Logan |
  • USA / Australia / USA • 2017 • 137m •   • Directed by: James Mangold. • Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Dafne Keen, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Richard E. Grant, Eriq La Salle, Elise Neal, Quincy Fouse, Al Coronel, Frank Gallegos, Anthony Escobar. • Music by: Marco Beltrami.      In 2029 the mutant population has shrunken significantly due to genetically modified plants designed to reduce mutant powers and the X-Men have disbanded. Logan, whose power to self-heal is dwindling, has surrendered himself to alcohol and now earns a living as a chauffeur. He takes care of the ailing old Professor X whom he keeps hidden away. One day, a female stranger asks Logan to drive a girl named Laura to the Canadian border. At first he refuses, but the Professor has been waiting for a long time for her to appear. Laura possesses an extraordinary fighting prowess and is in many ways like Wolverine. She is pursued by sinister figures working for a powerful corporation; this is because they made her, with Logan's DNA. A decrepit Logan is forced to ask himself if he can or even wants to put his remaining powers to good use. It would appear that in the near-future, the times in which they were able put the world to rights with razor sharp claws and telepathic powers are now over.
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Along came Dafne (real name Daphne ), a selectively mute, kick-ass X-23. This girl has announced to the world far bigger than her pint-size that: 'I have arrived' and that too with a finely nuanced bang! Whoa Dafne!
But this last installment of the Wolverine saga is not all about Dafne. The plot is deceptively simple, the execution similarly plain. There is the story of some bad guys wanting to capture the DNA (and by extension, their spirit) of the mutants (so that they can make their own). The real X-men in the meantime have fallen on hard times. Money is hard to come by, medicines are expensive, and Border Patrol are seen doing their job. I am not sure if this was Hollywood's first attempt at satirizing the Trumpian America as the traffic of mutants (read 'illegals' or 'undocumented' as the luvvies would like to call them) flow from South to 'safe haven' Canada because the middle, the great US of A is not so great after all because the 'big corporations' with their 'defense-biotech' nexus is out to make a few bucks (for its greedy share-holders no doubt). Even some good old racism is not spared a liberal treatment where a bunch of hicks (Whiteys for you and I) come to grab land owned by a righteous, very nice Black Equesterian family once assisted by Logan and co.
The mutants are an endangered species but there appears to be no UN or PETA or even EPA folks bent to save it. So it is all, 'fight your own fight'. There would be of course no analogy with the gradual extinction of the White folks, and the future of the dwindling bunch of Mutants are conveniently diverse. Blacks, Hispanics, girls and such. I was not looking, but I think it was rather cruel not to have included a Trans-gender. What a shame!
Of the few left, Logan is one. Xavier and Caliban are others. But laws of nature are taking its toll on the aging flock, who retain only a portion of their self-healing, telepathytelekinesis power which are fluctuating at best. Logan has resorted to being a Chauffeurcourier and if the little X-23 could be classed as a 'Human', a Human Trafficker of sorts! The 'good' type. Bad guys give the chase, meets with resistance, especially the fiery resistance of Laura who is supposedly Logan's 'baby-daddy' (the baby-mama nowhere to be seen). And she kicks some butt! The scene where she is screaming like a banshee to her Uber driver (Logan) in a language presumed to be SpanishSpanglish or 'GodAloneKnows' (no subtitles- how racist!) despite more and more timid orders of 'shut up' from Logan is pure acting heaven. This girl will go places. And born of American and Spanish parents, I hope she grows up to remember that we are interested in her acting prowess, not her political opinion or one-liners on Twitter pretending that she can solve the World's problems in 140 characters. Lord alone knows if the liberal stalwarts named here can even spell the word politics, although to be fair, Natalie Portman (born Hershog in Jerusalem) went to Harvard and Emma Watson apparently graduated (after suffering much bullying for being famous and a zillionaire..boo hoo!) from Browns. Not that they are privileged or anything!
Across the great landscape of America the trio (three generations of mutants) travel, chased relentlessly by the baddies, shepherded by the good doctor played with the villainous flair Richard Grant has become known for, heads gets beheaded, ass gets kicked, you know the drill. But the real beauty of this movie comes from the humane treatment of Logan, and his nascent and evolving bondattachment with Laura, and the re-statement of his bond with the aging, cantankerous but essentially well meaning Patrick Stewart as Prof Xavier. There are moments of reflection, self -pity by the bucketful and some home truths being spoken by Logan, played magnificently by Hugh Jackman, better than his previous renditions I dare to add. The cinematography is good, direction pretty tight with minimal grand-standing and the score is fine (it won't get any Oscars, let's stop at that). The baddies do a decent job although why they are so singularly incompetent to take one shot accurately remains a mystery to me.
In the end, it is business as usual. Any more will get me banned for not selecting Contains Spoilers and normal service resumes. America has remained Great by having diversity amongst us, Canada remains the ultimate moral high ground from where Justins (both Tredeau and Bieber) rule, Mexico remains the lawless hell-hole and Hollywood after its obligatory America bashing and Trump bashing (although to be fair they do not take his name) leaves room for sequels. Isn't life wonderful?
Now we can go back to protests, hashtags, Geriatric Meryl Streep grandstanding at the pre-Oscar media buzz, bemoaning the good old days as if any one gives a rodent's nether region and Patrick Stewart campaigning for Second Independence Referendum for Scotland. Lena Dunham and Amy Schumer not having left USA despite the fascist regime there, proclaiming that they love the fact that they are fat. Meanwhile, in screens across America and elsewhere, Dafne kicks serious butt.
Review by spsarkar from the Internet Movie Database.
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Feb 19 2017, 12:22
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May 12 2017, 16:44
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