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Why final Wolverine movie ‘Logan’ has best possible finale
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A scene from "Logan". (21th Century Fox/File)
When Logan opens, there is no beating around the bush.
When the lead character finds a group of carjackers trying to steal the car he’s been sleeping in and the iconic claws come out, it’s not the bloodless slashes of X-Men films past. It’s absolute carnage; complete with blood, guts and severed limbs.
With star Hugh Jackman taking a pay cut to allow the movie to be R-rated, Logan takes full advantage of this rating. Set in 2029, no mutants have been born in years, leaving those still around to do their best to survive. Logan now walks with a limp and drives a limo, making money for medicine to keep the now 90-year-old Charles Xavier from having seizures that paralyze anyone nearby, thanks to his superhuman brain. Squirreled away south of the border, Professor X is no longer the man he used to be and now has to be cared for daily by Caliban, played by Stephen Merchant.
Director James Mangold (Wolverine, Walk the Line) has said that he wanted to see what superheroes become during retirement, after their glory days are long gone. Through shots of barren desert and rusting metal, Mangold’s vision is clear. The abandoned deserts of Mexico and Texas, much like the mutants, have been left to bake in the sun.
Read also: 'Deadpool' director quits sequel over disagreement with Ryan Reynolds
Easily, one of the best performances of the film is Patrick Stewart as Charles. His almost-too-painful-to-watch performance makes viewers remember why exactly he’s one of the most celebrated actors of his generation. But all the actors, from Stewart and Jackman to the 11-year-old breakout star Dafne Keen, take their character and performance seriously. They commit to heartbreaking lengths. Logan earns its tears, the way it earns its laughter through the occasional joke and winces through the frequent gore.
The movie is emotionally driven, it feels as if the final battle is not necessary and is only there because what else are Marvel movies supposed to end with? Marvel’s final battles are for showcasing the victory of the fabled “good guys”, but in Logan, there are no good guys. Everyone has blood on their hands. Still, the final shot holds the smallest sliver of hope, almost redeeming the mismatched third act. In a similar vein, there is no after credits scene.
Logan works because it is as stone-faced as its R-rated companion Deadpool is sarcastic. It is unapologetic about what it takes, but does not forget its past. For die-hard Marvel fans wondering how they will handle the final film featuring Jackman’s Wolverine and Stewart’s Professor X? Make sure you have a couple of tissues ready. (sul/kes)
