Maybe it’s the fact that I’m getting older, but I notice that it’s usually not a good idea for me to see a movie at the cinema when it’s late in the evening. In general I go and see movies when I have a day off or during the day in weekends, but when I visit a showing late at night it will happen once in a while that I can’t keep my eyes open during the whole movie. It doesn’t matter whether the film is a moving drama or filled with action, I sometimes just nod off. It doesn’t mean I sleep during the whole movie, but I will miss between one and five minutes. So I decided I wouldn’t review a movie when that happens as I can’t form a complete opinion about it as I might have missed a key moment. When I saw Logan late at night everything seemed to go fine, but halfway through the movie I was gone again. As the reviews were mainly positive and what I saw didn’t really convince me completely I blamed it on sleeping. So later I headed to the cinema again to watch it a second time. Did that change my opinion?
Logan (Hugh Jackman) no longer is the energetic, powerful Wolverine from previous films. He’s gotten old, doesn’t walk smoothly anymore and has a job as a limousine driver. Professor X isn’t doing much better and is hidden away from the rest of the world. He is suffering from old age symptoms which affect his brain and he needs medicine to prevent him from hurting others unintentionally. Both him and Logan dream of buying a boat to spend the rest of their lives there, away from the rest of the world. Logan is approached by a woman and a girl named Laura (Dafne Keen). Although he isn’t interested in helping them, she offers him a lot of money to transport them somewhere. It means a chance for Logan to realise his dream, but when he finds out that someone is looking for them that simple job turns out to be anything but easy. Together with Professor X they try to reach the mysterious Eden.
This isn’t the Wolverine you know from previous X-Men movies and I’m not talking about his appearance now. Logan is a violent movie which you wouldn’t want children to watch as his claws regularly penetrate skulls and where he doesn’t hesitate to cut off limbs. This isn’t only an action movie though as it also has a strong emotional side which is told well. The once mighty superheroes, who are now older, struggle with the decisions they have made in the past and the question what they can still do. Dafne Keen, as the silent Laura has the same intensity which Jackman can show and that results in some very cool moments. Despite the fact that I stayed awake during the second viewing and I did find the movie entertaining, it wasn’t a film which has immediately earned a spot in my favorites of the year list. Worth watching though, but not one I would watch a third time.
