Film Review - Logan (15)

Nature made me a freak. Man made me a weapon. And God made it last too long.

After seventeen years and eight films, Hugh Jackman is Logan Howlett, aka Wolverine. And if any Marvel comic fans doubted it, his ninth appearance as the character should surely convince them.

For those of you unfamiliar with the comic-book lore behind the films, let me bring you up to speed in less than one hundred words. Wolverine was formerly one of the X-Men, mutant humans with extraordinary abilities and trained under Professor Charles Xavier (hence the X) to use their powers responsibly, in spite of persecution from the rest of humanity. (It's all a metaphor for how outsiders are treated, whether on grounds of race, nationality or sexuality, see?) Logan's unique ability is rapid self-healing, but experimental surgery by an unscrupulous scientist has provided him with his most memorable feature - adamantine claws that can sprout from his fingertips to wreak hideous damage on aggressors. He's a natural loner, but encouraged by his professorial mentor to team up with the good guys. 

That's the gist. Any help? Good. Let's move on.

Logan is a very different proposition from all the other X-Men/Wolverine films. Happily for non-fans it requires little prior knowledge of the franchise to be enjoyed on its own terms; this is more latter-day western or road movie than super-hero flick and is massively different in tone.

The story is relatively simple. Logan is now the last of the X-Men, lying low and acting as carer for the ailing Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart). No other mutants remain, it seems, until Logan and the Professor are united with a strange young girl called Laura who is being hunted down by some heavily-armed and sinister bad-guys. Laura is much more than she initially appears, and in dire need of protection. Logan, more brooding and taciturn than ever before, takes on the role with the greatest of reluctance, and these three generations of mutant-kind go on the run. The results are surprising, shocking even - and for once the trailer gives virtually nothing away. Well played.

If you have an aversion to the primary colours and bam-kerpow action of other Marvel movies, then perhaps Logan is for you. It's a grainy stripped-down version of the X-Men films - sweary, bloody and brutal with a 15 certificate to match. The whole vibe of the film is an adult one. Playing out on a dusty sun-baked Texan backdrop, it reeks of desolation and mortality, with life having taken its toll on both our original heroes. Logan/Wolverine is not healing as well as he used to, each unsought-for fight leaving him sicker and with nastier scars. The Professor is in the throes of dementia, his formidable psychic powers now rendered a terrifying liability. Both actors bring raw conviction to their role, the script servicing their darker portrayal with its borderline nihilism. This is a film about wrestling with your humanity and trying to salvage hope.

The story is rescued from despair by the introduction of the surrogate-family dynamic. Laura (an impressive turn by young Dafne Keen) is no cutesy kid however. In many ways she's a junior version of Logan himself - dark and secret, with her humanity well-buried by her troubled life-experience. When these three generations set off across the Texan desert, their adventures are remarkable and sometimes unforgiving in their intensity. And little Laura is full of jaw-dropping surprises.

Go see Logan for a grown-up experience, fine performances, blood and grit. Its heroes are more human than super, its action harsh and painful. The finished product is all the more striking as a result.