The Tempest, the Rage and the Redemption

Rating: 8/10 (2 March 2017)

As the Wolverine James "Logan" Howlett (Hugh Jackman) is fighting his nearing death, a young girl named Laura (Dafne Keen), who shares his mutant genes, becomes his saving grace.
Within this brief description lies the foundation of James Mangold's ode to comics, westerns and tragedies of Shakesperean proportions. One character in "Logan" is even called Caliban and he shares a similar function of sorts as Shakespeare's creation in "The Tempest".
With a tightly structured script by Mangold and his accomplished screenwriters Scott Frank (Minority Report, Out of Sight) and Michael Green (Heroes, Everwood), beautiful photography by John Mathieson (Gladiator), spectacular fight choreography and action set pieces, one almost gets the feeling that this film would be just as thrilling without the heft and legacy of its source material.
The strong performances by Jackman, Keen and Patrick Stewart, who reprises his role as Charles Xavier, are the logical extension of a well thought out movie, that tells a gripping story about parents and children, while making not too veiled statements about the world we live in.
The most existential questions, desires and goals are woven into a strong narrative, that by the end not only our thoughts are ignited and our hearts touched, but also our believe restored that if Hollywood makes an effort, it can produce works of great entertainment and staggering clarity.
This final chapter in the Wolverine saga, which Jackman carried on his shoulder for almost two decades, is now put to rest with a resounding measure of integrity and maturity. It has deserved its resting place among many other great genre pieces.