Movie Review: Logan..sinks its claws into Wolverine

Its rare that I am particularly proud of the review title that I manage to come up with – this is one of those instances. Why? Because while the title literally indicates that Logan is those one in ten movies that actually gets to the soul of Wolverine, his character and his place amongst the X-men, there is also a figurative connotation. Logan is not about showing Wolverine in his superhero avatar that we are all too familiar with. No, this Logan is more about the human who hides the claws, his flaws and how he contemplates life with his gift (his curse) and all that has happened to him because of it.

At the outset, I am not going to rave about the movie and compare it to the iconic Dark Knight and other such stuff. Logan is the swan song that Wolverine deserved, beyond doubt. But let’s not get carried away here. Over its 2 hours runtime there are a fair number of occasions that the narrative slows to a near halt.

From its outset, Logan gives the impression of a movie where the director knows what he is doing. He is in no hurry to impress you. The scenes build slowly and palpably. Some stuff gets explained, most of it is not. However, its with its action that the movie and grasp of the soul of its protagonist that the movie truly shines. While there aren’t explosive set pieces – in fact, most of it is about close quarters combat, the quality of action is really good, especially the way it is directed.

One thing this movie misses, unlike its other ilk in the Marvel universe – is generous doses of humor. While there is a bit of wry humor here and there – the laughs are pretty few and far between here. This one focuses on being gritty and dark instead. In  terms of the acting, I am sure Hugh Jackman himself would feel that he is half wolverine at this point. To do a ‘Logan’ at this point, would’ve been a challenge, but if it was – it doesn’t show. Hugh Jackman is in great form as is our older and much depleted Charles Xavier that Patrick Stewart faithfully reprises.


While Logan does a lot for Wolverine, there was scope to explain and do a lot more. While by no means a bad watch, it misses greatness by just that bit. How much you’ll enjoy Logan is driven largely by how well you understand him – his anguish at what has happened to his world and in part, also if you’ve been dismayed at how banal some of the earlier attempts were to show him in the right light. If you feel Logan’s pain, this one will sink its claws quite deeply into you. If you are new to the franchise itself however, this being Logan’s last bow, it may not quite resonate with you as much.