Saluting Patrick Stewart for his X-Men service
we were going to be taken up on stage, but not until the credits were over. So, we had some time to sit there and, as I sat there, I realized there will never be a better, a more perfect, a more sensitive, emotional and beautiful way of saying ‘au revoir’ to Charles Xavier than this movie. So I told (Hugh) that same evening: ‘I’m done, too. It’s all over.’ ”
And with that, we now watch “Logan” with a double degree of poignancy. Because Stewart’s rendering of Professor X in six X-Men films has presided over this franchise like a spiritual godfather. And without him, the X-Men might never have spawned the current wave of superhero cinema.
Back in 2000, you’ll recall, Jackman was a virtual unknown. And so it fell to Stewart and Ian McKellen (with his riveting interpretation of Magneto) to first lure many filmgoers to director Bryan Singer’s curious project.
And because Stewart was already so beloved as Star Trek’s Capt. Picard, geek fans readily followed him to this strange new enterprise, where he was immediately credible as the man who so elegantly wielded a superpowered mind.
“Mutation,” Stewart’s professor said. “It is the key to our evolution.” And with that, we feel we are in the surest of hands. Stewart’s actorly craft instantly imbued his character with a certain classical grace that — especially in scenes opposite McKellen — elevated the entire proceedings.
“You are in my school for the gifted, for mutants,” Stewart’s professor tells Jackman’s Logan with a warm, paternal air.
Little could we know then just how radically those roles would be reversed. Now, with the new film, Logan is paternal, and Charles Xavier, with his destabilizing mind, requires Logan’s efforts to stay alive.
And still, with his character so physically diminished, Stewart so fully holds the screen. He resonates with deep wisdom and love in contrast to Logan’s feral ferocity and visceral rage.
Stewart was nearly 60 when this long X-Men adventure began on screen. Now, at 76, he is ready to retire the role that was always there for him, between his varied and much-lauded work in such projects as TV’s “Hamlet” and “MacBeth,” “Blunt Talk” and “The Lion in Winter.”
X-Man fans owe Stewart a huge thank you for his fine service to the franchise. He was more than great. He was essential.