rescue the children from the mercenaries at the end of the film, changing from the seemingly calm patrol to the animal that Logan was becoming.
Lastly, John Mathieson, with the role of cinematographer, balanced light very well, in what was a very dark movie. While most darker movies have a matching darker lighting, Mathieson was not afraid to keep his scenes well exposed.
The only change that would have made the story better, is if it was able to follow the Old Man Logan comic book storyline, but seeing as it had not been purchased by Marvel yet, it was not able to happen.