A good ending to Hugh Jackman's take on Wolverine

Rating: 9/10 (8 April 2017)

"Logan is the final installment in the so called Wolverine trilogy. In this film we meet Logan as a more damaged and depressed man, who's given the task to bring this little mutant to a place called Eden.
James Mangold, the man behind the second film in the Wolverine trilogy, "The Wolverine" came back to direct this film. In this film he has proved again that he is a very good visual director. The cinematography was absolutely beautiful with some good use of lighting and color creating very good looking shots throughout the whole film. He didn't only succeed at the visual aspect, but also at the action sequences. They were fast paced, yet easy to follow and also tense full. The pacing overall in the film is really good just in the second act it starts to become a bit slower, but I didn't mind, because the time is well spent. Mangold wasn't the greatest at making the character building scenes as interesting as they could've been, but they nonetheless were pretty good. The CGI wasn't noticeable, but was there and thus pretty good.
The acting was formidable. Hugh Jackman was born to play the character of Wolverine, just like Robert Downey Jr. was for Iron Man and Ryan Reynolds for Deadpool, and gave his all in all of the films in which he played said character, but in "Logan", he outdoes himself. He really showed how great of an actor he is. He managed to indulge himself into the character. He looked damaged and depressed and managed to convince me that he was the Wolverine. But not only Hugh Jackman was good. So was his counterpart Dafne Keen. She, especially since her age, was fantastic. She maybe even had one of the biggest challenges, because her character doesn't say anything for around two thirds of the film. She was equally as badass to watch on screen as Hugh Jackman. The two of them made a fun action duo and also had chemistry between them. I liked the fact that their bound grew throughout the whole film and I'd love to see her as the new Wolverine and not just a recast. Patrick Stewart was also great as professor X and the actor of the villain I found to be good as well.
The screenplay was pretty good as well, containing a simple, but effective story , which branched off into much more on the way. The characters were probably the best part of the film, because they have all developed since we got to know them in the original X-men. Logan has become broken down and sick, Charles has aged and has developed a brain disease. I like that throughout the film we get to know more about why Charles is like he is and that he too is a damaged man when he realizes that he killed seven mutants due to his brain disease. Developments like these are hidden throughout the film and are never really pushed into your face. This film utilized those developments and created a sad, depressing film, in which it succeeded without a doubt. The characters were all very well rounded and I found myself caring for them. They all had their depth, unlike in some X-men films, where they solely support on the acting capabilities of the actors. In this film the acting was just the cherry on top. And because of these well-crafted characters, each death was painful to watch. Even the character of X-23 was very good and Dafne nailed her portrayal. She was skeptical with everything that was happening and only trusted in Logan, even though she didn't always show that. The character was quite complex for such a young actress to portray, but I think that she nailed it perfectly. I myself was quite skeptical as well, because of the fact that they gave an unheard-of kid actor a major role in such a serious film, but after seeing the film I'm happy that they chose Dafne to play X- 23. The screenplay wasn't flawless, though. At a point Logan refers to Charles as Charles, even though they're in the company of another family and Logan had given Charles the name of Chuck, but this could also just be a tiny mistake on Hugh Jackman, and I didn't mind that mistake. My problem is that the movie doesn't explain certain things very well, which left me guessing. Questions like "Why is Wolverine getting poisoned by his own adamentium?" popped up in my head, but then again, this wasn't really a big flaw, I'd just like some more information on that subject. The villain was just OK, but the film didn't really need him to be better, because the main focus doesn't lay there.
In the end "Logan" was one of the better films I've seen that came out in 2017. It's a dark take on the character and it absolutely worked. The film was beautifully shot, with good and gruesome action scenes, that weren't there to be gruesome, but to show the dark and serious tone the film was going for. That's why this film gets a 8.9/10.