Logan — Film Review

After 17 years and 10 appearances Hugh Jackman and director James Mangold bring us the Wolverine movie we always wanted.

Set in a run-down post-mutant future, Logan pitches itself as a character study of two former superheroes at the end of their rope.

The legendary Wolverine is now a Las Vegas limo driver (a suitably sleazy profession for the film’s tone) scratching a living and doing his best to protect an ailing friend.

Although the film takes some inspiration from the Frank Millar graphic novel Old Man Logan, it’s key point of difference is also it’s greatest strength i.e. the inclusion of Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier.

Suffering from a degenerative brain disorder and struggling to retain his former self, this is a Professor X we have never seen before. At first this felt like a jarring shift for the character, especially given Charles’ new found foul mouth. As the story progresses though, the intricacies of Stewart's performance become clear and the true heartbreak of Xavier’s fate is felt. He has come a long way from the eloquent, sophisticated head-master of his School for the gifted, this is man who has lost himself.