Logan - The Wolverine

2026: Most of the X-Men are dead, young mutants haven't been around for years. The jaded Logan (Hugh Jackman), along with the mutant Caliban (Stephen Merchant), lives in complete seclusion behind the Mexican border. Here he takes care of Professor X (Patrick Stewart), who is plagued by dementia and has become a major threat since he can no longer control his powerful thoughts. As a driver, Logan tries to earn enough money to provide the medication Charles Xavier needs to keep from having seizures. It's a meager, joyless, but at least peaceful life. But that changes abruptly when young mutant Laura (Dafne Keen) enters Logan's life - and so do her pursuers, who are determined to eliminate the girl. Together, Logan and Charles Xavier are to take the child to a secret location where some mutants still live in safety. But it's a long way to get there, and Logan is tired of fighting as Wolverine. But to protect Laura and Charles, he will have no choice at all.

With Logan - The Wolverine, Hugh Jackman says goodbye to the role he has played in nine films (admittedly, only mini-appearances in two of them) since 2000. As the X-Men Wolverine, Jackman found a parade role with which he could thrill millions of fans. But after seventeen years, it's now time to put down the claws from Adamantium and send Wolverine into a well-deserved retirement. The studio knew that this didn't just have to happen, it had to happen with a bang. And after the huge success of Deadpool, a superhero movie with an R-rating, which in this case equates to an 18+ FSK, was no longer an unthinkable scenario. And so in his final film, Wolverine not only gets to curse like a sailor, but also show what an indestructible metal like the fictional Adamantium can really do in claw form.

This is extremely brutal, dirty and bloody in a way you're not used to seeing in the X-Men movies. The fact that Logan - The Wolverine is rated 16 in this country can be considered a minor miracle, even after the opening sequence. But of course, it's not enough to have Wolverine say fuck a few times and have him split heads or sever arms to give him a dignified send-off. The story and its staging simply had to be right as well. And director James Mangold managed to do that almost perfectly. His dark, almost depressing vision of a not-too-distant future stands out in a refreshing way from anything you've seen so far in the countless superhero comic book adaptations of recent years.

Hugh Jackman plays the aged Logan, tired of life, just great. He's a broken man who has seen so many friends die, and who has only one last reason that gives him some courage to live: to take care of his friend and mentor Charles. Patrick Stewart, who recently let it be known that he too will be saying goodbye to the X-Men universe with this film, gives an incredibly good performance as the demented, ranting and cursing, but at key moments almost fatherly and tender Charles, making the farewell dignified but very painful for the audience. In addition to the two professionals, however, the young newcomer Dafne Keen also shines, playing the little mutant child simply great. Laura was raised as a fighting machine that shouldn't know any emotions. But during her journey with Logan and Charles, typical childlike behaviors keep breaking through in her, which seem so incredibly real and touching, especially in contrast to the girl's fighting-brutal side.

The film really has everything a fan could want: There are excellently staged fights, an atmospheric set, a well-cast antagonist with Boyd Holbrook (Narcos), a tiny bit of humor and a really exciting story. In addition, Logan - The Wolverine is the first film from the X-Men universe that honestly moves you to tears not once, but twice, without being even remotely cheesy. The fact that Mangold refrains from overly excessive CGI effects makes the whole thing seem almost realistic, which is why the emotional impact of some specific scenes can then turn out to be so intense.

Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart couldn't have picked a better film to say goodbye to these beloved characters. Sure, with Hollywood waving lots of big dollar bundles, they might change their minds. But then, that won't change the fact that Logan - The Wolverine has become a near-perfect film in the genre of comic book adaptations. And with that, Wolverine's swan song has also earned the top mark without a doubt. Absolutely worth seeing!!!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp