“Jumping the Shark” is a term that is used quite often these days. Named after the episode of “Happy Days” where The Fonz did just that, it refers to the point where any sort of series completely takes a nose dive and free falls into obscurity. For instance, “Lost” was only going to be 3 seasons, but the execs decided to extend it which caused the quality of the show to suffer severely. I have also made the “Ice Age” argument a few times, but “X-Men”?
“Logan” is the third film in the “Wolverine” series, directed by the man who handled the second installment, James Mangold (Vegas, NYC 22). The film stars Hugh Jackman one more time in the lead role, along with Patrick Stewart (Ted 2, Green Room), Boyd Holbrook (Milk, Gone Girl), Stephen Merchant (Robot Chicken, Hall Pass), Richard E. Grant (Penelope, Corpse Bride), Elizabeth Rodriguez (Desperado, Side Effects), and Dafne Keen. Based in the not-too-distant-future of 2029, mutants are starting to become extinct, with Logan (Jackman) and Professor X (Stewart) living a hidden life on the Texas/Mexico border. Through a series of circumstances, Logan is asked to help transport a mutant child named Laura (Keen) to North Dakota to help her get to safety in Canada while they are all being hunted by those that would like to keep her existence a secret.
This film is dark compared to other films in the entire Fox franchise, showing the end of an era instead of being in the thick of it. It is like no other film in the series. When it came to the acting, you know what you will get with the cast like Stewart, Jackman, and Rodriguez, but I have to give a shout out to Keen, who did incredibly well considering it was only her second role.
With the “X-Men” series, there have been twist and turns and so many changes to the main plotline of all the film which could lead to the valid argument that a few of them probably should have not been made. Even though we know there are more from the films to come from the series, this is on the good side of that scale, and with this being Jackman’s last film as Logan, and it was done right. I do recommend this film if you are a fan of the series, but only as a matinee or twilight showing.