flesh and bub
James mangold sharpens a killer send-off…
Aman has to be what he is,” broods Alan Ladd, maxing the machismo in a clip from 1953 western Shane sneaked into Hugh Jackman’s last stand as Wolverine. Macho or not, his farewell to old muttonchops translates Ladd’s dictate to movie terms. Where Deadpool and Doctor Strange anchored their trips into saucy/psychedelic terrain in origin-tale tradition, Logan pleases because it has the guts to be what it aims for: an aggressive, soulful, stand-alone farewell with an f-bomb for every occasion.
True, X-franchise Easter eggs almost dilute its distinction, ranging from 2000’s X-Men (Statue of Liberty references) to 2013’s The Wolverine (Samurai swords). But the nods are kept subtle, never entangling Logan in continuity spaghetti. Nor are its intimacies muffled by badinage or bouts of city-trashing CGI. When today’s surfeit of screen superheroes can leave even a series as original-feeling as Guardians Of The Galaxy looking a little used by its pun-packed, CGI-stuffed
sequel, Logan manages to deliver something fresh on the back of a sharpened character focus.
If it’s the character-piece flipside to X-Men: Apocalypse’s catastrophe-piece excesses, Mangold ensures his cast anchor it beautifully. Jackman turns in his meatiest lead, making full-bodied work of a man whose body is failing him (claw dysfunction included) on the borders of Mexico and life. Poignant company comes from Patrick Stewart (ailing Prof. X) and Stephen Merchant (mutant-tracker Caliban), both offering warm contrast with the well-pitched business-like brutality of Boyd Holbrook’s mutant-hater Donald Pierce. Even Richard E. Grant shows no-ham restraint, though Mangold’s casting flair is best embodied by Dafne Keen as the sort-of offspring Logan is forced to protect: hard to tell what’s deadlier, her eyes or claws.
If the tone threatens to lurch off-leash with the entry of another nemesis, Mangold keeps even this horror-show twist anchored. With tragedies providing emo-ballast, and CGI held in reserve, a core theme of living/dying by the sword steadies the plot deep into the woods-y climax. “A brand sticks,” Ladd’s Shane said about the psychological effects of killing. But in resisting any get-out clause for an on-point finale that cuts to the bone of Wolverine’s character, Logan emerges unbranded by superhero cliché. Even its cruellest stings carry the satisfaction of a conclusion done right.
The extras look pretty buff too, packing in a 72-minute documentary plus a black-and-white version of the film. Kevin Harley