{"id":4315,"date":"2017-03-03T06:49:23","date_gmt":"2017-03-03T13:49:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/?p=4315"},"modified":"2017-03-03T06:49:23","modified_gmt":"2017-03-03T13:49:23","slug":"review-logan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/?p=4315","title":{"rendered":"Review: LOGAN"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-4317\" src=\"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/logan1-199x300.png\" alt=\"logan1\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/logan1-199x300.png 199w, https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/logan1-400x602.png 400w, https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/logan1.png 422w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-3670\" src=\"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/fixbutton.gif\" alt=\"fixbutton\" width=\"100\" height=\"112\" \/>Actor Hugh Jackman has played Logan a\/k\/a Wolverine as part of Marvel\u2019s X-Men universe for 17 years.\u00a0 And during that time, he\u2019s arguably become not only a better actor but chiseled his physique impressively making him a formidable late 40s action superstar.\u00a0 But what if Logan does not age quite as well?<\/p>\n<p>In the film, the year is 2029, and Logan has seen better days. After spending decades without aging significantly, his unique body chemistry that permits him to heal at a supernatural rate is beginning to slow down.\u00a0 The mutant race has also begun to contract with fewer mutants roaming the Earth.\u00a0 And as border tensions have reached a fevered pitch, Logan holes up in Mexico where he and Caliban (Stephen Merchant) take care of an ailing Professor X (Patrick Stewart).<\/p>\n<p>Paying the bills by driving a limo, Logan is in a rapid state of decline.\u00a0 He even requires glasses to read the GPS on his cell phone.\u00a0 But when required, he can rise to the occasion and put up a half decent fight.\u00a0 One day into his life drops a mutant child with a deadly secret.\u00a0 And as Professor X tells him, this happened for a reason.<\/p>\n<p>Logan is handsomely made and certainly ranks as the best Wolverine film.\u00a0 But watching one of the most layered and complex characters in the Marvel Universe stumble around and wear reading glasses isn\u2019t the most entertaining viewing.\u00a0 It is pretty bleak and down-right unappealing, at times.\u00a0 We know that eventually the old Wolverine will make an appearance, but getting there is a bit of a slog.<\/p>\n<p>Also, the time period chosen frustrated me.\u00a0 Set 12 years into the future, it appears that technology has not advanced in that cell phones look the same and certain plot devices just don\u2019t seem technologically credible.\u00a0 For example, one key character\u2019s back story is revealed through a series of clandestine cell phone videos labeled \u201cHD\u201d on the screen.\u00a0 These \u201csecret\u201d videos were captured in a secure research facility run by a shadowy organization.<\/p>\n<p>This technique is lazy filmmaking and doesn\u2019t give the viewer credit that we can figure out certain elements without being explicitly provided all the details.\u00a0 And all the more frustrating is that Professor X is right there, and he could share the backstory with Logan and us using his abilities.\u00a0 After all, this is part of his on-going relationship with Logan, in which the Professor helps the clawed one figure out who he is and where he came from.\u00a0 Instead, in order to learn about the mutant child that has fallen into their protection, we are forced to watch videos that have been artificially made to look like cell phone video.\u00a0 Lazy and manipulative\u2026.<\/p>\n<p>But the cast is excellent with Jackman and Stewart reprising their roles and Merchant seamlessly sliding into character.\u00a0 And while there are action sequences, the quiet moments work best particularly as Logan and Professor X contemplate their existence.\u00a0 They long to finally retire to a boat somewhere in the ocean.\u00a0 One clearly gets a \u201cShawshank\u201d vibe as the two men longingly look into one another\u2019s eyes expressing platonic love as only two original X-Men can.\u00a0 Yes, fanboy this movie is for you, and count me in.<\/p>\n<p>The narrative aims to be a mature comic book tale, featuring R-rated language and graphic violence, but the tone proves to be uneven as it features a closing act that fails to match the harsher early elements.\u00a0 Like the last Wolverine film, these films stumble in their conclusion.\u00a0 Had the script abandoned its broader comic book movie requirements and dove deeper into darker waters, Logan could have potentially transcended the genre.\u00a0 But instead, it\u2019s a good film just short of a great one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Can Wolverine end his run on a high note? Jonathan claws in&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","no-thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4315"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4315\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4318,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4315\/revisions\/4318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}