A movie about Logan, not Wolverine

Rating: 10/10 (4 March 2017)

Last time I was this affected after seeing a big-studio movie was when I saw Interstellar. I admit, there is some bias here, Wolverine has been part of my childhood and will always have a special place in my heart. I remember playing outside, holding three sticks between my fingers pretending to be the mutant, 'fighting' my friends who were cyclops, Sabretooth and Magneto. Watching this movie made me feel a strong blend of emotions, there was the cheering kid in me seeing Wolverine protecting the weak and back in action, the teenager enjoying all the violence and blood taken to the next level thanks to the R rating, and the adult in me appreciating the emotions, relationships and character development.
This being said it is worth mentioning this is nothing like any other X-men movies. Logan is so much more mature, honest and raw. This is the conclusion Wolverine deserves. The character never truly fitted the family/mass-market/day-at-the-mall type of superhero movie. I was always bothered with how the previous x-men movies treated the character as, "Ok, he's a badass, but forget about seeing any cuts after he takes his claws out". Logan is finally the proper portrayal of Wolverine. It is almost like the R-rating finally gave the directors, producers and screenwriters the freedom to give us a more believable, almost tangible version of Wolverine. After seeing Logan it feels like you had seen all the previous X-men movies through rose-tinted glasses and you had suddenly taken them off. And that's a good thing. We have to thank our buddy Deadpool for setting a precedent and allowing this to happen.
As for the acting, the cast did a superb job. Hugh Jackman really pulled off one of his strongest performances. Disagree with me as much as you like, but I'd say it's Oscar-worthy. You think he did well in The Fountain? You haven't seen nothing yet. Patrick Steward perfectly re-visited his character, but again this time this was a darker, less perfect and more human version.
A few words about the plot: The movie perfectly presents a old, worn and sick Wolverine taking care of his even older and sicker 'father' Charles. Anyone who has ever experienced taking care of someone approaching to his last days can easily relate to the tension here. The first half of the movie very well explored these themes, of son taking care of both his dying dad and troublesome daughter. You can almost feel how tired Logan must be. Not physically, but psychologically. So much responsibility on his shoulders and none of it, something he sought. You get to see the most human and natural reaction to this: anger. Anger that he has so much to deal with. The weight is almost unbearable. Logan considers suicide. Could this be the short-cut to the peace he always sought? But of course, this is wolverine and he would never abandon his duties. So he stands up and fights. It is this character development and portrayal of emotions what really makes the movie feel so much more relatable and realistic than a typical emotionless superhero action movie.
Enough about the drama aspects and a bit about the action: This is not an action movie. If you want to see Wolverine on a speeding train fighting assassins, go watch The Wolverine. This is much more about Logan, the man and his problems, than about Wolverine, the action hero and his stunts. This being said, the movie still has it's fair share of action and it is impressive, even if it includes a much weaker version of Wolverine. That is, until the end, when the mutant gets juiced up and we get to see what he's capable of. This time add the blood and gore and you'll end up with one of the best Wolverine action scenes ever.
The ending:
I appreciate the conclusive ending of the movie. That's it. Hugh knows it, we know it. There is no stupid arm punching through the grave with claws pointing up the sky in the after-scenes. As I said, this is not that kind of movie.
I'll lie if I didn't feel sad. It was finally that a movie got the character right and 2 hours later it was all over. I also really enjoyed the somewhat smaller scale of the character's last battle. This was not a fight amongst falling skyscrapers that would decide the faith of mankind and the universe and the omniverse. No. That's for the Avengers. Perhaps for the X-men and Wolverine, but not for Logan. This was a battle for the lives of a few kids with mutant strenghts. Nothing big, just a few lives at stake, nothing barely comparable to what was at stake in Days of Future Past.
Yet this was his largest battle. By fighting in the battle Logan fought for something that meant to him more than more than the world: His daughter and the one thing he never truly felt until his last breath - family and love. And that's worth dying for.
Beautiful. Shakespearean. A battle for love not for saving the world. A battle that Logan had to fight, not the Wolverine. A battle won.
"So that's what it feels like."