We always knew it should end this way.......

Rating: 8/10 (11 March 2017)

Wolverine films have always troubled me in the past.
They have only got through carried by the characters popularity and the huge talent of Hugh Jackman. It's easy to forget that 17 years ago it was mooted that he had been miscast in X-men as Wolverine but he quickly won audience members around and all credit to him he has made the part his own despite the variable quality of the solo material and an unbalanced push the character got through the x-men franchise.
The Origin's outing had material to make a great movie but failed through stupid use of that material and nearly killed off Deadpool to boot. Now Deadpool has made a Billion Dollars! Studio Interference? The Wolverine was jaw dropping for the first 30 minutes really good for the rest of the film and then Origins style stupidity kicked in again and the resolution was idiotic - Studio interference not just suspected but a definite in this instance. Now we have Logan and has the Studio learned its lesson? Unbelievably yes and the result is a very good film that clearly all parties wanted to make.
Stylistically the movie gets a lot from westerns and the often referred to in the press junket 'Shane' moments. It is a road movie and the theme's of Family and Legacy permeate and how you cannot escape your past. Standout for me was Stephen Merchant as Caliban who added a contrast to the gruff Wolverine and who's presence fleshed out the situation they were in. Patrick Stewart played a senile and cantankerous Prof. X well but overplayed the R-Rating, you will see what I mean. Boyd Holbrook was good as he always is but was too 'Villain by numbers'. Richard E. Grant was excellent but had little to do unfortunately.
Hugh Jackman, as is the case over the last 17 years, has now made the part of Wolverine impossible to recast for at least a number of years and even then not without creative distinguishing changes. That is how outstanding he was in this film portraying a decline of an erstwhile almost invulnerable hero with style and, as the part required, an indignity. We shall not go gently.........
8/10 for me but they should have added the following: The Westchester Incident, Sabretooth (Liev Schrieber), Whatever happened to Magneto would have provided emotional material for Stewart. Richard E Grant playing a Composite of his own character plus the material used for Holbrook (And Holbrook not in it!).
If the character arc was taken to it's logical conclusion then we always did know it would end this way. Logan is a fitting conclusion to Hugh Jackman's involvement with the character. But it also should have been a fitting conclusion to the generation one x-men, it so nearly is, and with the additions noted above it would have been....................