The film trailer of Logan, set to Johnny Cash's tear-inducing cover of Nine Inch Nails' Hurt, should have been indication enough. But who would have believed that after more than 17 years and nine outings as the regenerative mutant, Logan would be a perfect farewell to Hugh Jackman's Wolverine? One can only imagine the pressure Jackman must have felt in bringing Wolverine to the screen one last time, with an obligation to fans and to a character that changed his career. While audiences may be used to seeing Wolverine in a typical Marvel popcorn movie, Logan is a welcome expansion of what a cinematic superhero saga can be. Set in 2029 when mutants are mostly extinct or on the run, the film is a grave, gritty and violent neo-Western, firmly entrenched in the mould and lore of the 1970s Clint Eastwood-Don Siegel classics. Fans will notice that it even directly connects itself to the genre with background clips from Oscar-winning Western Shane. More dystopian than apocalyptic, it's a Marvel superhero movie that we've never seen before, and this uncharted territory will hopefully set off a new trend for the Marvel Comic universe. Sure, some detractors might see the film's need to stand apart from its Marvel family and desire to be taken oh-so-seriously as a tad heavy-handed, self-satisfied and derivative. And the less patient amongst us might even be put off by the film's often oppressive mood and achingly slow middle. But director-writer James Mangold sticks to his guns and in doing so, elevates both the drama and characters in this movie to credibility and relatability, even though it is set in an over-the-top, nihilistic, gory and viscerally brutal future. And despite the extreme violence and comic book origins, it's first Marvel movie that feels like it could exist in the real world, which leads to a conclusion of the Wolverine saga in a surprising but ultimately gratifying manner.
