‘Logan’ Footage Review: Hugh Jackman’s Last Wolverine Movie Gets Off To A Rousing Start [UPDATED]
Normally, when a studio offers us the chance to preview footage from an upcoming film, we’re treated to a handful of clips. In the case ofJames Mangold’sLogan, we saw the entire first act — perhaps 30 or 40 minutes of footage. Such a move speaks to 20th Century Fox’s faith in the film, touted asHugh Jackman’s very last performance of Wolverine after 17 years. And based on what we saw, that confidence is well placed.
Mangold’sLoganfeels unlike any superhero movie in recent movie, and yet its gritty Western vibe feels perfectly suited to Jackman’s world-weary take on the character. If this really is the last time we’ll see his Wolverine, it seems like a fitting end to his tenure. Read ourLoganfootage review below.
Logan Footage Recap
Note:Loganplot details have been removed at Fox’s request.
Logan Footage Reaction
There’s no mistakingLoganas anything other than a Wolverine movie — he unsheathes those adamantium claws in the first few minutes of the film, lest you forget who he is or what he can do — butLoganactually doesn’t feel like your typical Marvel blockbuster. More than anything, it feels like a modern Western with sci-fi elements. That first trailer, set to Johnny Cash’s “Hurt,” seems like a pretty good representation of the film as a whole, at least based on the 30 or so minutes that we saw.
There’s a sense of bitterness and regret hanging overLogan. It’s there when Xavier spits that Logan is a “disappointment.” It’s there when Logan is forced to drug Xavier can’t accidentally kill people. It’s there when Caliban can’t be bothered to worry about Logan’s maybe-suicidal tendencies because Logan’s so messed up that his self-destruction is more a matter ofwhenthanif. At the same time, though,Logancomes by its self-seriousness honestly. WhileLogandoesn’t seem overly reliant on existingX-Mencontinuity (and thank God, because those movies are a mess right now), the tragedy does hit harder because we’ve been with Hugh Jackman’s Logan for 17 years now.
If Stewart’s Xavier and Jackman’s Logan seem like they’re at the end of their lives (or at least the end of their tenures as the central players in Fox’sX-Menfilm franchise), Laura (X-23) feels like the exciting next step. From the moment she appears at Logan’s house, she commands the audience’s attention. She feels likeStranger Things' Eleven if she’d been raised byMad Max: Fury Road’s Furiosa; she’sKick-Ass' Hit-Girl without the cutesy schtick. She looks like an early contender for one of 2017’s big breakout characters.
Among other things, Laura doesn’t shrink away from violence any more than her reluctant guardian Wolverine does.Loganis a film that makes the most of its R rating. The kills are ugly and bloody — at one point, Laura stabs a guy through a car window and his blood splatters all over the glass — but the violence feels appropriate for the world the film is set in. It also gives Wolverine plenty of chances to say “fuck” — and Xavier, too. I lost count of how many times the good professor dropped the F-bomb in the footage we saw.
Again, we only saw the first third or so of the film, so we don’t know what’s to come in the last two-thirds. But from what we saw, I’d sayLoganlooks like a glorious end to Hugh Jackman’s performance as Wolverine.
