The first time I've liked Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.

Rating: 9/10 (14 March 2017)

I'm a big fan of Wolverine in the comics. As for the movies, not too much. I never liked Hugh Jackman in the original 3 X-Men movies as he never really sold the character for me or had much depth to his performance. Origins was a disaster. Then he had his first great Wolverine scene in First Class where he only uttered 2 words. Then came Mangold's the Wolverine, where I actually didn't mind Hugh Jackman and thought Wolverine was getting better as a screen character. Days of Future Past happened and I thought Jackman was alright there as well. X-Men Apocalypse came soon after and Wolverine had a disappointing, B-Grade level action sequence. Now, Mangold returns with a superhero movie to rank with the best. Logan is not just a great superhero film, it is a great film. Period. I finally respect Hugh Jackman in the role.
And it's about f**king time they did an R rated Wolverine film! Can't believe a garbage character like Deadpool got one before Wolverine.
Acting - Hugh Jackman finally delivers a layered, emotionally charged performance as Wolverine, giving the character his first real, proper glory. Patrick Stewart is once again, awesome as Professor X, now more gritty and human, a more developed character than before. Daphne Keen, for an 11 year old girl, had a really good, intimidating persona about her and did well as Jackman's sidekick. Stephen Merchant added dramatic layering to his usual comedic performances and was a joy to watch, even with less screen time than the other characters. Boyd Holbrook played a good villain, being both humorous and savage. Overall, no weak performances from the leading cast. Otherwise, some of the other children were a little weak.
Story - A simple story, but one that allowed the characters to explore their relationship as well as themselves, which is an important thing a story should do. It creates a world where it doesn't jam exposition in your face, but instead lets the audience soak it all in and fill in the pieces themselves. Had the elements of a modern day western, like No Country For Old Men, with almost the same amount as viciousness to it. Had a steady pace and really ramped it up towards the end, providing a really great and emotional pay-off. I was originally disappointed that they were just using themes of Old Man Logan (comic which Logan is based off of) rather than the entire story itself, but I was pleasantly surprised with the final concept.
Action (Cinematography an Editing) - Finally, we get to see the REAL Wolverine. The best at what he does. And what he does isn't pretty. Hardcore to the max, the action scenes are phenomenal and really show the true nature of Wolverine, as a force to be reckoned with. Mangold really nailed the action scenes, all of them feeling unique and fresh as to not get stale. The hotel and forest scene were absolutely brutal and brilliant, being well shot and looking stunning. Since it's an R film, there's no more garbage quick edits or shoddy camera work to hide Wolverine's kills. We now get to see smooth action sequences that have a real meatiness to it, almost to the caliber of a bone crunching Zac Snyder action sequence. The final shot was also really great.
Writing and Characters - The characters finally get to explore themselves, bringing out emotions and thoughts we never usually see from Logan or Prof X in the previous films. We really do get to see the troubled psyche of Wolverine as he learns how to be with others, whilst simultaneously showing a need to distance himself from others. We get to see the beast within as he kills mercilessly to protect innocents. Prof X, as stated before, is more gritty and human, coming to terms with his own mortality whilst trying to help Logan find his, and their relationship feels genuine because of this. The dialogue is mostly great with maybe a few F-bombs being forced at the start of the film, but very quickly felt natural and smooth, flowing with the dialogue. A lot of people are complaining about the nudity scene, but honestly, who cares? It's just showing the kind of society they live in, the people he meets, etc. Overall, minimal problems.
Soundtrack - I heard some unique tracks during action sequences which I liked. There were these sort of skewed, high pitched noises that really built on the uneasiness of the situation.
Although I'd always imagined Mel Gibson as the perfect Wolverine, Hugh Jackman finally proved himself to me in this epic film. It's also a shame now that I've started to like him, he's no longer continuing the role.
Wolverine fans can rejoice now that we have a proper R rated Wolverine film in line with the comic character that we all love. I had a great time with this movie, even though it is quite depressing to watch. I rate this up there with the 4 other untouchable super hero films: Watchmen, Dark Knight, Batman Begins, Iron Man. Logan joins the ranks of the greats.
But I think overall, the reason I like those movies and Logan so much, is that they don't just try to be great superhero films, they also aspire to be great films in general, elevating themselves above the mediocrity of all the other films of its genre.
Logan is a great film. And we have James Mangold, Patrick Stewart and (I'm so happy I finally get to say this) Hugh Jackman to thank for making such a brilliant Wolverine film.
8.5/10
Go watch it, bub.