'Logan' Is Not Your Typical Superhero Movie

Rating: 8/10 (3 March 2017)

Expectations are more often than not the critical factor in judging the success of a cinematic experience. Walking into a movie with high, or particular, expectations can often lead to disappointment when it fails to deliver. On the other hand, some of the greatest movie experiences have come simply from not knowing what to expect.
Marvel's newest blockbuster "Logan," and the final chapter in the "Wolverine" saga, epitomizes the importance of audience expectations because it breaks so sharply from the standard of comic book movies. Audiences expecting to see the gratuitous action, cosmic villains, and invincible superheroes of previous "Wolverine" films may be disappointed. Where "Logan" unexpectedly succeeds, though, is in sublime character development.
To be fair, "Logan" does have its share of graphic violence, but these sequences take a backseat to the characters themselves. Director James Mangold takes us farther than ever before in his attempts to humanize the iconic heroes of our childhoods. Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), the leader of the X-Men, suffers from Alzheimer's disease, a case made much more severe because of the incredible psychic powers he wields. Sporadic seizures cause him to unleash paralytic waves of psychic energy that can injure, and even kill, the very people that he once championed so mightily.
Logan (Hugh Jackman) himself is a shell of his former animalistic glory. Age and a vaguely described illness have atrophied his healing powers. Nor do his adamantium claws have the same pop they once had; at one point, he literally has to pull his claws from his knuckles to full extension. Perhaps the most telling detail of his deterioration is his gasping wheezes as he runs through a forest, a scene that epitomized his rage and prowess in previous films.
Even the minor role of the mutant Caliban (Stephen Merchant) is a depiction of humanized imperfection. Caliban is an albino whose sensitive skin cannot endure direct sunlight. Far from being a mutant deficiency, Caliban's disease shows that mutants remain, at their core, offshoots of humanity, and are susceptible to the same flaws and unfortunate determinations of fate and chance as the rest of us.
The three make a flawed and unlikely trio in a world that is largely removed of mutant populations. The human-mutant wars seem to be over, and Logan's sole concerns are the safety and caretaking of his companions. This, of course, is interrupted by the arrival of Laura (Dafne Keen), a deceptively innocent-looking girl who is pursued by military and government bad-guys Donald Pierce (Boyd Holbrook) and Zander Rice (Richard E. Grant). The villains are largely underwhelming, with cool-looking but ultimately useless mechanical hands, and typical villainous egomania. That's okay, though, because the story was never really about them; "Logan" is first and foremost a revelation of the limitations of our heroes against the backdrop of our expectations for them.
Mangold has crafted a terrific experience in "Logan" filled with a number of poignant and dramatic moments. The pacing does plod at times, but more than makes up for it with well-placed and effective action sequences that reminisce Wolverine's claw-slicing heyday. There is a real and visceral enjoyment in watching him literally shred his enemies to pieces, but these moments are not what defines the movie. These moments are simply contrast to the aging, diminished hero who occupies the rest of the screen time.
Fans of Marvel, and of the superhero genre, will likely come expecting the gore and violence that the film's R-rating promises. They won't be disappointed, but make no mistake. These are not the invincible, perfect superheroes of traditional comic book movies. There is no grand, cosmic enemy to stand against. Audiences should temper such expectations with the understanding that these are flawed and imperfect people. Just like us, their greatest battles are waged internally, against themselves. And yet, somehow, that makes their heroism that much more heroic.