Logan
Director: James Mangold
Stars: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Dafne Keen
Duration: 137 mins
Class: 15
KRS Releasing Ltd

The word ‘comic’ is derived from the Greek word ‘komikos’, from ‘komos’ – ‘to revel’.  Thus, ‘comic’ strips or ‘funnies’ because they were, initially, funny… Yet, over the decades, as the genre evolved, a plethora of dark and definitely unfunny storylines have emerged... the action enhanced by some richly-textured narrative and depth of character.

This has, in turn, resulted in some superb big screen comic book adaptations, especially in recent years.

Marvel Studios has been particularly good at this, with both the Avengers and the X-Men series now standard-bearers of the genre, and Logan/Wolverine is one of the most popular characters to emerge therefrom.

Actor Hugh Jackman has brought the character to life a record 10 times since 2000 and if his solo outings have not always been as successful as The X-Men ensembles, his final venture – if indeed it is the last time he sharpens Wolverine’s claws – proves to be a poignant and fitting epilogue to his story.

The year is 2029. The once very powerful and well-travelled fighter now works as a chauffeur. He is lonely, his inner rage making sporadic appearances, but seemingly muted by his penchant for drink.

He lives in a rundown building in a desolate spot on the Mexican border. He shares the building with a poorly Professor X (Patrick Stewart, always a welcome presence), who is battling demons of this own and the albino Caliban (Stephen Merchant, excellent).

As much as this is fantasy, the characters feel real, their powers never a reward, but a burden

It is a world where mutants barely exist anymore. Yet, one day, a woman appears, begging Logan to accompany a strange young girl Laura (extraordinary newcomer Dafne Keen), to a place of safety, away from some very malevolent people. Logan initially refuses, but it’s not long before the X-Man finds himself once more fighting the good fight.

Logan the film is as deep, dark, and disturbing as the eponymous character. Director James Mangold, who wrote the script with Scott Frank and Michael Green, seems wholly intent on showing the ugly, violent, side of the world these characters inhabit. The film is unflinching in its depiction of the blood and carnage Logan unleashes when his rage detonates with full force and his claws slice through flesh and bone like a warm knife through butter, leaving dozens of dead men – mainly ruthless and merciless thugs, armed to the teeth – in his wake.

The young Laura is equally as formidable and deadly – if not more so, given she still has no control over her powers – and the strength is these scenes does not just lie in their extreme violence, but in hammering home the true cost of their actions. It does make for some very uncomfortable viewing to the point that I found the level of violence to be rather disconcerting, not least when it emanates from a young girl.

That said, it never feels gratuitous. For as much as this is fantasy, the characters feel real, their powers never a reward, but a burden. And, the world that surrounds them is an unforgivingly tough one. Jackman has always been in touch with the soul of the character, forever projecting the internal workings of the man’s heart and mind as effortlessly as his physical prowess, which has made his journey all the more fascinating.

Here, he is a broken being, grey, scarred, the mental and physical exhaustion worsening virtually with every step he takes (he even needs glasses!) as he comes to terms with his mortality and looks back on his hard, oftentimes tragic life – being born a mutant, exploited as a weapon, while dealing with the loss of the only woman he ever really loved and to a certain extent his humanity – and Jackman gives it his all.

Notwithstanding the many bloody battles that pepper proceedings, for the most part this is a road movie. Logan, Professor X and Laura head to safer ground. The protagonist threesome gel incredibly well together and this unconventional family does inject some welcome warmth into proceedings.

Moreover, though there is little by way of laugh-out-loudness, there is much humour in the droll exchanges between Logan and the Professor, many of which poignantly underscore the mutual love and respect they have for one another. The mute Laura does more than hold her own with these much older, more powerful but not necessarily wiser travel companions.