Logan
[Warning: This post contains spoilers]
The X-Men movies have never been, shall we say, well received. They are certainly not the worst superhero movies out there, and true Marvel fans enjoy them nonetheless. Logan felt quite different from the rest of the franchise. It was missing all of the hokieness of the originals, the team atmosphere of the later films, and the overall adventure of the franchise.
Logan follows in the dystopian trend of the last few years, evoking something of a Mad Max idea. The social commentary provided by the dynamic between Xavier and Magneto is evidently missing from this film, but the exploration of a future in which mutants are being hunted and killed was something that I think the franchise needed (especially since Days of Future Past spent a lot of time in the past). For so long, these films have been asking us what it means to be different and where those who are different belong. But what would really happen if the world turned on them? Of course, that question gets somewhat overshadowed by the plot. It remains relevant nonetheless, and creates an atmosphere violence, darkness and isolation unlike anything that has come before.
The movie also tries to understand what happens to powerful superheroes when they grow old. The final portrayals of Xavier and Wolverine by Patrick Stewart and Hugh Jackman are troubled. The man with mental powers suffers a brain disease, and the enhanced mutant is being poisoned by the metal fused to his bones. This is a story of will, survival, and the inevitability of death. But it is also about life, the future, and the strength of family. Just when it seems that all hope is lost for mutants, a new generation is found and inspired to find their own way to survive in a society that fears them.
This film may be different, but it was a fitting end for the characters and it provides a sense of hope and expectancy to a rather final ending. Wolverine is perhaps even more rough than usual, but his fatherly role is both touching and appropriate. Although his family life was always troubled, and he spent decades wallowing in his sorrows, Logan is aware - more than ever - that he does have a family out there who can support him and who need him just as much. The journey is emotion, the ending tragic, and yet the feeling is one of promise for a better future. A perfect farewell to these iconic characters.
The X-Men movies have never been, shall we say, well received. They are certainly not the worst superhero movies out there, and true Marvel fans enjoy them nonetheless. Logan felt quite different from the rest of the franchise. It was missing all of the hokieness of the originals, the team atmosphere of the later films, and the overall adventure of the franchise.
Logan follows in the dystopian trend of the last few years, evoking something of a Mad Max idea. The social commentary provided by the dynamic between Xavier and Magneto is evidently missing from this film, but the exploration of a future in which mutants are being hunted and killed was something that I think the franchise needed (especially since Days of Future Past spent a lot of time in the past). For so long, these films have been asking us what it means to be different and where those who are different belong. But what would really happen if the world turned on them? Of course, that question gets somewhat overshadowed by the plot. It remains relevant nonetheless, and creates an atmosphere violence, darkness and isolation unlike anything that has come before.
The movie also tries to understand what happens to powerful superheroes when they grow old. The final portrayals of Xavier and Wolverine by Patrick Stewart and Hugh Jackman are troubled. The man with mental powers suffers a brain disease, and the enhanced mutant is being poisoned by the metal fused to his bones. This is a story of will, survival, and the inevitability of death. But it is also about life, the future, and the strength of family. Just when it seems that all hope is lost for mutants, a new generation is found and inspired to find their own way to survive in a society that fears them.
This film may be different, but it was a fitting end for the characters and it provides a sense of hope and expectancy to a rather final ending. Wolverine is perhaps even more rough than usual, but his fatherly role is both touching and appropriate. Although his family life was always troubled, and he spent decades wallowing in his sorrows, Logan is aware - more than ever - that he does have a family out there who can support him and who need him just as much. The journey is emotion, the ending tragic, and yet the feeling is one of promise for a better future. A perfect farewell to these iconic characters.
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