LOGAN (2017)

3/6/2017 - LOGAN (2017) - 6+(maybe 7)/10

Very enjoyable but overhyped. A weird mix of bombast (extreme bloody violence {finally} and excessive graphic dialogue) and aching subtlety (the pained suicidal melancholy of the too old Logan and the strained death shroud that drapes over Logan & Xavier's camaraderie), it did something no other X-Men (or most superhero) movies had done: make the audience feel. 

Maybe the perfect example of a movie/character journey predicated and emotionally built upon all that came before it. Would this work on its own? Doubtful. With 7 movies laying the groundwork? It becomes brave and chest-heavingly soulful. I can't say that during the screening I was intensely wrapped up in the web of feelings, but as I listened to Johnny Cash (brilliant trailer and outro song over the credits) and reflected during my drive home and the hour thereafter, I was overcome by the sorrow. It got me. The melange ofemotional heft in the film, the character's finale, and the departed darkness in Cash's mournful voice brought me to tears.

Similar to a film like the Dark Knight, Logan isn't a superhero film. It is a reinterpreted Western, with metal claws and mutant powers substituting for 6 shooters. This is all, like a gruesome neck slash while yelling "F**k!", very much in-your-face. With the Shane viewing and dialogue, the horses, the clothes, and of course, the tried and true storytelling. This is not a bad thing (maybe a little more allusion and homage would have been appreciated). Rather, I enjoyed the majority of this, despite its emboldened expressionism. The application of the cross-genre trappings, I think, boosts the accessibility and the universality of Logan & Laura's tale. 

This is a solid and soulful tale, though it does go overboard in all aspects at certain points. A bloody and adult end to a less-than-great franchise that, by far, towers over its predecessors.