Gut wrenching Gut spilling Noir

Rating: 8/10 (1 March 2017)

Disclaimer: Chill no spoilers. However not your regular super hero movie. Keep your kids the hell away from it (It's rated R for a very good reason). Watching the movie felt like walking into your favorite bar full of good old friends & out of the blue, being punched hard in the gut for absolutely no reason. Brutal, shocking, uncomfortable, dazed & confused - making you keel over, wondering what's coming next. Take out the mutant powers & it borders around blurred lines of a gritty western & an art house production - stripped of all the glitz & glamour of the usual superhero flick, replaced by the depth possessed by almost none of its predecessors. Paced like a freight train, barreling through the landscape at some points & in others, slowing down at key stations to leisurely meander around & explore the main protagonists. Death is a dear friend, lurking around the corner, with battles so brutally bloody that no movie in superhero history comes close to its visceral viciousness. Constantly reminding you of the throbbing pain of that punch in the gut. Logan is withering & weary, Prof X is almost senile, all hope around is draining away awaiting death's sweet embrace. Enter a pint sized feral X-23 - electrifying the somber mood, relentlessly pursued by weaponized soldiers called Reavers, kicking off a chase reminiscent of T-2, except the John Connor kid here kicks (or should I say slices & dices) some serious ass. A few surprises thrown in, some well-timed but unexpected humor & then it all hurtles towards a satisfying finish. That gut feel, ebbs away when you walk out of the hall, but lingers on to ponder over. Recommended watch after any bad day at the office - except this time, you'll be ready to absorb that punch & mentally relish giving it back with razor sharp interest"