Reviewing The Wolverine Trilogy
If there’s one star of the X-Men franchise, it’s Hugh Jackman. Unapologetically macho and constantly trying to get out of his own movies, Wolverine was a fan favourite ever since the beginning. And after the original trilogy, he seemed like the perfect character to launch a spinoff series. Unfortunately, two out of three of the films were kind of boring. But there’s good news – Logan doesn’t go down without a fight.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (**)
In which Will.i.am wears a cowboy hat
The Black Eyed Peas’ Will.i.am plays a teleporting mutant with a cowboy hat. That alone should tell you the kind of ride that you’re in for.
There’s no doubt that Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine was the fan favourite of the X-Men movies. To that end, it shouldn’t be a surprise that they decided the next chapter in the franchise would have him as the headline. What was disappointing was the movie that he ended up in. The movie is riddled with clichés, cheese, and questionable decision making. There’s lots of Wolverine being Wolverine – and that’s great – but just about everything else stinks. I mean, for starters, a character from the first film named Sabretooth turns out to be Wolverine’s brother. Nothing about that makes sense. I even looked up the X-Men movie fanbase wiki to try and understand, and get this. After X-Men Origins, a film where Wolverine and Sabretooth fight against Stryker and his Weapon X program…
Sabretooth somehow reacquainted himself with Stryker and rejoined the Weapon X program, this time as a test subject.
What? The guy who just tried to kill you and your brother?
He became bigger and stronger…His mutation also erased his memory of his life prior to the point of the procedure.
So basically these are two different guys. Like, whose idea was it to make these the same person? There’s no connection between the two interpretations of the character apart from the fact that they both have claws. I don’t get what came over them to make this confusing decision.
Then there’s will.i.am. What is he doing here? And can Gambit only move cards with his mind? That’s an oddly specific (and uninteresting) superpower. And of course, Deadpool got the weirdest treatment ever. Even before there were Deadpool movies, I knew that this wasn’t anything like Deadpool. This movie plays it fast and loose with chronology and comic accuracy, and I think it suffers as a result.
The whole premise as a whole was just uninteresting to me. A guy who’s ‘retired’ (they always are) gets called back into action for good-old-fashioned revenge, until it turns out that everything he’s ever known is a lie. It’s just an old story, but there’s nothing to it to make it feel fresh. It’s not that Jackman did a bad job – I think Wolverine the character is as likable as ever here. It’s the writing, I think. Didn’t care for it.
Now, I’m not the first one to say this, but the opening sequence where we follow Wolverine through historic battles was very cool. That was probably the highlight of the movie. Other than that, there’s nothing here you need to see. Skip this!
The Wolverine (**)
In which Wolverine agrees to fly halfway across the world just because someone asked him to
Logan should’ve never gotten on that plane.
Once again, we’re faced with a film where the protagonist is far ahead of the world that envelops him. Hugh Jackman does a good job, but the story just stinks. Why on earth would Logan agree to flying to Japan? It’s not like he’s just driving down the block. You’ve got to have a fair amount of trust in someone to get on a plane for them. He just met this girl, and I really don’t think the film gave any credible reason for Logan to hop on board.
Then there’s Logan and the new love interest Mariko. It doesn’t take long to figure out that she’s not going to make it past this film – not that that’s the actresses’ fault. She did fine considering her role. Her character isn’t a standalone character. She’s the daughter of the villain, and she doesn’t have anything to her that would make her worth bringing along with Logan. No special powers, no unique perspective on his character – not even a feisty personality to take him down a notch. Because of that, it’s hard to develop a sense of anything but boredom when she and Logan become romantically involved. If anything, it’s annoying that they even tried to get us into that. I’m all for Logan trying to move on from Jean Grey – but Mariko needs to bring something to the table beside sadness.
It was fun seeing Wolverine have to deal with a loss of his healing ability, for sure. And Wolverine was just as much himself here as he ever is. But apart from loving Wolverine, there’s nothing in this movie of real value.
Logan (****)
In which they should’ve ended the franchise here
The best film of the X-Men franchise is hardly an X-Men movie at all – instead, it’s a gritty, dusty character study that says farewell to one of the most popular superhero actors of our time.
From the very beginning of the film, it seems clear that we’re in a final act. Wolverine is constantly exhausted. Xavier is a debilitated version of his former self, crying out “You’re waiting for me to die”. There’s not just a sense of gloom, but of despair aswell – as though the glory days are over and they won’t be coming back.
I remember that this feeling of having left behind a sleeker, shinier past was so impactful that it led to a number of media sources declaring the dawn of “superhero fatigue” – the idea that the superhero genre, like the western genre decades ago, had run out of steam and that it was time to leave it behind. Logan was released in 2017, and it’s clear that the genre hasn’t slowed down since. If anything, it’s only gotten bigger. We’ve had Infinity War and Endgame, No Way Home, and a slew of big-budget superhero content on Disney+ with more on the way. I don’t think Logan marked the end of superhero films – but maybe it broadened the scope of what a superhero film could be.
The heart of the film is about Wolverine and Laura, a young mutant girl created by an evil corporation who used Wolverine’s DNA. Technically, that makes her his daughter in a sense, and that’s the vibe they push for the bulk of the film. The idea of an older man protecting a kid in the wilderness is one we’ve seen elsewhere (Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us or Star Wars’ The Mandalorian to name a few), but I can’t think of an example where I’ve seen it fail. The reluctant but growing bond between the two is palpable and sweet, despite the ugliness that surrounds them. Both Jackman and Dafni Keen (the kid) do a great job imbuing the film with poignant looks and silent moments that speak volumes. That said, there really isn’t a performance or moment that doesn’t work in this film. Everyone does a great job – even minor characters like the Munson farming family.
One of my favourite aspects of this film is the way things happen unexpectedly. Xavier’s death was gutting and heartbreaking, and the way Dr. Zander Rice is eliminated is unceremoniously quick – which in a way makes sense given Wolverine’s character. But apart from those moments of surprise and shock, you can’t help but have a potent sense of dread from the early moments of the film regarding Wolverine’s fate. We all knew that this would be Jackman’s final appearance as Wolverine, so the question of whether or not he would die was on everyone’s minds. You can really see it coming from a long way off, but that doesn’t make it any less impactful. If anything, his death is fulfilling and a perfect conclusion to his character. The moment where the cross over his grave is turned into an X is a bit sacrilegious, I suppose, but it makes sense and lines up with what the character represents.
I wonder if this film would hit differently to someone who hadn’t seen any of the other X-Men flicks. The first time I saw it in theatres, I definitely hadn’t seen all of the X-Men movies. But Jackman’s name and Wolverine’s name were still engrained in my head as icons of pop culture at the time. To that end, this film is a triumph in being able to close the book on a good story. It’s a rare treat to find long-form storytelling that ends well, and this film gave us just that. Sure, Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants were on their way, but this is likely the best place to say goodbye to the X-Men franchise.
At least until Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness comes out, anyway.
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