LOGAN
You knew eventually we would get the ultimate Wolverine movie. Hugh Jackman has played the roguish hero for the past seventeen years starring in or making appearances for various X-Men films and projects, including two singular adventures (X-Men Origins: Wolverine and The Wolverine). The first of those two adventures is almost unwatchable, though it did introduce Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool – until Fox executives gave notes to the filmmakers to sew his mouth shut (big mistake!). The second had a poor last act, but at least director James Mangold had a vision of where he wanted to take Jackman’s celebrated character.
That vision is delivered in Logan, a film that echoes motifs found in westerns. Mangold also goes against the grain by making a film that doesn’t play by the rules we expect from most comic-book movies. Logan is gritty and raw with Logan caring for an ailing Professor X (Patrick Stewart) in a compound near the Mexican border. But when Logan is approached to transport an 11-year-old girl to North Dakota, she makes him an offer he can’t pass up. Unfortunately, young Laura (Dafne Keen) is being pursued by a bio-tech firm that looks to liquidate its “assets,” which complicates the situation.
Logan’s arrival on Blu-ray was nicely timed to happen right before Father’s Day as it is a film that channels what it is like to be a caretaker in extreme times. Beyond deleted scenes and a making-of documentary, the special, added attraction is Logan Noir – a black and white version of the film that gives it a distinct look. This version was inspired by the B&W photographs director James Mangold took on set.
