A near perfect swan song for Hugh Jackman's grounded, ragged, and above all anamalistic portrayal of the Wolverine.

Rating: 9/10 (15 March 2017)

Over the course of my lifetime, I have heard countless stories of actors and actresses, before my time, becoming icons through breakout roles that would become synonymous with their very name. However, as previously stated, most of these roles were either before my time. Never did I expect to see the emergence of an unknown Australian stage actor that I would grow up with for the next 17 years over the course of 9 movies, 3 Spidermen, 2 Batmen, 2 Supermen, and 2 Hulks. Hugh Jackman has embodied the Wolverine character in a way that has changed the way people perceive the the comic book counterpart. Whether its his image, voice, personality, or any other trait, Jackman has become inseparable from the Wolverine character. A feat that I am really overjoyed to have experienced growing up, and was genuinely sad to let go heading into this movie.
Anyway with that out the way, the movie itself is an absolute masterpiece. It not only provides the most accurate incarnation of Logan, but also takes the time to explore a broken side of Charles Xavier we've never seen. Then finishes with the introduction of X-23 who has the strong potential to be just as popular as her father.The introduction, interaction, and insight into these characters proves to be the strongest element of this film. The relationship between Logan and Xavier developed over the course of the past 16 movies finally has its payoff as every scene packs the emotional weight that hasn't been experienced in a superhero movie yet.These relationships then help in the introduction and explanation of Laura.
In discussing breakout movie roles for actors and actresses, Dafne Keen may quickly find herself on that list. Portraying a mutant is already difficult enough, but not having any dialogue for the first half of the film while also playing the daughter of the Wolverine, its a tough task for even the most "expert" actors. This girl handles her role with such skill that allows her to stand out in a scene with Patrick Stewart and Hugh Jackman. That's without even mentioning her brutality once the claws come out!!
I could go on and on about these characters, performances, and I haven't even gotten to the action yet, but no movie is without its flaws. Logan primarily struggles with its villains their motivations. Both villains while given an ample amount of attention, don't really shine essentially due to their vague and simple motivations.This is however combated by the presence of a lethal threat which provides a nice twist that was entirely unexpected.
So this is it. James Mangold, 20th Century Fox, and Hugh Jackman save their best for last with an all-time great movie that once again transcends the "superhero" genre. This classification will unfortunately immediately cause many to compare it to the Dark Knight which has and will always reign king among this newly found category of superhero movies. While I would stray away from making these comparisons myself, I will state that Logan does a number of better than this seemingly untouchable movie. It truly is a near perfect film to end Hugh Jackman's on-screen portrayal of an all- time great comic book hero, James/Logan Howlett AKA Weapon X AKA The Wolverine.