Despite the action Logan is an unimpressive superhero movie.

Rating: 6/10 (2 March 2017)

'Logan' is the first movie (minus Deadpool) in the X-Men universe to receive an R rating. Unlike 'Deadpool' this film is not a comedy. Far from it actually. This film is a brutal action movie filled with excessive violence resulting in a surfeit of blood, gore, and cursing. Which, surprisingly enough, is what any fan of Wolverine as a character has been waiting for. Finally, we get to witness Hugh Jackman tear people limb from limb in glorious, graphic violence. For this film, the biggest selling point, aside from the R rating, was the fact that Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart are hanging it up after this film. This film will mark their last performances as their respective characters.
So naturally, people want to see the only Wolverine they know be Wolverine one last time. And, thankfully, this film features an all around superb cast. Every actor in this movie is great with Jackman anchoring the film with his magnetic performance. Patrick Stewart also does a great job despite having fairly limited screen time. Even the young girl (X-23) did a fine job with what was given to her.
But the crowning achievement of the film is the action. This director also directed 'The Wolverine' which was equally strong action wise. The difference between the two films is that 'The Wolverine' feels stifled by its PG-13 rating. 'Logan' does not have this problem. All the action is well handled and horrifically violent. Every time someone gets stabbed blood sprays all over the place in glorious detail.
And it should be shown in glorious detail because the rating is the biggest selling point. Which is why you should see this with a crowd. It's the perfect movie to see with people and reveal in the excessive violence we have all craved. Every time Jackman and his little girl whip out their claws the film gets a burst of life and energy that really resonates with a crowd. So, while I would recommend seeing this with a crowd to experience the impressive action, I can't say that I liked this film.
It's perfectly fine but the biggest problem comes in the form of the script. There are literally three screenwriters penning this movie. Writers who have such hit films as 'Marley & Me', 'Green Lantern', and 'The Wolverine' under their belt. Despite having three people looking at this script for who knows how long, it still feels like a first draft. Why? Because there is basically no story. Where the last Wolverine film was almost incoherent with its bloated story, hardly anything happens in 'Logan'.
The first thirty minutes is set up followed by an action scene that all works very well but the next 45-60 minutes is nothing. They go to a place and then leave and then go to a place and leave over and over again. It gets so repetitive and dull to the point of me actually falling asleep. In an R-rated X-Men movie. It's in this hour of time where we are left with so little story that you start to realize that there wasn't really a story to begin with.
It goes something like this: "Take this girl to this place Wolverine." "No. OK, fine I'll do it." And that's it. After he takes thirty minutes to accept this job he then takes two hours to complete this thin plot and that's the movie. It's nearly an hour of filler in a two and a half hour movie. If the film had this hour of filler cut out we would have had a great, straight up action movie. Instead, we have an uneven, poorly paced, thin story where not much happens.
Like I said earlier, this is a perfectly acceptable action film. It has all the blood and gore you could ever want. It really pushes its R rating in the way we all wanted it too. Couple that with great performances and we should have had a great action movie. But, instead, the film is horribly bogged down with poor writing. Three screenwriters is never a good sign and it really shows here. There are endless action scenes followed by even more endless filler scenes. What results from this is overlong, thinly plotted, and an unevenly paced the film.