Logan – Film Review

Cast: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Richard E Grant, Boyd Holbrook, Dafne Keen, Stephen Merchant

Director: James Mangold

Synopsis: Set in 2029, Logan, whose powers are on the wane, is spending his days out of the spotlight until he gets dragged back to the conflict when he is charged with the protection of a young girl, whose powers are remarkably similar to his own.

Review: When any actor plays a character for a remarkable length of time, sooner or later, they will eventually have to say farewell to that character. Therefore when an actor does make that decision to say adieu to a character, especially if it is a one that he has become perhaps most well known for, there is an understandable desire to ensure that the character goes out on the highest note possible. Ever since he first took on the role of the clawed mutant, all the way back in 2000, Hugh Jackman has become synonymous with this character and so he’ll have undoubtedly wanted one last hurrah before he hangs up the claws for good. With this being the third solo Wolverine movie, after one awful miss and one solid hit, it is safe to say that this is most definitely third time lucky.

For a while now, superhero movies didn’t elect to go down the hard R, extremely violent, action route. This is of course until a certain Mr Deadpool came along last year and changed the game. Thus for this outing, the decision was made to follow in the footsteps of the Merc with a Mouth and go for violence, lots of bloody violence, and for a character like Wolverine, it was the perfect route to go down. As well as the gritty violence, there’s no shortage of profanity too from Logan but also from an actor who let’s just say you never thought you would hear drop quite a few F bombs, but seeing it happen, is rather glorious. Jackman has shone every time he steps into Logan’s shoes, but here might just be his best ever work in the role. He’s a very jaded soul, and his powers are dwindling, but he’s still the ultimate badass, and likewise for Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier. Having watched these characters before, be at such breaking points, is by no means easy to watch, but both REALLY excel.

Writer and director James Mangold ensures that the screenplay packs plenty of emotion into it, this is no small part due to the fact that Logan is charged with the protection of a mutant named Laura, who is being hunted by some dastardly people for reasons that shall not be disclosed here. Though the plot moves forward at a steady pace, there are moments where it does falter a little bit, but they are momentary lapses. Though 2013’s Wolverine had a few shaky cam issues, there’s none of that here, as the action is shot beautifully. Dafne Keen, for one so young, never seems lets the pressure of being in a big budget Hollywood movie faze her, as she excels in what is a remarkable breakthrough performance. There are scenes between the three main protagonists that are truly touching and by the end you may find yourself fighting back some tears.

It truly is the end of an era, as Jackman is looking very unlikely to pick up the claws again. Having played the role nine times across an incredible seventeen years, with for the most part, phenomenal success, it certainly is the role that has defined Jackman’s illustrious career, and one he has made his own. What’s more, this movie gives him the perfect swansong that he and the character absolutely deserve. Should they ever decide to recast the role in a future movie (which seems an absolute certainty) the new actor will certainly have some very big claws to fill.

This is the Wolverine movie that the fans have been begging for, and have finally received. Dark, gritty, very violent and a superb final turn as the claw wielding mutant for Jackman.

DOFP — **Image is property of 20th Century Fox, Marvel Entertainment and Bad Hat Harry Productions**

X Men Days of Future Past Film Review

Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Hugh Jackman, Jennifer Lawrence, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Nicholas Hoult, Ellen Page, Evan Peters.

Director: Bryan Singer

Synopsis: In an apocalyptic future, with humanity enslaved and the X Men on the brink of extinction. Wolverine is sent back into the past in an attempt to change the future and prevent the extermination of all mutant kind.

Review: With the original trilogy of X Men films that came out in the 2000s, and the 2011 prequel X Men First Class, as well as the two Wolverine stand alone films. There were two different timelines of this popular franchise with different casts. Two loose ends that needed tying up. They were tied up and the end result is an enthralling combination of both of these timelines as past and future collide in epic proportions with the triumphant return of the man who launched this universe way back in 2000.

That man, Mr Bryan Singer has pulled out of the bag the best X Men movie that has been put to screen, whilst at the same time erasing the wrongdoings that went down in his absence (cough, The Last Stand). The amalgamation of both the First Class storyline and the present day X Men storyline is a master-stroke, and full credit for that must go to screenplay writer Simon Kinberg. Under Singer’s direction these two sets of actors, both of which are all exceptionally talented, go all out .Every one of them give excellent performances from the veterans like Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, to new recruits such as Fan BingBing as Blink.

The mutant race is facing a dire threat in the form of the Sentinels who are coming to eradicate them. The mutants, past and future alike must stand together to avoid the extinction of all mutant kind. The real scene stealers come from The First Class cast, but the original cast are by no means out of their depth. One of the stand out performances comes from James McAvoy as the young Xavier. He is at his lowest low after his fall out with Magneto and must be urged to come to the fore once again. First Class really humanised the wise Professor X, and with Days of Future Past, that carries on.

Similarly as the young Magneto, Michael Fassbender, has similar grievances with Xavier and once again these two men clash. Hugh Jackman as Wolverine has had a tendency to stand out in previous X Men movies and while he is central to this story, and he is still a really cool character, he’s outshone on this occasion by the younger versions of Magneto and Professor X. Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique is another character who takes it up a gear. Her role in this movie requires here to be a lot more of a badass when compared to her role previously, and she pulls it off well.

With the old cast, they are not in the movie as much as their First Class counterparts, they feel somewhat underused, and some only make fleeting appearances. Likewise with the new selection of mutants, there are some exciting action scenes with these new characters, but they are almost over before they really get going. Yet with the central action of the film being focused on the events surrounding the First Class cast, it is understandable why the original cast have comparatively little screen time. With one scene involving one new character that you WILL remember once you have left the cinema.

The main antagonist in the form of Bolivar Trask, the man who created the Sentinels and brilliantly played by Peter Dinklage. While his motives are not completely clear, he nevertheless he gives an excellent performance. The action here is not quite as intense as First Class. The battle is not being waged right in the middle of the Cuban Missile crisis, but it gives it a great run for its money with a superb final showdown taking place in Washington DC.

Time travel films can be horrifically inconsistent if they are done badly, and plot holes can be found in abundance. Luckily with this film that is just simply not the case. The story is solid and it is very well done with excellent directing and great execution. It makes you care about all the characters and they all provide memorable performances. It breathes new life back into the old franchise that suffered a regretful fate following X Men 3. Furthermore, the franchise returned with a bang following First Class and with Days of Future Past, it is clear that this particular line of comic book superheroes still has a lot of Xciting things going for it!