Director James Mangold has a gem in his new film ‘Logan.’ Those who follow Marvel and The Wolverine have been waiting on this for quite some time. The trailer? It’s one of the most brutal trailers I’ve ever seen. I never thought I’d see the day when one of Marvel’s main characters would get an R-rated movie, but that time has come.
The story takes us to the U.S./Mexico border (perfect timing right?) where we find an aging, weary Logan (Hugh Jackman) living out his days as a chauffeur. After work, he takes care of Professor X (Patrick Stewart) who is in hiding along with another mutant named Caliban (Stephen Merchant). A quick side note: whenever you hear someone reference Logan, The Wolverine, or X-24, they’re all the same person (Hugh Jackman’s character).
For awhile, Logan is able to stay on his daily routine of chauffeuring and keeping Professor X on his medication, but as time passes he comes to find out he might be sick as well.
During this time, an odd set of circumstances was cast upon the U.S. Not one single mutant had been born for decades. Because of this, Charles (Professor X) started telling Logan of visions of ‘another’ that might be coming. But Logan ignores his input, blaming it as a side effect of his medication. But sure enough, a woman named Gabriela (Elizabeth Rodriguez) follows him while he’s at work and begs him to help her get away. She’s fleeing from the same company that experimented on Logan to make him the way he is now. The little girl she was caring for that you see in the trailer is Laura (Dafne Keen) and she is nothing less than a 4ft tall badass.
This movie is epic. Within the first 3 minutes of commencement, you’re going to see someone take a round of bullets. Somebody might lose their head, somebody might catch a set of claws to the face, and if your eyes are still open you’ll see someone lose an arm. Fox went hardcore with the violence in this one so this is definitely not the Disney-friendly Marvel films everyone’s used to. If your child wants to see this you may want to think twice if they can’t handle blood (lots and lots of blood).
Logan got his title ‘X-24’ from a project of the same prefix, Weapon X. A top-secret research facility was experimenting on willing and unwilling candidates to turn them into super weapons. The Weapon X project is responsible for characters such as Sabretooth, Leech, Deadpool, and of course, Wolverine. The Weapon X organization first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #181.
Once Logan comes in contact with Gabriela and Laura, the movie truly begins to take shape. I’ve danced around the plot enough to not give the film away so if I go any deeper, the Marvel fanboys may attack me for spoilers so I don’t want to take any chances (I value my life).
The action is incredible, the fight scenes are amazing, and the storyline is easy to follow. The only problem I had with it was the superfluous amount of blood. It felt like the director had been waiting with bated breath for his chance at an R-rated Marvel film to impose all the gore his heart desired (I thought some of the death scenes went way too far). The good thing is it’s not enough to derail the awesomeness of the movie. 9 out of 10 for ‘The Wolverine’ and his badassery.
So there you have it. Marvel goes off for the umpteenth time and does what DC cannot. Hold on to your hats and your emotions because the ending is something you won’t see coming. (What a twist !). As the leader of our free world would say, “Trust me, believe me.”
-Jon J.