Review: Logan

You’re probably growing weary of the superhero movies. You’re not alone. I found myself yawning during fight sequences, rolling my eyes at predictable villain reveals, and checking out by the second act in the last couple of Marvel movies. It was going to take a fresh approach to the superhero genre for me to stay engaged during another X-Men movie. 

The Logan trailer is what pulled me in at first. With Johnny Cash's haunting song "Hurt" playing in the background, a gray-haired Hugh Jackman, a bed-ridden Patrick Stewart, and a young girl kicking butt, I could tell this film would be different from the other X-Men movies, especially with the R rating. The trailer still gives me chills when I watch it. Logan not only delivers something new to the superhero genre, it tells an important story about humanity, family, and healing from brokenness.

Logan has a painful story. He's lost the people closest to him, fought for survival too many times to count, and has had to battle his own demons from inflicting just as many, if not more, wounds than he's suffered. You can see it on his face in this film. It's catching up with him. But the story isn't over. Even if Logan has all but given up on fighting for something good, there might be hope for him yet.

Enter Laura (played by Dafne Keen). Logan isn't about to take any young mutants under his wing. In fact, he thinks that the era of mutants is coming to an end. The other X-Men are nowhere to be found and the only character from movies past who makes an appearance is Charles Xavier, the X-Men's fearless leader once upon a time. 

Logan and Charles are both facing the reality that the power that was once their source of strength is now becoming the cause of their decline. Charles suffers debilitating seizures, which enhanced by his telepathic abilities, are deadly. Logan has become a victim to the Adamantium that fills his body as he realizes it acts as a poison and he doesn't heal from his wounds as quickly as he used to.

In this final journey for Logan, Charles encourage him to hold on to hope and they try to inspire him to regain some of the humanity he's lost, even though the suffering is still real. Logan is gritty. It earns its R rating between the profanity and the graphic violence, but we are able to identify to these characters more than the average superhero movie because the brokenness of the world still comes for these heroes. 

I think Johnny Cash's cover of the song "Hurt" mirrors this story really well, so I'll leave you with the lyrics. You can listen to the song here and then go see the movie and see if you agree. It’s well worth your time.

I hurt myself today to see if I still feel.

I focus on the pain, the only thing that's real.

The needle tears a hole, the old familiar sting.

Try to kill it all away, but I remember everything.

What have I become? My sweetest friend.

Everyone I know goes away in the end.

And you could have it all, my empire of dirt.

I will let you down. I will make you hurt.

I wear this crown of thorns upon my liar's chair, full of broken thoughts I cannot repair.

Beneath the stains of time the feelings disappear.

You are someone else, I am still right here.

What have I become? My sweetest friend.

Everyone I know goes away in the end.

And you could have it all, my empire of dirt.

I will let you down. I will make you hurt.

If I could start again a million miles away, I would keep myself.

I would find a way.