Logan was intended as the finale for Hugh Jackman playing Wolverine (though he would later return in Deadpool and Wolverine (2024)) and it would also be the last of be the last of the Wolverine solo trilogy (which also included X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) and The Wolverine (2013)).
This film takes place in the year 2029. It is believed that no new mutants have been born in 25 years and Wolverine's healing ability is slowing down causing me to start aging. He has become an emotional self-loathing wreck and is no longer acting like the superhero he once was. He is also taking care of Charles Xavier, who is dying. However, he discovers that there is in fact a new mutant, a child who was created using Wolverine's DNA, he must once again become a hero to protect her.
From the start, the X-Men movies have had a darker and more serious tone than the majority of superhero films. This film takes this to a whole new level and stands as one of the most mature and smartest superhero films ever made. This movie feels gritter and more realistic than most superhero movies, while still feeling like a superhero film. Though there are action scenes here, this movie mostly plays as a serious drama and much of the story takes a slower pace. This works perfectly as it sucks you into the dystopian world of the film and into the minds of these characters. However, what makes this stand out from the previous entries in this trilogy is that it perfectly understands the character of Wolverine and delves into all the complexities of this character. You understand everything that makes this character far from your typical superhero but one who will reluctantly do that right thing when it counts. With a smaller cast of main characters then your typical X-Men film, this movie can delve into these characters in a greater way and that is just what it does. Laura (the kid with Wolverine's DNA) is a surprisingly deep and complex character, while barely saying a word for the majority of the runtime. She is a highly sympathetic and believable character, while also being one who often gives in to the animal-like instincts that Wolverine has learned how to control better. Charles Xavier has also rarely been better and more complex than he is here. With all this the movie is able to truly play on your heart strings making this a deeply moving and powerful film. These emotions can make this hard to watch at times but incredibly rewarding at the same time. These darker moments are balanced out by some very strong humor (even if it is less humor than there is in previous X-Men movies) and exciting action scenes (albeit very gory ones).
James Mangold returned to direct this film after directing The Wolverine. About making this film Mangold said, "Hugh and I have been talking about what we would do since we were working on the last one, and for both of us it was this requirement that, to be even interested in doing it, we had to free ourselves from some assumptions that had existed in the past, and be able to change the tone a bit. Not merely to change for change’s sake, but also to make something that’s speaking to the culture now, that’s not just the same style — how many times can they save the world in one way or another? How can we construct a story that’s built more on character and character issues, in a way as if it almost wasn’t a superhero movie, yet it features their powers and struggles and themes?” He expanded on the difference between this and other superhero movies by stating, “We are in the future, we have passed the point of the epilogue of Days Of Future Past. We’re finding all these characters in circumstances that are a little more real. The questions of ageing, of loneliness, of where I belong. Am I still useful to the world? I saw it as an opportunity. We’ve seen these characters in action, saving the universe. But what happens when you’re in retirement and that career is over?” About allowing Wolverine to age he stated, “One of the things we all thought about as we worked on this film is, well, we don’t want to rebuild everything. We want to have some questions. In order to make a different Logan, and a different tone of a Wolverine movie, we felt like we couldn’t hold on to every tradition established in all the movies religiously, or we’d be trapped by the decisions made before us. So, we questioned whether Logan’s healing factor causes him to heal without even a scar. We imagined that it may have when he was younger, but with age, he’s getting older and ailing. Perhaps his healing factor no longer produces baby-soft skin. So we imagined he heals quickly, still, but it leaves a scar. The simple idea was that his body would start to get a little more ravaged with a kind of tattooing of past battles, lacerations that remain of previous conflicts.” Mangold co-wrote this movie with Scott Frank (Get Shorty (1995), Out of Sight (1998), Minority Report (2002), Marley & Me (2008) and Michael Green (Smallville, Green Lantern (2011), Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (2011), Alien: Covenant (2017), Jungle Cruise (2021)). This was Michael Green's only X-Men film, while Scott Frank had worked on The Wolverine.
The trailer for this movie featured Johnny Cash's cover of the Nine Inch Nails song, Hurt. Mangold is obviously a Johnny Cash fan having directed the Johnny Cash biopic, Walk the Line (2005). However, this is not the only reason the song was used. Mangold would state, “Obviously I have a connection and a fondness for Johnny Cash, and his tone and his message and his music. But the real driver in all these decisions is trying to separate ourselves, in an accurate way, from the other superhero movies. We think we’re going to deliver something a little different and we want to make sure we’re selling audiences on the difference. Sometimes even when a movie’s a little different, the studio’s trying to market the movie just like all the others. [Cash’s] music, in a way, separates us from the standard, bombastic, brooding orchestral, swish-bang, doors opening and slamming, explosions kind of methodology of some of these movies.” Over the end credits of the actual film, Johnny Cash's original song, The Man Comes Around, plays. Both songs come from John's highly emotional 2002 album, The Man Comes Around, which was made at a time when John himself was much older and weaker than the young rebel, fans had fallen in love with in the 1950's and 60's. This perfectly fits the themes and the emotional urgency of this movie.
This movie grossed $619.2 million worldwide with a budget of $97 million. This makes it in the top 19 highest grossing R-rated movies of all time. The critical response was incredibly positive, and it has a 93% critic rating on Rotton Tomatoes.
Resources Used
https://collider.com/logan-timeline-explained-james-mangold/#images
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt3315342/
https://www.simbasible.com/logan-movie-review/
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