WARNING:
There are minor spoilers regarding character identity in this review.
In
his comic book iteration, James “Logan” Howlett was not a nice guy.
While charismatic in a terrifying way, he was as far from charming or
approachable as a Marvel superhero could get; the very definition of
antihero. A hairy, Canadian, 5’3” ball of rage, his only calming
influence were the moments of careful kindness from his X-fixation, Jean
Gray. That she was in love with another (taller, cleaner-shaven,
less cranky) man, and soon to become an extraterrestrial threat to
the universe complicated matters, and didn’t help the whole “mad at the
world” thing one bit.
In the
films, Logan is played by Hugh Jackman. In contrast to the comic book
creation, the tall Aussie was drop-dead gorgeous, even with the
ridiculous, moulded head and facial fuzz that’s been tamed over
successive chapters, giving the character an allure he did not have on
the page. While Jackman never hit a bum note in his portrayal, either
in his reading of Wolverine, or in gamely investing in the muscular
fighter’s physical chops; he was innately affable and charming, giving
the Marvel icon a cuddliness and sweetness one might not have expected.
At various times in the series, Logan became a guardian to the X-Men
leader, Charles Xavier, a big brother to his first onscreen friend, the
similarly lonely Rogue, an unrequited romantic hero to Jean Gray, and at
worst, a nanny to the many mini-mutants inhabiting Xavier's School for
Gifted Youngsters.
Logan
the film is an interesting prospect in that it embraces those warmer
sides of the character we’ve seen over the years, while giving us the
rabid, feral beast that’s hasn’t been fully portrayed in this series.
This
is the first film featuring Wolverine that is rated R, and appropriately
so. The level of violence and intensity here has never existed in any
of the previous X-Men movies. Nor, thankfully, does the screenplay shy
away from making an adorable kid a whirling dervish of pure,
unrepentant, blood-soaked mayhem.
By the
time this review goes up, the big “secret” of the film will be
well-aired. The movie’s MacGuffin is the living embodiment of decades
of fear of the mutant threat by non-super-powered humanity. Apparently,
when Logan went into that secret government facility for his adamantium
upgrade, there was a little biological schmutz left behind. The
cellular data of Wolverine and many other mutants has been put to use in
a wide variety of genetic experiments meant to even the odds. In hidden
facilities, the covert cloning and modification of very small humans
with special “gifts” is taking place. The results are as varying as the
powers exhibited by the children bred for these experiments. The goal
is to make invincible warriors who will fight for the “right” side and
eliminate the unpredictable, intractable mutants, such as those who made
their home at the famous Xavier Institute. As one objective is reached,
there is no need to salvage the obsolete models behind it, and so the
unsuccessful test subjects are cast aside – permanently. Unfortunately,
the walking god-complexes behind these heartless experiments do not
count for the humanity of the nurses and medical staff who have become
substitute parents to the isolated children, and in a daring escape,
they run for a fabled mutant sanctuary called Eden, deep in the North
Dakota woods. One of the rescued children, bitterly pursued by the
scientists who want their property back and safely contained, is a wee
mite called Laura, who could really use a hero to help to find her way
north.
Troublingly for Laura, her hero ain’t what he once was. After literal
centuries shunning the ravages of time, time wants its payback, and the
legendary Wolverine has become old. Not only is the evidence in his
wrinkled, haggard grey appearance, but stuff just isn’t working for him
so well. His six metal-coated bone claws don’t pop out with the snappy
“Snikt!” that they used to, and far more troubling is the decreasing
effectiveness of the regeneration power that has granted him life after
life these long years.
Overall, things for mutants everywhere haven’t been so great. Besides
Logan himself, a sun-hating telepath called Caliban, and the great
Charles Xavier, there is no one left. All his friends and fellows are
gone, and his own small coven lives in hiding in an abandoned warehouse
in the middle of a Mexican desert. What’s even worse is that with the
passage of time, the mind of the world’s mightiest telepath is
weakening, and only a steady diet of sedatives doled out in shifts by
Logan and Caliban, restrains Xavier’s awesome powers from
meltdown-level mass destruction. Once the heart of the most powerful
group of heroes the world had ever seen, Logan is now Xavier’s
nursemaid, working nightly as a chauffeur to save enough for a seaside
escape for the ragtag trio.
The
last thing he needs is another hungry – very hungry - mouth to feed, or
another friendless waif to foster, yet Laura seems destined to be by
Logan’s side. There are similarities between the two that go beyond a
bit of churlishness and advanced scowling; a fact that becomes
abundantly clear when the mercenaries who’ve been tracking the little
girl find her at the new Chez Xavier. A big clue to her true identity
is divined when her interaction with three of the soldiers ends with her
using the head of one unlucky fellow as a bowling ball. The other hints
are the claws that spring from both her hands and feet to amplify her
superhuman strength, speed and fighting ability, scored by her
almost-inhuman shriek of rage.
Yes
sir, that’s ma baby - sort of. Laura - or X-23, as she was enumerated
by her creators - is made of sugar and spice (and Canadian berserker)
and doesn’t care if she’s nice. Yet in his quest to keep Charles Xavier
safe, Logan is at first willing to hand his clone over to the
mercenaries, but as one of Professor X’s innumerable powers is the
ability to appeal to his feral friend’s better nature, suddenly Logan
must contend with a very small, barely tamed, female version of himself.
This
film literally becomes a road trip as the group must find this alleged
Eden, where Laura believes her friends are waiting to escape to
sanctuary. We see the joys and terrible risks of what these latter days
with uncontrollable powers and bad guys still around every corner means
to the remaining mutants out in the world of the regular Joe. We
witness the devastating collateral damage that even mere kindness to the
hunted strangers can instigate. We see exactly what occurs when time
comes to claim its due even from the most powerful.
Logan
is a remarkable balance of action, humour and emotion. The action is
fast and furious with not only Wolverine’s burly fighting style present
and made more brutal by the loosening of the ratings reins, but
heightened and contrasted by the whiplash-quick slashes and stabs by the
tiny, agile X-23; the baby born to slay. Claws through skulls, the
popping out of eyeballs, decapitations by a grade schooler, feral
screams; while played as tastefully as possible, director James Mangold
doesn’t shy away from any of it and it’s pretty great. X-23 believes in
getting the job done; slithering around the back and onto the shoulders
of a would-be assailant like a deadly ferret, and poking them full of
holes until it’s overkill. She doesn’t ask questions, she doesn’t
reason, she’s not worried about moral conundrums. Like the semi-wild
creature she is, once the danger is sensed, it’s fight or flight, and
with Laura, it’s usually fight.
Logan
contains the best depiction of Berserker rage we’ve seen onscreen. That
it is amplified by a serum made by the scientists who used him so
terribly seems like justice. We also experience the true, heart
pounding terror of Charles Xavier’s power unleashed in a way we’ve never
seen before and it’s breathtaking.
For a
movie that has as many despondent notes as Logan, it’s actually very
funny. Most of that humour comes from the interaction between Messrs.
Jackman and Patrick Stewart, reprising Xavier in his dotage. While
Charles might be drugged to the eyeballs, he can still wield a
well-placed shiv of sarcasm or gallows humour. The comfort forged by
the actors’ nearly two decades of working side by side is apparent, even
when Charles and Logan bicker like an old married couple. British
funnyman Stephen Merchant is freakishly perfect as the telepath
caretaker, Caliban, who also has no qualms about nagging Logan into
keeping up his part of the restraining Xavier chores, or letting him
know exactly how he, as a light-threatened albino, feels about the
Canadian’s great idea of living on the sea. Even the rises that little
Dafne Keen as the silent but deadly X-23 gets out of her new papa of
sorts, as he gets used to real parenthood for the first time, are a
hoot. The classic X-Men comic books making an appearance and actually
being a key to the story was clever, as was the sight of a child holding
his pointy-eared, yellow and black spandex-clad Wolverine action figure
like a security blanket.
For
all the thrills and laughs, there is heartache. Logan’s set-up is grim
from the get-go: There’s something innately wrong with the ageless,
powerful figure we’ve come to love after five films (of varying
quality) being so broken and at wits’ end. We keep waiting for
things to turn around, because it’s a comic book movie and we’re
supposed to cheer for our victorious heroes, ne? Maybe not this time.
Logan hails from a darker spectrum where it’s all up for grabs and what
it takes away is going to hurt. The trick to this picture is how to
make it possible to inflict those wounds on the audience and leave them
walking out of the cinema thoughtful, yet wildly entertained.
This
is Hugh Jackman’s true gift as he shows us this character is his, inside
and out. Not just because he made Wolverine handsomer or more
accessible, but because he’s been able to find the humanity in Logan,
while knowing when to let out the beast. That talent is in particular
demand in the last half of the film, and it’s glorious to watch. Not
only does Jackman sell the physicality of an older, dilapidated warrior
fighting with all he has for those he loves, but he shows us the
internal war of someone who has lost everything and is just one breath
away from putting an end to his own long story of sorrow. So, too, is
he charming enough to pull off playing the exasperated caregiver to both
the very old, doddering Xavier and the very young, innocently
mischievous Laura.
There
are a few things that keep Logan from perfection. Most of which have to
do with some marked vagueness in the story. Those unfamiliar with the
“Old Man Logan” comic on which the movie is loosely based, are left to
surmise important details for ourselves: Such as, what exactly is the
problem with Wolverine? There is mention of a “sickness” inside him,
but it’s not said specifically, so I reckoned his ailments must’ve come
from some type of adamantium poisoning. We don’t quite know what
happened to the other X-Men, which seems a rather big thing to leave
out. And while the script seems to make a point of keeping the fantasy
aspect of mutant powers to a minimum (Which is a little disappointing
toward the film’s end.), we are given a very unsatisfactory villain
in the orange-haired Donald Pierce, who sports a Terminator-like arm and
a permanent, undeserved smirk. We keep waiting for him to be more than
he is, and leave disappointed. That even this lessened Logan had a
moment’s trouble from this flakey foe is a little beyond belief. I
would have been happy to have less of him and a lot more of Stephen
Merchant as the acerbic Caliban.
Still,
small stuff compared to the rush that Logan is. It’s packed with fun,
thrills, and a hardcore body count that daringly, emotionally, includes
friends and loved ones in a way that is as heart wrenching as it is
satisfying.
This
is the X-Men movie - and the Wolverine - I’ve been waiting for.
~ The
Lady Miz Diva
Feb 24th,
2017
© 2006-2022 The Diva Review.com
|