USA 2017
Opening March 2, 2017
Directed by: James Mangold
Writing credits: Scott Frank, James Mangold, Michael Green
Principal actors: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Richard E. Grant, Boyd Hollbrook, Stephan Merchant, Dafne Keen
In the not so distant future, Logan (Jackman) finds himself in the throws of old age while taking care of a much older and ailing Charles (Stewart). They are living as recluses close to the Mexican border, Logan scraping a living together as a limo driver while Charles is being nursed by Caliban (Merchant). Most of the mutants have died out and with them the dreams of a new human evolution. Logan is approached by a woman who claims to need his help saving her daughter. The young girl who enters his and Charles’s lives turns everything around. It becomes their mission to protect this girl from the dark forces that are hunting her, and usher in the next generation of mutants.
While there are certain things I liked about the movie, such as the conceivable images of the future in the shape of self-driving trucks without going too futuristic, the movie lacked a compelling story line and just sort of dragged on. Logan was a pretty weak character, both physically and emotionally, and it was frustrating to watch his treatment of the girl he was reluctantly saving. A lot of the action scenes seemed unnecessarily gory, and the "bad guys" were typical caricatures, but at least they served as a break from the long scenes of nothing happening. The most disappointing part of the movie was the ending, let us just say I expected more, but I will leave it at that so as not to give anything away. This movie was very different from the other X-man films, focusing less on mutant battle scenes and more on interpersonal relationships and serious issues such as the pain of aging, sickness and the difficulties in caring for others. Although I appreciate the attempt to tackle these more serious issues, the movie as a whole was lacking and could have been done better. ()