Logan

The X-Men franchise pins an absolute finish at the bottom of the timeline created by Days of Future Past, mostly for the infamous characters we have familiarize ourselves with all these years. And of course, where do you put full stop first if none other than the most notorious of them all, Wolverine?

Set in 2029; far into the future where the entire race of mutants are believed to have extinct, James Howlett aka Logan (Hugh Jackman) is still alive, camouflaging himself as a cab driver for a living. For one, the makers have established this last portrayal of the character so well! He is weaker than ever before. He has poor eyesight, he is sick & hurt badly. There are couple of scenes that show how his claws couldn't be retraced fully. His body & soul are degenerating. It is heartbreaking to see him vulnerable like this. More than his physical self, he is dying on the inside too. He wants to die, as soon as he can. From previous films, we know what this persona has been through. We know what he has seen. To live a life of immortality isn't a blessing. It's an unforgivable curse, and we wish to see this suffering animal put to sleep for his peace, in a world where there's little to no hope for his kind.

Another character who will be of your interest is Laura Kinney, or X-23 as played by Dafne Keen. She is likable as she is silent. Unlike most kids who come off as annoying burdens in movies, she is freaking badass! The one particular scene where she strikes Donald Pierce (Boyd Holbrook) out of nowhere with a metal bar is funny! Her interactions with Logan are okay, without being too melodramatic or impactful either. The writers touch a high note in a scene where she steals, tailed by a similar action from Logan afterwards, to show a 'like father like daughter' implementation. But, that's pretty much it. It is satisfying to see how reluctant Logan is about the mission. He can easily ditch Laura and go on forward. But the moment he sees his similarity in her, he decides to vouch for her at the very least. Chemistry between Wolverine & Professor X (Patrick Stewart) is admirable. The way the senile latter curses the former, and the way the former forces the latter to swallow pills form the picture's amazing interfacial sequences! We could only wish for more. Watch out for how Logan breaks down after the demise of Charles, but quickly surfaces to maintain his rigid personality. Class, right there!

Yes, the action. Gritty, brutal, unfeigned action episodes! Wolverine ejecting bullets out of his bare body, stabbing X-24 non-stop, limo having a hard time to penetrate through wired gate & utilizing it to sweep off enemy's vehicles, close-to-shave train wreck plus the unswerving forest climax are sure to bite your feet, coupled with the fact that all these are shot with superb wide takes! The makers have tried their best to pull no punches & convince the limitless measure of violence that they could stretch onscreen. Unfortunately, most of the limbs and heads that fall off seem like fake prosthetics. The more you show it repeatedly, the faster its value depreciates. It became like cutting through plastics over and over again. There is one particular idea that works incredibly marvelous in the motion picture; Charles' seizure! What else do we need to witness after seeing Wolverine crawling across hallway wall with his claws, before terminating the paused soldier at doorstep with slow-moving eyeballs?

Writer-director James Mangold dips this final installment for the man with claws in an arthouse, indie feel & tone, which can be thoroughly seen through its realistic settings, thematic score & Western-like backdrop. Using a Chrysler in dessert plant is sexy as hell! The simplistic title credits is sophisticatedly nice. While the notion is verily refreshing, question is, does this really guarantee a great film at the end?

That's when the need arises to talk about the writing. See, the screenwriters have all the plot points & motivations explained. Good. It trusts the audiences to connect the dots for the most parts, which is immensely appreciable. How does Charles know where the kid mutants are waiting? Because that's his specialty. How did Laura appear at the abandoned smelting plant out of sudden? Because she has clues provided by the nurse, just like the coordinates of Eden. How does Donald figure out about the location though even after losing Caliban (Stephen Merchant)? Through the envelope left away in panic by the duo at the stopperby family's house. Why is he after Wolverine in order to catch the girl? Again, evidences dropped by the nurse. Why would Logan choose to help, although unwillingly for most of the time? Money, since he is in need of it for the Sunseeker & Charles' medications. How did X-23 admit Logan in the clinic? Via the other guy she sees minutes before the James collapses. See, the writing is decent & self-explanatory.

While the First & Third Act are illustrious, the Second Act strays! Barring the hotel room skirmish, everything else is bland. The whole segment of shelter-providing by the country family is so unneeded. It maybe is included to show the warmth of love & care in an inhumane atmosphere. To be frank, it's boring. It's out of place. Through this comes forced action parts featuring the countrymen, just to jolt you off your seats once in a while. But, are all these necessary? Is this the best & most interesting penmanship you could employ to tell the ultimate chapter to Wolverine's story?

Mystery surrounding X-24 is great until a Wolverine clone is disclosed. It comes off as a gimmick more than anything else. Why would Caliban idiotically blow off the vehicle though? Phone going out of charge to continue heavy exposition at a later point of the screenplay is smart. X-Men drawn into comics and considered legends by some is a meta-universe concept that scores tremendous brownie points! Child mutants sniping off Wolverine's facial hair is a sweet little instance for us to cherish. How on Earth was the nurse able to record the secret video footage, that too at different angles & close-ups? Such chaos happening inside Transigen, a company in the eyes of public is unbelievable. Since the corporate has developed the killing machine they need, why would they want to hunt the rest of the ran-way mutants? To destroy evidence & potential rebel forces, perhaps. With a deeply emotional death of Wolverine, Laura turns over the cross into X, symbolizing the X-Men will always live. This is the thing about the celluloid's resolution. It breathes life into a hopeful future for the young ones. Let the indifferent ones live too. As Logan wanted to utter, the kids remind him of his colleague of X-Men. We are hoping to see what happened to the old crew & how Professor X murdered the most accidentally in the upcoming installments of this franchise.