Search found 1 match: James Mangold

Before the Spider-Man movies and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there was the X-Men movies. They definitely have been a very interesting topic. It's a franchise that has lasted 17 years and had a lot of ups and downs. One common link between those movies, though, is the presence of James "Logan" Howlett, also known as the Wolverine. Hugh Jackman's portrayal of this character is probably one of the most iconic in all of film, period. It stays true to his representation from the source material, yet also forms its own identity at the same time. In anticipation for his 9th appearance as the Wolverine with Logan, I had to watch all the movies in the X-Men universe, some of which I've ended up seeing for the first time ever. There are 2 main X-Men trilogies: the originals (X-Men, X2: X-Men United, and X-Men: The Last Stand) and the prequels (X-Men: First Class, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and X-Men: Apocalypse). Both of the X-Men trilogies have had the same path. A solid first movie, a spectacular second movie, and a third movie that isn't terrible, but is a tragic decline in quality. The Wolverine's spinoff trilogy, however, has had the opposite path. This has been a trilogy that had a terrible first movie, and they had to make each subsequent movie better. 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine was unfortunately plagued by more than a premature leak of a rough cut. The movie was badly directed, obnoxiously edited, terribly represented characters, and it had triggers scattered throughout the script. Because of the failure of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, 20th Century Fox scrapped plans of future X-Men Origins movies for the rest of the X-Men characters. However, James Mangold stepped in to turn it into a standalone Wolverine trilogy. And thus, we ended up with The Wolverine in 2013. With that infamous third act aside, it was a better film than its predecessor, taking place in the present, incorporating a Japanese theme into its plot, and giving challenges to Wolverine that he hadn't faced before. Still, I wasn't sure if the third film in the Wolverine trilogy was actually going to be good or even better, because the new mark to beat hadn't been set very high, and I kind of expect more out of Wolverine's solo treks.

As I watched that first trailer, however, everything changed. It looked like this was a totally different take on superhero movies that superhero movies for a long time have been afraid to take on. It had the bleakest feel of a western movie that I could even imagine, complete with an appropriate use of Johnny Cash's "Hurt". My first thought had to be comparing it to Young Guns 2. Not the movie, but the theme song by Jon Bon Jovi called "Blaze of Glory". It paints the picture of a protagonist gearing up for his upcoming battle, and he has a strong feeling he might not make it out alive, so he wants it to be a blaze of glory. Logan definitely has those same goals, as Hugh Jackman has stated that he's retiring from the Wolverine character with this movie. Patrick Stewart has also said it will be his final X-Men movie as Charles "Professor X" Xavier. It's set in the year 2029, and Logan and Charles are out on an adventure to protect a young girl named Laura Kinney (played by Dafne Keen), who is not only a mutant, but also Logan's daughter. I realized that this was a must-see movie, and I had to check it out.

Forget everything you knew about the superhero movie genre, folks. Logan is a movie that challenges it to reevaluate itself. You get a feel of every kind of movie packed into one. It's a superhero movie. It's a science-fiction movie. It's an action movie. It's a drama movie. It's a futuristic movie. It's a "kind-of" comedy movie. It's a "kind-of" western-ish movie. But above all, it's a revisionist. A game changer. A movie that goes all out, not in the over-the-top sense, but one that takes its own path and one that is worth watching.

First off, let's go over the production value. Yes, it's a heavy R-rated movie. There are frequent F-bombs. But Logan tells you it's an R-rated movie mostly through the action. This is not your ordinary X-Men movie. This is not even Deadpool. I don't think Deadpool even had this much violent action. There are actually slicing attacks, blood spewings, and a visual decapitation. It has all the gore of Django Unchained, all the intensity of Mad Max: Fury Road, and all the meaningfulness of The Dark Knight. Of course, the setting of the movie helps support the gritty tone. As I've said, it's set in the year 2029. It's not apocalyptic, though. There are modern places and products existing around, so it tries some common sense when it comes to imagining the future. To the mutant species, however, it definitely feels apocalyptic. In fact, it's more apocalyptic to them here than all of X-Men: Apocalypse. Logan and Charles are the last two X-Men standing. Everyone else has either passed away or (if there are even any alive) have dropped off the face of the earth. The setting and tone of this movie fit the situation that they're both in, and James Mangold steers the movie along the path. The cinematography has incredible landscape and motion, the locations in U.S. and Mexico are used to tell the environment that they're in, the editing is balanced equally, and the special effects collaborate with the characters in a breathtaking fashion. Each element comes together to create the environment and story that Mangold aims for, and it allows the superhero movie genre to venture off into unfamiliar territory.

It's overwhelming to know that the acting keeps up with the movie's tone. Hugh is making his 9th appearance as Wolverine, but considering that it's his final appearance as Wolverine, he's now being viewed as Logan, which means he's human. Logan still has his mutant abilities and signature claws, which are sharper than they've ever been. But after living for about 200 years, he's no spring chicken. He's tired, old, and above all, fed up. Even as he's anticipating his mortality, he remains a physical beast. Logan's never been this vicious in any of the movies he's already done, and he's going to town on anyone that stands in his way. Hugh's played a few similar characters in previous films like Real Steel, but here, the extremity's so enormous and he taps into that mode. And not only does Hugh play the protagonist, but he also plays one of the antagonists as X-24, an evil Wolverine clone created by Transigen. By having to play a dual role, he brings extra intensity and believability in the movie. Patrick Stewart also adapts to the threat of mortality as Charles Xavier. He's succumbing to Alzheimer's, leaving him fragile and in need of extra care. He also suffers from seizures that, in conflict with his powers, freeze everyone and everything with a psychic blast. Patrick effectively conveys the loneliness, fragility, and resentment Xavier's living with, and he makes the most of his final X-Men movie. The supporting cast is just as convincing as our leads, with allies (Stephen Merchant as Caliban; Eriq La Salle as Will Munson; Elizabeth Rodriguez as Gabrielle) and villains (Richard E. Grant as Zander Rice; Boyd Holbrook as Donald Pierce) playing convincing roles. Incredibly, Dafne Keen does a superb job in her first ever movie, playing Laura/X-23. In most of the movie, she doesn't speak and can only make out sounds of screaming. It takes the first two acts for her to start talking, yet coming from Mexico, it takes her a little longer to start speaking English. With so many non-speaking moments in the film, Dafne is conveying emotion through actions, and let me tell you: this is an 11-year old girl with her own blades in her hands AND FEET and slicing up enemies in an R-rated movie.

Now, if you haven't seen it yet, scroll down to the last paragraph, because some spoilers may be revealed as I talk about the story. A running theme constant throughout this movie is finality and the small seed of hope. Hugh and Patrick are not only at the end of their tenures as Logan and Charles, but their respective characters are at the end of their runs, and they have every reason to feel that there's no hope. They're the last two X-Men left, and to their knowledge, no mutants have been born in the last 25 years. Yet, over at a facility called Transigen, mutant children have been bred and raised using DNA samples from several mutants, with Logan's DNA being used for his daughter Laura. But then Transigen found no need for the children after they created the "X-24" project and decided that they had to be put to death. Several children escape through the aid of a nurse named Gabrielle (played by Rodriguez), and Laura needs to be taken to the Canadian border, where the rest of the mutant children have been hiding out. Logan reluctantly accepts the offer and they're now traveling across North America, on the run from Transigen's head Zander Rice (Grant), chief of security Donald Pierce (Holbrook), and their X-24 creation. Logan scoffs at the idea of hope that awaits them, but yet there are clues of their destination revealed. The coordinates to the destination are on a package wrapped in brown paper that contains $20,000, and also printed on an X-Men comic that Laura carries along with her. You haven't seen meta until you've seen X-Men comic books appear in an X-Men movie. And yet, it's used in there to try and dispel Logan's belief that there's no hope in their destination. It's among the few seeds put in the movie to support that small amount of hope. And then the finality doesn't just come from the fact that Hugh and Patrick are retiring from the X-Men franchise. It also comes from their old age, the threat of mortality, the pain from all their regrets, and the bleak circumstances that they're currently in. But when this future-set movie tells you that it's Hugh and Patrick's last X-Men movie, they mean it, and yes, both their characters meet their fate in Logan. Charles gets killed off (again, for good) by X-24 as he's confessing his guilt to who he assumed was Logan. X-24 then kills Logan in the final battle (before getting killed by Laura), and in his final moments, Logan gives Laura the advice of not turning into a weapon. This is where the two themes of finality and the small seed of hope collide. Logan and Charles are now gone, but the legacy of the X-Men is now in the hands of Laura and the mutant children that survived. With the torch officially passed, they set out for their freedom and open future. Even with the end of one life, another one is allowed to begin.

Logan doesn't joke around when they say that it's both Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart's last X-Men movie, so you bet that they're going to pull out all the stops. It not only gives us the standalone Wolverine movie we've been wanting for the last 8 years, but it also exceeds the benchmark for any X-Men movie, as well as any Marvel movie ever created. It takes the risks that those movies have been afraid to take and becomes a real movie more than a standard blockbuster. It's hard to believe that Hugh and Patrick are both done with X-Men, and I wouldn't be surprised if the producers end up getting them cameos in a future movie, assuming that they follow the timelines. But I'm going to take their word for it, and all I have to say is "what a way to go!"

Score: 98/100

Recommendation: The highest of recommendations