Daddy Logan
(9.5/10)
This father-daughter film is full of grittiness, action, and surprisingly emotion. The tone of this film is one that likens itself more to a western than a superhero movie, but this ain’t your typical John Wayne movie. For a superhero movie though, Logan is much darker than its predecessors. It’s a very violent and gory film; it definitely earns its R rating. There’s a lot that can be said about this movie, but there are a few things that stand out to us. (Character development, Storyline, nuances and attention to detail, tone, significance of ending)
First, the overall tone of the movie. Like Wolverine himself, this movie is dark, brooding, and kind of depressing. They say “tis better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all”, but at this stage in his life Logan is a prime example of that statement being false. The movie being set in the near future, creates a knowing that most of the people he knew are probably not around anymore. Logan is pretty much alone and you feel that starting at the beginning credits. The character’s self-imposed solitary confinement tells the audience that, to an extent, he has given up. He lives in a desert to, theoretically, get away from everyone. They probably set the film in the desert to convey the loneliness that Logan feels. Then throughout the film he is forced to remember how to both help others, with no benefits, and letting others help him.
Being forced to help this little girl that he initially doesn’t care for, shines a light on a character trait within Logan that is both rarely seen and may not have existed before. The only other time Logan has exhibited this kind of affection, in the films at least, was with Jean Grey. So, for him to show this side of himself again is a big deal. Using this aspect of the character really gave him more humanity. In the film we get to see Logan and Professor Xavier’s relationship as it has always truly been, a father-son dynamic. They allude to, and even expressly say that they have this type of relationship. Logan and Lara’s relationship, though short lived, develops fairly quick. The pair of them are very similar in both their distrust and independence. They learn to trust each other and work together to make it through the situations they are in. Lara displays a lot of the flawed characteristics that Logan has grown out of over time, but learns quickly from him that she doesn’t have to be the way she is all the time; that it’s ok to let people in even if it hurts; trying to keep people out will only end up hurting both yourself and others. She has a chance to learn from his mistakes and be better.
And now that I’ve got you by the heartstrings, let’s talk about the depressing storyline. We absolutely love what they decided to do with the progression of this story. They packed so much detail into the 2 hours and 21 minutes of this film that some of the more nuanced points could easily be missed. We’re going to divulge one or two of the points, so SPOILER ALERT, but not all of them because finding them is part of the fun of watching this movie.
One of the biggest questions of the movie is where are the rest of the X-Men? Instead of just using conversation as exposition they chose to use background elements and allusion to explain why Professor X and Logan are the only ones left. After the Casino scene, the trio gets into the car and the radio is on a news story talking about how bad the incident that just happened was while comparing it to another just like it in Westchester, New York; which as many of us know, is where the X-Mansion is located. Another point that answers the question, is the quietly spoken line that Professor Xavier says while lying in bed at a local family’s house.
Ok, so, END SPOILER.
The storyline of this movie is unlike most hero movies, it’s really deep and powerful in its conveyance of emotion. It even gains points for making us need tissues by the end of the film. It shows a different side of being considered a hero and having powers. The story doesn’t exalt having powers as a good thing making a person special. Like the X-Men series as a whole, the story of the film channels the exile of mutants in way that alienates them. All of the characters in the film are alone or consider themselves isolated, which also alludes back to fact that it’s set in the desert. The story comes to a head at the ending of the film. In the final scenes we witness a symbolic passing of the torch from Logan to Lara as a protector. Everything that the pair of them experienced, from Logan losing his father figure to Lara losing her father, prepares the both of them for becoming who they are.
There’s so much nuance in this film that to keep writing about, I would end up writing a book. This film has become one of my favorites because of the unexpected emotion and its reliance on the story not the action. This movie is a great finale for Wolverine as a character and a great start for Lara/X-23. We look forward to seeing her character develop in future movies.