‘Logan’ is best of standalone Wolverine films

Throughout James Mangold’s latest addition to the “X-Men” saga, “Logan,” Hugh Jackman’s titular character, is bruised, battle-weary, and limps from location to location. 

Of course he is portraying the later-in-life superhero Wolverine, who is now sick, full of regret and possibly dying, but this could be a metaphor for the cinematic treatment of the character as well, which has taken its share of blows. 

Debuting 16 years ago in the critically heralded “X-Men,” Jackman revisited the role for four films with the mutant collective, and twice more in films meant to establish Wolverine as a solo cinematic draw. 

While Jackman remained committed and embodied the role, the films themselves seemed to yield diminished rewards (in particular, the two standalone films, “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and “The Wolverine” were underdeveloped and over-padded, respectively). 

Director Mangold, perhaps emboldened by the reception of the R-rated “Deadpool” adaptation, decided to take a different tack in the latest entry, turning this superhero tale into a dust-caked, stripped-down western, casting Wolverine as the Man with No Name. 

“A Clawful of Dollars,” perhaps? 

Almost unrecognizable from his former X-Men glory days, Logan is a broken man in more ways than one. His self-healing powers are waning. He resembles more of a washed-up Mel Gibson than any trace of the superhero we’ve come to expect over the last decade and a half. 

He’s living in a rusted-out, abandoned industrial complex with the world’s last surviving mutants, Professor Charles Xavier (the always-stellar Patrick Stewart), and an albino named Caliban (played by the gangly Stephen Merchant). They are all biding their time until they can save for that “retirement boat” and live off the water. Anyone who has seen a film in the past 30 years should know the code for that particular aquatic purchase. 

Their plans are interrupted by Laura (played by exceptional young newcomer Dafne Keen), who possesses similar mutant abilities to Logan, despite the fact that all mutants were apparently wiped from the planet. Laura’s guardian hires Logan to take her to a supposed safe space across the border, but there are also some very evil men who are after the young girl. 

So let’s cut to the chase (pun slightly intended): “Logan” is by far the best of the standalone Wolverine films and certainly one of the tops of the “X-Men” films. It’s filled with compassionate, lived-in performances by both Jackman and Stewart. It should also be celebrated for focusing on the more human aspects of its story. I think many are rushing in with hyperbolic praise, though, in claiming this as one of the best comic book films of all time. 

For all its deserved praise, “Logan” is also unnecessarily long, nihilistic (which undercuts its theme of “family”) and can lapse into narrative convenience from time to time. It’s certainly crafted with skill, both in front of the lens and behind it. It’s a refreshing change from the typical bombast, and it’s nice to see a “superhero” film launch into a more personable direction. That said, “Logan” still sags in certain parts, and for all its messages of family, love and honor, it never wastes an opportunity to explode into violent, bloody rage.

Like its titular character, “Logan” has sharp claws and stark flaws. It is heroic in its attempts to chart a decidedly different direction, but also just a few steps shy of super.