Logan is Hugh Jackman’s swan-song in one of the most beloved roles of the last twenty years. It is a very good movie, but it almost certainly doesn’t live up to the almost perfect review-hype it gained before release.

I expected to be blown away, but I wasn't. I expected, based on all the hype, to see a masterpiece. What I got instead was a very solid movie, perhaps one of the top-tier comic book movies of the last five years, and a fitting and moving end to not only Hugh Jackman's time as Wolverine, but also Patrick Stewart's time as Xavier.

The film is well-written, well-acted, and well-directed. I particularly enjoyed the minor players in this movie, including Caliban and the reaver Donald Pierce. The tone is in turns grim and hopeful, as it should be. And there are some genuinely surprising and cool moments. There are a number of quite clever conceits that set this movie in a realm of its own, and I appreciate that.

The biggest complaint I have with the film is that a certain event is implicitly alluded to, but most definitely needed to be explicitly shown. The event and its effects are robbed of much of their power and impact for this reason, and that's a big shame.

Logan and Xavier, however, are absolutely the heart of this movie, and that relationship is its biggest strength. I'm so glad they got to take this last ride together, and I couldn't be happier with that aspect. X-23 is killer, and I hope this isn't the last time we see her.

All in all, if I was going to assign a number, I'd give this movie an 8, which is a far cry from the 9.5's and 10's it received. But it still is absolutely worth seeing, and while not the best X-Men movie (that honor still belongs to Days of Future Past) it might be Wolverine's best movie, and certainly Jackman's best turn as the character. He gives it his all, and I will miss him in the role.

Thank you, Mr. Jackman.

Snikt!

#logan #xmen