BLOOD WORK: SILVER TONGUED SILVER SCREEN: LOGAN (2017)

March 2017 is here, perhaps the most packed and craziest month for movies of the year! Every single Friday this month sees the opening of a huge blockbuster movie. The first film this month is none other than the tenth film in the X-Men franchise: LOGAN. This is the ninth film that actor Hugh Jackman has played the character Wolverine, a career which began almost 20 years ago with the 2000 film X-MEN. No other actor has played a Marvel super hero character as many times as Jackman. And this is purportedly his last appearance as the character.

Just as noteworthy is this is Patrick Stewart's final performance as Professor X, a role he's played a total of seven times since 2000. Patrick Stewart was the perfect casting for Charles Xavier. He was the only real person for the role ever since he was "fan-casted" in an early 1990's issue of Wizard Magazine. This truly is the end of an era.

This film is one of my most anticipated films of the year. First off, it is supposedly a true blue Rated R super hero film. In the current super hero movie climate rated R films are balked at. Deadpool changed all that last year by grossing more money than Superman and Batman combined (I never saw that coming). There was an Rated R extended cut of 2013's THE WOLVERINE but the film was still always intended to be PG-13. I really enjoyed that film, one of my favorite X-Men films. The director of The Wolverine, James Mangold, returns to direct Logan and I couldn't be happier. Also, instead of being shoehorned into a Rated R film, Logan was filmed with the intent of being Rated R the whole time.

The Trailer. Set to Johnny Cash's cover of the song HURT, the trailer for Logan looked insanely good, so good in fact many have wondered if it was the song that made the trailer so good or if the movie itself is actually that good. Logan is also loosely based off the beloved Wolverine story OLD MAN LOGAN, increasing the hype surrounding the film. Needless to say, there is a lot of anticipation here.

THE PLOT

(some spoilers)

The year is 2029. Mutantkind has been all but wipe-out by a government group called the Reavers. Three mutants remain: Caliban, Charles Xavier, and Wolverine. Charles' has a degenerative mental disease. As his mind deteriorates the more unpredictable and dangerous his powers become. Then a new mutant child arrives on their doorstep, a host of Reavers hot on her trail. Caliban is captured and the others go on the run.

WHAT I LIKED

R-Rated. Finally, a movie where we really get to see what kind of damage Wolverine's claws actually inflict. The violence is intense and bloody. There's swearing and cursing galore too, some of it is just rather gratuitous though and doesn't feel natural. There's even a bit of nudity. All the hallmarks of a classic Rated R film are present. When I first saw X-Men in 2000 I never imagined I'd see a Wolverine movie like this one day.

A Marvel Western. One of the aspects of director James Mangold's films that I like are his affinity for westerns. He directed COP LAND, an urban western with Sylvester Stallone, the remake of 3:10 TO YUMA with Russell Crowe, and others. Mangold is a pro at depicting interesting character studies. Both of his super hero films, The Wolverine and Logan, are unlike any other super film out there. Logan functions as an urban western, at one point drawing upon the classic western SHANE. Then the movie becomes a version of LONE WOLF AND CUB with Logan and X-23 on the run. And finally it becomes a rendition of the John Wayne classic, THE COWBOYS. All these elements combine to create an exciting plot and an incredible movie.

The Characters. At first I wasn't sure what to think. It took a while to get used to where we find Professor X and Logan in this movie. But once a few things were made clearer and plot points revealed I was sold. I had never seen or read an interpretation of the characters like this. Even X-23 I was unsure of at first. But the actors, direction, and writing made sense and sold me on it all.

NITPICKS

I really liked this movie so I don't have too many nitpicks. Like I said earlier some of the swearing didn't seem natural. What exactly is poisoning Wolverine too was unclear. I also guess adamantium can penetrate adamantium... I didn't think that could happen. Whatever. It works for the movie. My only wish would be that the clone in the movie would've been Liev Schreiber's Sabretooth instead. Schreiber's Sabretooth was one of may favorite parts of X-Men: Origins, and if you know the comics, Sabretooth is key to Wolverine's story. Sabretooth needed to be in this movie. Sadly, he is not.

THE VERDICT

Maybe it's the freshness of the movie or my disappointment with last year's X-Men: Apocalypse, but I seriously feel like Logan was perhaps the best X-Men movie I've ever seen. Next to the 2013 film, The Wolverine, this is my favorite depiction of Wolverine. Also, who'd have thought that we'd receive two major motion pictures featuring the character Caliban in under a year? While not perfect, Logan is pretty awesome and unlike any super hero film out there. Usually I feel like other studios should take cues from Marvel Studios when making their super hero films. This time I wish Marvel Studios would take some cues from Fox in regards to considering an Rated R, humorless movie. Ghost Rider anyone?

Anyway, I really liked Logan. Sabretooth missing from the film though is the only significant drawback.

Overall Ranking: 8 out of 10

Nude-O-Meter: 1 out of 10