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Logan
Stars: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, Richard E. Grant, Dafne Keen, Eriq La Salle, Elise Neal, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Doris Morgado, Quincy Fouse, Mary Peyton Stewart
Director: James Mangold
Hugh Jackman triumphantly brings his unique character back for the last and most satisfying time in director James Mangolds riveting, action-packed, character-driven climax to the saga of the talon-handed hero first seen in 2000s seminal X-Men.
Here, in 2029 mutants are practically extinct and Wolverine Nature made me a freak. Man made me a weapon. And God made it last too long) is no longer the superhero he once was, being informed by Merchants albino Caliban associate that Something is happening to you on the inside.
But a fading superhero can still rise to the occasion.
To Mangolds considerable credit, while he makes potent use of excellent special effects in creating his stark, scary thriller he doesnt allow the film to become yet another Oscar-aspirant display of movie magic. He concentrates to great effect on character, story, a fast pace and the creation of hair-raising action sequences (the opening when Wolverine slices and dices would-be attackers sets a high action standard) that are strongly maintained throughout.
Its Jackmans triumph, though, bearded, worn-out, resorting to reading glasses and clearly running on borrowed time - but still capable of the scarifying slice-and-dice onslaughts that made him a unique superhero: Jackman gives a performance convincingly ranging from tender to murderous that could not be bettered.
Alan Frank
USA 2017. UK Distributor: 20th Century Fox. Colour by deluxe.
131 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 15.
Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 2, Violence/Horror 3, Drugs 2, Swearing 3.
Review date: 20 Jul 2017