Wolverine's Finest Hour is Also Jackman's Last

Rating: 8/10 (20 March 2017)

A very hard R for Hugh Jackman's last call as Wolverine, easily the most unapologetically dark, violent take we've ever seen from a Marvel property. It's a jolt at first, but also necessary to effectively and immediately shift the tone from the campier tendencies of the greater X-Men franchise to the sad, defeated near-future of this timeline. There's a bucketful of carnage, but also a wealth of character moments, particularly between Xavier, Logan and Laura, the young mutant also known as X-23. This area has always been trouble for Fox's X-films, with so many faces cramming the screen that it can often be tough to remember names, let alone a convincing motivation. This time, that scope is kept intentionally narrow, and it bears ripe fruit. Particularly during the gut-wrenching final scenes, which not only deliver a strong sense of closure to all three arcs, but also reveal the troubling reality that tomorrow's heroes may have already been corrupted by the path they've unwillingly marched. Outstanding work from the leading actors, particularly Jackman and Stewart, who have a long and successful chemistry together, and a surprisingly bright supporting effort from Stephen Merchant, of all people. It's a bold finale that should finally give mature fans of the genre something wet and meaty to sink their teeth into. Refreshing proof that not every superhero story needs to be bleached for a younger audience.