I went back to the theater immediately to see it again. Not joking!!!

Rating: 10/10 (3 March 2017)

Out of all the superhero movies coming in 2017 Logan was actually one of the few that sounded pointless to me. The X-Men franchise has been around for so long and it's run out of steam on many occasions as we well know. The last Wolverine outing for me was just meh. It wasn't great, but it wasn't X-men origins horrible either. It was just OK for me. My first impression was, "Do we really need ANOTHER solo Wolverine?" Let me tell you right now in case this review gets a little long, YES! It's not the movie we deserve but the movie we needed Dark Knight style. It's interesting because when the first trailer came out I thought it looked different but knowing that James Mangold would be directing I expected it to be more of the same as The Wolverine. I started hearing people talk about it and I would read interviews with Jackman, Stewart, and Mangold about the process of making the film. I learned more about what they hoped to achieve for it would most likely be Jackman's last performance as the character. It peaked my interest and I became a little more curious about what the Wolverine had cooking up for his last film. I had so many questions, what happened to everyone? Did saving the future really matter anymore? Why is Logan starting to show his true age? And quite frankly, when you get your answers you sometimes wish you didn't. This movie is grim, harsh, and unforgiving. It's a world where the X-men is all said and done, and mutants are dying out. Logan and Charles are at the end of their rope, they're war veterans that we recognize but act completely different from what we seen before. Both men dying slowly as the world just seems a little less bright. Until a light at the end of the tunnel, and we're introduced to X-23. A young mutant who shares strangely similar powers to Logan, and comes seeking their help to find her fellow mutants in their safe haven. As dark forces pursue X-23, Logan is brought back into the world of the X-men has he takes one last ride to help X-23, and to more importantly help himself. First and foremost huge props to James Mangold, his crew, and Fox for taking a huge creative risk with this movie. I'm going to assume Deadpool's success had a part to play in this because the R rating is totally used to it's advantage and it's brutal. You get to see Wolverine shred people to bits, and it's terrifyingly awesome. The movie has a dark and grim feeling where you really feel you're taking a harsh journey with these characters, but it never misses an opportunity to have a little fun with it. The cast just does a wonderful job holding their own and keeping the audience engaged despite the lack of action scenes. Which proves why X-men movies work when they take a more character driven focus(I'm looking at you Apocalypse). You want to see why everything's the way it is, you want Logan to survive, you want to know the dynamics of it all. X-23 will more than likely be a leading star in future films, and respectfully so. There's never a dull moment with her on screen, half of it she's just silent yet you still feel the emotional baggage she carries with her just as much as Logan and Charles. I'm trying so hard to find what I didn't like about the movie and I guess if I had to pick the weakest point, is the reveal of the true antagonist in the film. It almost seems unnecessary to force connections to previous movies but it didn't completely change my opinion of it overall. The movie set out to gave Logan an ending and did that, and arguably more. I'll have to be honest, this movie really hit me hard. To know that this his last movie after all these years, they didn't back down. I really felt stressed at times watching it because I wanted to know what happens next, and you know the movie really did a fantastic job when you're bawling before the credits even roll. I was so floored by my first screening that I immediately went back to the theater an hour later to watch it again. I'm not exaggerating this really was that good. Major congratulations and thanks to Mr. Hugh Jackman for bringing this character to life for the last 17 years. I grew up with the original trilogy and I just always remember always wanting to be like Wolverine, and you had those plastic claws from Toys R Us swinging them around the house. It's a shame to see him go especially when there are so many opportunities for him to show up again now that we have a successful Avengers franchise, as well as a new Deapool series along the way. I would encourage Ryan Reynolds to keep trying to convince Hugh to at least shoot a scene with him for the sequel, but I understand his reasons for leaving. It's definitely inevitable that somehow Fox will want to continue using Wolverine in future films but it's really hard to imagine anyone else replace Hugh, they've got big shoes to fill if that''s the case. Logan is without a doubt not just a great X-Men, or superhero movie. It's a fantastic movie in itself. So brutal and emotional you can see the passion and effort Hugh Jackman and company put into it if it's really his last one. if you're turned off by violence I would skip it of course. But the themes, the story really ends our pal Wolvie on a bittersweet but satisfying note, it deserves to be seen. I'm calling it now, it'll be the best superhero movie this year. It will set a high standard for comic book movies in the many years to come.