Logan (film)

Plot

In 2029, no mutants have been born in 25 years. Logan's healing ability has slowed and his body has aged; he spends his days drinking and working as a limo driver in El Paso, Texas. In an abandoned smelting plant in Northern Mexico, he and mutant tracker Caliban care for Charles Xavier/Professor X; Charles suffers from a brain disease that causes him to lose control of his telepathic abilities, with destructive effects.

Logan is approached by Gabriela Lopez, a former nurse from a biotechnological corporation, Alkali-Transigen, who asks him to escort her and an 11-year-old girl, Laura Kinney, to Eden, a refuge in North Dakota. Logan reluctantly accepts, but finds Gabriela dead before he can take them there. At his hideout, Logan is confronted by Gabriela's killer, Transigen's cyborg chief of security, Donald Pierce, who is looking for Laura. Laura has stowed away in Logan's limo, and has powers similar to Logan's. She, Logan and Charles escape Pierce and his enforcers, the Reavers, but Caliban is captured.

Logan and Charles learn from Gabriela's cellphone that Laura is one of several mutant children that Transigen created from mutant DNA samples for use as weapons. After they proved difficult to control, Gabriela and the nurses helped children escape euthanasia; Laura, who was created from Logan's DNA, became separated when she was smuggled into the United States.

At a hotel in Oklahoma City, Logan discovers that Eden appears in an X-Men comic in Laura's possession, and assumes it is fictional. The Reavers arrive, but Charles, appearing to have a seizure, incapacitates everyone in the hotel. Logan kills the attackers, injects Charles with a suppressant, and escapes. Dr. Zander Rice, head of Transigen, convinces Caliban that they will not harm Logan and Charles if Caliban helps them find Laura.

Logan, Laura, and Charles help a farming family, the Munsons, after a traffic incident, and accept an offer of dinner at their home. Logan sees off enforcers from a corporate farm harassing the family patriarch, Will. X-24, a feral clone of Logan, murders Charles and Will's family, stabs Will, and captures Laura. Caliban sets off grenades to destroy the Transigen van in which he is held captive, killing himself and several Reavers and injuring Pierce. Logan engages X-24, but is outmatched. Will impales X-24 on farm equipment using his truck, but dies from his injuries. Logan and Laura escape with Charles's body.

After burying Charles, Logan passes out from rage and exhaustion. After Laura takes Logan to a doctor to do a check up after they left she convinces him to complete the journey. They arrive at Eden, a camp run by Rictor and the other escaped Transigen test subjects. Laura discovers an adamantium bullet Logan has kept since his escape from Weapon X and plans to use to commit suicide. Logan learns that the children plan to journey to Canada, and decides to separate from them, to Laura's dismay.

The children are captured by the Reavers. Logan takes an overdose of serum given to him by Rictor that increases his physical abilities and restores his healing ability. He slaughters most of the Reavers and rescues Laura, but the serum wears off. As Pierce holds Rictor at gunpoint, Rice tells Logan, who killed Rice's father years ago while escaping from Weapon X, that the decline of mutants is due to a Transigen virus that Rice created and distributed. Logan shoots Rice dead and attacks Pierce by making him lose his robotic arm. A regenerated X-24, enraged by Rice's death, engages Logan. With their guards distracted, the children kill the Reavers and Pierce. Rictor uses his seismic powers to flip a truck onto X-24. X-24 impales Logan on a tree branch, but Laura shoots the adamantium bullet into his head, killing him. Severely wounded, Logan tells Laura to not be the weapon she was made to be. Laura finally addresses him as her father and Logan dies peacefully in her arms. The children hold a burial and Laura turns the cross on Logan's grave to its side to create an X before they continue their journey.

Cast

Stewart later retracted this sentiment while promoting the film on the Late Late Show with James Corden; after Legion star Dan Stevens personally offered him an invitation to appear on the show, to which Stewart replied he was "Absolutely 100%" willing to reprise the role under such circumstances.

Additionally, Eriq La Salle, Elise Neal and Elizabeth Rodriguez appear as Will Munson, Kathryn Munson, and Gabriela Lopez. Doris Morgado, David Kallaway, Han Soto, Jayson Genao, Krzysztof Soszynski and Alison Fernandez appear as Maria, Danny Rhodes, Valet, Rictor, Mohawk, and Delilah, respectively. In the commentary to X-Men: Apocalypse, director Bryan Singer had stated that his film's post-credits scene would directly connect with the on-screen debut of X-Men antagonist Nathaniel Essex / Mister Sinister in Logan; however, in January 2017, Mangold stated that the character would not appear in this film, a choice he made to keep the film's grounded style consistent. Though Mister Sinister does not appear in the film, Kinberg confirmed the scene has correlation to how Laura was created, and that he will make an appearance in a future X-Men movie.

Development

In November 2013, 20th Century Fox began negotiations for another solo film starring Wolverine, with James Mangold in negotiations to write the treatment for the film, and Lauren Shuler Donner returning to produce under The Donners' Company. At the time, Hugh Jackman neither confirmed nor denied whether he had officially signed on to reprise the role of Logan in another film, though Jackman insisted that his lapsing contract with Fox, which reportedly would need to be renegotiated after X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), did not mean he would leave the franchise, as he had been working movie-by-movie since X2 (2003). He also stated, "I do want to do it with Jim and with [producer] Lauren Shuler-Donner because we had such a great experience. I'm really proud of The Wolverine (2013)." Later in the month, Mangold announced that the pre-production aspect of the film had not begun as of yet, nor the writing process, though he furthered this by stating, "...I would say I'm not there yet. But I have taken finger to key. Let's say that. There's been typing. And ideas. And talking amongst all the principals."

Shortly after the release of The Wolverine, Mangold spoke of a potential sequel with the aim of not converting it into a "Will the world survive?" film, while also stressing his need "... not to make the same picture again." Mangold also mentioned some of the potential development structure that he might employ, while addressing issues of character-centricity: "I think the key thing for me, you heard me talking about how I construct scripts, is just figuring out the key relationships and just what it’s about, what theme the whole thing is going to be about. I've got a good angle on it, but I'm not ready to talk about it yet!" In December 2013, Jackman spoke of nearing the end of his tenure as the character, while stating that the film was in the very early stages of development. Jackman also revealed that Mangold and he had begun speaking of potential ideas, adding, "... Jim Mangold and I were literally on the phone last night talking about ideas but there is no script and no writer yet so it's a way off." Mangold would later reveal that Jackman was very involved in developing the story, saying, "Hugh and I have been friends for almost twenty years now, and he was there every step of the way. For Hugh and I, the first goal was to construct something more intimate. Hugh often brought up The Wrestler and Unforgiven as examples. I used those references as well as others. I pitched to both Hugh and the studio that I had an idea for an extremely bloody, existential Little Miss Sunshine."

By March 2014, a decision was made to begin shooting after Bryan Singer's X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), with the tentative plan to shoot the films back-to-back, with producer Hutch Parker stating, "... the goal will be X-Men: Apocalypse for 2016, which means at the latest [filming begins] in summer 2015, and then the same thing with Wolverine, either before or after, but based on the script." Also in March, 20th Century Fox set a release date of March 3, 2017, Mangold boarded the project as director, Jackman signed on to reprise his role, and David James Kelly was hired to pen the screenplay. In April 2014, Jackman spoke about his ambitious feelings for the character of Logan, while mentioning that they can go further than what they achieved in The Wolverine. Jackman also expressed his feelings of finality with portraying the character of Logan, while in terms of storyline, he explained that nothing had been decided as of yet. Jackman concluded by highlighting that the success of the script development would determine whether Jackman would return at all: "I haven't signed on. I'm genuinely at that point where unless it's better than the last one I'm not going to do it. I think it has to be better. I can still see where we can improve on the last one. I love the intimacy of that story, I liked the small stuff, I liked that it was a little unexpected."

In February 2015, Patrick Stewart spoke of discussions about the third Wolverine film, centering around a team-up between Jackman's Wolverine and himself as Charles Xavier, with Stewart stating to Marc Mohan that "... we have been talking about a Wolverine movie, which would team Hugh Jackman and myself together ... That would be a very different sort of X-Men from the four movies that I've already done." By April 2015, Michael Green had taken over screenwriting duties, with Mangold still actively overseeing the script development process. In September 2015, Jackman spoke of the writers being halfway through the script, and that the story would delve into the relationship between Wolverine and Professor X, to which he added, "I think it's a really important relationship but I want to see signs of that quasi-father/son sort of relationship that has not been seen before, and sides of particularly Professor X that have not been seen before." Jackman spoke of Mangold's plan to start filming the next year, though he expressed uncertainty as to filming locations. Also in September, Mark Millar, creative consultant for Fox, confirmed that Mangold's film would be a loose adaptation of the Old Man Logan story, something that was hinted at earlier by Jackman. In October 2016, the title of the film was announced as Logan.

In January 2016, Jackman confirmed that Mangold had a full screenplay, albeit not complete. The following month, Liev Schreiber expressed interest in returning to portray Victor Creed / Sabretooth, with Jackman himself mentioning Mangold's vision to Schreiber. After the film's release, it was revealed by Jackman that originally the script had the character play a role in the film, but that Sabretooth was excluded from the final screenplay. By April 2016, Mangold had chosen Boyd Holbrook to portray the main antagonist of the movie, the chief of security for a global corporation that is pursuing Wolverine. Also by April, Richard E. Grant was cast as a villainous mad scientist, and Stephen Merchant had also been cast. In May, Eriq Lasalle and Elise Neal were cast supporting roles, and Elizabeth Rodriguez entered negotiations for a small but key role. Also in May, producer Simon Kinberg revealed that filming had already begun, and confirmed that the movie would be R-rated; regarding the setting and tonality, he stated, "It takes place in the future, and as you and others have reported, it is an R-rated movie. It's violent, it’s kind of like a western in its tone. It’s just a very cool, different film."

Filming

In March 2015, Mangold anticipated that filming would begin "early next year." Prior to filming, the film was given the working title of Juarez to lower the visibility of the production. By March 2016, Mangold was preparing to shoot in New Orleans, Louisiana, with a starting schedule of May. Producers Kinberg, Shuler Donner, and Parker chose to film in Louisiana because of its popularity as a filmmaking location, as well as its filming incentive, which includes a 40% tax credit for movie productions, but requires a minimum spend of $300,000.

Principal photography began in New Orleans, Louisiana on May 2, 2016, although it was originally scheduled to start shooting on April 25, 2016. Other filming locations in Louisiana included the NASA Michoud Plant in New Orleans East, Amite City, Husser, the Greenlawn Cemetery in Hammond, Metairie, and the Ferriday Plaza Shopping Center. Exterior scenes were filmed along Louisiana Highway 15. A crash scene was shot on U.S. Route 425, just outside of Ferriday, Louisiana. Producers Kinberg, Shuler Donner and Parker chose to film in Ferriday because of Concordia Parish's beautiful countryside and green cornfields. Scenes were also shot at Sicily Island High School and a house in Sicily Island.

From June 14 to 28, 2016, production was scheduled to take place in Natchez, Mississippi, to film a scene that required the casting of truck drivers. On July 12, 2016, production moved to its third major filming location – New Mexico – which ran through August in Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Abiquiú, Tierra Amarilla and Chama. According to the New Mexico Film Office, production employed about 130 New Mexican crew members and two New Mexican cast members, as well as 600 extras. Scenes were shot at the Northern Meadows neighborhood of Rio Rancho, while a few miles further down King Boulevard, an elaborate set was built with a toppled water tower that was used for exterior shots. Principal photography concluded in New Mexico on August 13, 2016.

Post-production

Post-production began subsequent to filming closure on August 23, 2016. Film editor Michael McCusker described the process of going through dailies and breaking them down, and figuring out the structure of one scene as being "complicated". McCusker stated that the task was time consuming on the front end, but added, "I am looking at the back end experience with [Mangold] as the more important experience. I don't want to be searching for stuff for him, I want to working towards getting the cut right."

Chas Jarrett was the overall visual effects supervisor and visual effects company Image Engine worked on most of the visual effects on Logan.

Music

In July 2016, Cliff Martinez was announced as the composer of Logan's musical score. However, in December 2016, Mangold announced that Marco Beltrami, who had previously collaborated with Mangold on 3:10 to Yuma (2007) and The Wolverine (2013), would score Logan instead. It has 25 tracks and 1 trailer track.

All music composed by Marco Beltrami.

Total Album Length: 57:31

Influences

Director James Mangold has said that Logan's influences included "visual reference points" of cinema, citing Shane (1953), The Cowboys (1972), Paper Moon (1973), The Gauntlet (1977), Little Miss Sunshine (2006), and The Wrestler (2008).

Mangold spoke of cinematography-based framing, while noting that he does not necessarily think about the "comic-book" related sort, instead highlighting the variety of stylistic influences that went into Logan. These influences include film noir framings and classic Hollywood filmmaking styles, as well as the Germanic expressionist filmmaking style of the early part of the last century, which Mangold stated has a commonality with comic-book art. Mangold highlighted "Strong foregrounds, playing things in depth: you have to make an image say more within that one image."

Using the image of Logan at a funeral as an example of his stylistic logic, Mangold concluded by mentioning the aspects within modern filmmaking, primarily everything in close-up format. For Logan, his aim was to set frames that are descriptive, and evocative of comic-book panels and classical filmmaking.

Release

Logan premiered at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival on February 17, 2017, in Berlin, Germany, where it was selected to be screened out of competition alongside The Bar, Final Portrait, Midwife, T2 Trainspotting, and Viceroy's House, before screening in the United States, where it was given a wide release on March 3, 2017. In October 2015, Fox confirmed that Logan would be released in the IMAX format. In the U.S., Canada and UK, the film was preceded by a short film, Deadpool: No Good Deed. In it, Deadpool notices a man getting robbed, and springs into action – but first has to change into his costume in a phone booth. As he is finishing up, the man is shot; the short film ends with Deadpool commenting on the strangeness of the phone booth's presence, and eating the man's ice cream. The teaser met with positive reviews. Ryan Reynolds posted an extended version of the teaser via his YouTube channel the day after the film's release.

One Last Time promotion

Prior to the confirmation that the then-untitled Logan would be his final appearance in the X-Men film franchise, Jackman initially denied such rumors. Jackman stated that he was inspired by Michael Keaton's performance in Birdman, and wished to portray the character of Wolverine until his death. In July 2015, Jackman posted an image of Logan giving the middle finger with a claw to his Twitter. The image, coupled with the hashtag "#OneLastTime", signified that the film would be his last appearance as Logan, and officially announced his decision to stop playing the character he had been portraying for the past 17 years.

During an appearance on The Dr. Oz Show in May 2015, Jackman clarified the confusion over the conflicting sentiments, by stating bluntly that the film would be his final portrayal as the character; he said, "This will be my last one, it is my last time. It just felt like it was the right time to do it, and let's be honest, 17 years. I never thought in a million years it would last, so I'm so grateful to the fans for the opportunity of playing it. I kind of have in my head what we're going to do in this last one. It just feels like this is the perfect way to go out." Jackman has also explained that Jerry Seinfeld has convinced him to quit the role stating, "He said to me, when you're creating something it's very important not to run yourself dry. It's not about finishing on top, necessarily, but making sure you're, creatively, still got something left, which propels you into the whatever's next."

In December 2016, Ryan Reynolds revealed that he had been trying to convince Jackman to re-sign for a Wolverine and Deadpool crossover film. Urging fans to campaign online, he stated, "I want Deadpool and Wolverine in a movie together. What we're gonna have to do is convince Hugh. If anything, I'm going to need to do what I can to get my internet friends back on board to help rally another cause down the line. Hugh Jackman is one of the best human beings. Part of the reason I want to do a Deadpool/Wolverine movie is not just because I think the two would light the screen on fire but I genuinely love the guy." In January 2017, Reynolds and Jackman spoke about the proposed project; Jackman stated, "I'm hesitating, because I could totally see how that's the perfect fit. But the timing may be wrong." Jackman later stated that he would not reprise the role for a team-up film, specifying, "No, and Ryan is currently sleeping outside my house. [Laughs] Look, if that movie had appeared 10 years ago, probably a different story, but I knew two and a half years ago that this was the last one. The first call I made was to [director James Mangold]. I said, 'Jim, I got one more shot at this,' and as soon as Jim came up with the idea and we worked on it, I was never more excited. But, it feels like the right time. Deadpool, go for it man, do your thing. You don't need me."

Jackman did, however, state that he would be willing to keep playing Wolverine had the character been brought into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, presumably in a deal akin to that Marvel Studios made with Sony to utilize the character of Spider-Man. Jackman elaborated, "If that was on the table when I made my decision, it certainly would have made me pause. That's for sure. Because I always love the idea of him within that dynamic, with the Hulk obviously, with Iron Man but there's a lot of smarter people with MBAs who can't figure that out. You never know. At the moment, honestly, if I really did have them there, I probably wouldn't have said this is the last. It just feels like this is the right time [to leave the character]."

Marketing

In April 2016, Fox decided not to showcase its upcoming movie releases, including Logan, at Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con, as the studio felt it could not prevent the piracy of custom trailers and exclusive footage routinely screened for fans in attendance.

On October 20, 2016, 20th Century Fox released a 90-second teaser trailer to promote Logan, following a six-second sneak peek the prior day. Later that day, 20th Century Fox released an international red band version of the trailer, featuring slightly more graphic violence than the original. Empire Magazine chose the trailer as the best trailer of the year. The Hollywood Reporter's Aaron Couch praised the trailer, and stated, "If Logan delivers on the promise of this trailer, it will be a true rarity in modern superhero movie making." James Dyer of Empire heralded the trailer and its director, James Mangold, by stating: "We've had a veritable feast of great trailers ... from John Wick to Rogue One, Assassin's Creed and A Cure for Wellness. But none ..., no matter how impressive, have been quite so artfully constructed as this glorious first look at [Mangold]'s Logan." Forrest Wickman of Slate called the trailer "surprisingly mournful".

Home media

Logan was made available on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K on May 23, 2017, and was released on Digital HD on May 16, 2017.

Logan Noir

On April 29, 2017, James Mangold announced via Twitter that a special black-and-white version of the film entitled Logan Noir would have a limited theatrical run in U.S. theaters, an event set to begin on May 16, 2017. This version of the film is included on the Digital HD release and also included in the DVD and Blu-ray Combo Pack.

Box office

Logan grossed $226.3 million in the United States and Canada and $389.9 million in other territories for a worldwide gross of $616.2 million, against a production budget of $97 million. Worldwide, the film had a global debut of $247.4 million from 82 markets, the biggest of 2017 and the fifth-biggest ever for Fox, as well as the second biggest R-rated IMAX debut, with $20.6 million from 1,068 screens. The film grossed $440.9 million in its first 13 days of release, surpassing the entire theatrical gross of The Wolverine ($414.8 million).

North America

Predictions for its opening in North America were continuously revised upwards, from $55 million to as high as $80 million, with box office pundits noting that the figures could climb even higher. Fox, however, was more conservative with its estimations, predicting an opening in the mid $60 million range. Logan received a record breaking release across 4,071 theaters, the widest for an R-rated film (breaking American Sniper's 3,888 theater count). It is also the widest R-rated IMAX release, across 381 IMAX theaters. 580 theatres were premium large format screens. Two days before the film's release, ticket selling site Fandango reported that the film was outpacing all previous X-Men movies (except Deadpool) at the same point in their sales cycle.

Logan earned $9.5 million from Thursday night previews, which began at 7 pm. This marked the second biggest previews in the X-Men franchise, behind only Deadpool's $12.7 million. On its opening day, the film scored the biggest R-rated March opening, with $33.1 million (breaking 300's record), as well as the third biggest R-rated debut after Deadpool ($47.3 million) and The Matrix Reloaded ($37.5 million). Earning a total of $88.4 million during its opening weekend, the film scored the biggest Wolverine movie opening, the biggest R-rated March opening, the fourth biggest March opening, the fifth-largest X-Men opening, and the fifth biggest R-rated opening overall (ninth in terms of inflation adjusted). It is also the biggest R-rated opening weekend that did not take place on a holiday. Approximately 8.2% of the total ticket sales came from Canada, with premium large formats comprising $12.3 million (15%) from 558 screens, and IMAX comprising $10 million (12%) of the film's total opening weekend.

Males comprised a bulk of the audience demographic during its opening weekend, with 63%, while females comprised 37%, with 83% of the audience being between 18 and 44 years of age. Critics noted that the R rating – the second ever for the X-Men franchise – could be a hindering factor in the film's mass appeal. However, by the time of its release, the film was acclaimed by critics and raved by audiences. Good reviews, anticipation from fans, as well as lack of competition were highlighted behind the film's robust opening. According to a poll conducted by Fandango during its opening weekend, 71% of moviegoers said that more superhero films should be rated R, while 86% were interested in seeing a more violent, adult X-Men film that weekend. Furthermore, 96% said they were excited to see Hugh Jackman, 94% were intrigued to see Patrick Stewart reprising his role as Professor X, and 76% were interested in watching newcomer Dafne Keen. In its second weekend, the film dropped 56.9%, grossing $38.1 million and finishing second at the box office behind newcomer Kong: Skull Island ($61 million). In its third weekend it made $17.8 million, finishing in third behind Beauty and the Beast ($174.8 million) and Kong: Skull Island ($27.8 million). In its fourth weekend it made $10.1 million, dropping 43.1% from the previous week and finishing 5th at the box office.

Outside North America

Outside North America, Logan was projected to open as high as $105 million. In North America, though, forecasters believed that it could post an even higher opening if it were to overperform in major markets—most notably China. It opened day-and-date in almost every major market except Japan, where Doraemon the Movie 2017 was released. Fox ultimately decided to postpone the film's release there in order to avoid competition. Through Sunday, the film exceeded expectations and posted a five-day opening worth $152.5 million from 81 markets. This is Fox International's third biggest launch of all time, behind X-Men: Days of Future Past ($172 million) and Avatar ($164 million). It debuted at No. 1 in 80 markets. It broke the record for the biggest R-rated IMAX release ever and the biggest 2D IMAX opening, with $10.6 million on 687 screens.

Mainland China is the movie's best grossing foreign market, contributing $106 million in box office. The film became the first ever film – both local and foreign – required by a new Film Promotion Law, which went into effect on March 1, 2017, to feature an age-restriction warning in its marketing material. Nevertheless, the film is still trimmed by 14 minutes, totaling 123 minutes. It is very likely that the move was due to usual censorship by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, because of the violence depicted. Despite such restrictions, the film managed to debut with a better-than-expected $48.9 million, including previews, according to data from Ent Group (Fox reported $46.3 million). This marked the second biggest X-Men opening in the country, trailing behind only Apocalypse. Tracking showed that the film opened with 85,000 screenings on Friday, which increased to about 95,000 on Saturday and Sunday, from a 9.98 million attendance. Included within that total was $4.4 million from 388 IMAX screens.

In Brazil, it recorded the biggest opening for Fox, and the seventh biggest opening overall, with $8.2 million. The top openings were in China ($46.3 million), the U.K. ($11.4 million), Korea ($8.2 million), and Russia ($7.1 million). In India, the film debuted with an estimated 17 crore ($2.5 million) net, equating to a gross of $3.4 million, on 1,400 screens. According to Fox, that was the highest debut for any X-Men title in the territory, marginally ahead of X-Men: Apocalypse. While the debut was not enough to break any significant records, it ranked as the second biggest opening weekend for a Hollywood release in the January–March quarter, behind Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 93% based on 312 reviews, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Hugh Jackman makes the most of his final outing as Wolverine with a gritty, nuanced performance in a violent but surprisingly thoughtful superhero action film that defies genre conventions." Metacritic, another review aggregator, assigned the film a weighted average score of 77 out of 100, based on 51 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. Some reviewers noted Logan as one of the greatest superhero films of all-time.

Scott Collura of IGN gave Logan a score of 9.7/10, and called the film, "an emotional, heavy picture, but it’s also an uplifting one that reminds us that it’s okay to fight for something more, something better," and "perhaps the best X-Men movie yet." A.A. Dowd of The A.V. Club gave the film an 'A-', and said "[the film] manages to deliver the visceral goods, all the hardcore Wolverine action its fans could desire, while still functioning as a surprisingly thoughtful, even poignant drama—a terrific movie, no 'comic-book' qualifier required." Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a 'B-', and called it "both the most violent film in the series and the most sentimental one. When it's not showering you in blood, it's trying to make you spill tears." Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter reacted positively, saying: "Seamlessly melding Marvel mythology with Western mythology, [director] James Mangold has crafted an affectingly stripped-down standalone feature, one that draws its strength from Hugh Jackman's nuanced turn as a reluctant, all but dissipated hero."

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave it 4/5, stating "It is more like a survivalist thriller than a superhero film, and signals its wintry quality with the title itself" and compared Wolverine's hitting of his truck during the film to Basil Fawlty from Fawlty Towers. James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave it 3.5/4 and said, "In terms of tone and content, Logan is Deadpool's polar opposite but both productions refuse to play by traditional superhero movie rules ... With his glimpse into what superhero movies can be, James Mangold has given us something sadly lacking in recent genre entries: hope." Kyle Smith of the New York Post also gave the film 3.5/4 and said "the film recognizes that superhero movies such as last year’s forgettable X-Men: Apocalypse have become meaningless spectacle ... I'd rank it beside X-Men: Days of Future Past among the best X-Men entries." Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com stated, "Logan has stakes that feel real, and fight choreography that’s fluid and gorgeous instead of just computer-generated effects. Most importantly, Logan has characters with which you identify and about whom you care. It's not just 'great for a superhero movie,' it's a great movie for any genre."

Brian Truitt of USA Today said, "Easily the best Wolverine outing, Logan is [the] Dark Knight of the mutant-filled X-franchise, a gripping film that transcends the comic-book genre by saying something important." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film 3.5/4, and called it "a hard-ass, R-rated rager that explodes with action". Amy Nicholson of MTV called it "a phenomenal, throat-slashing, gut-stabbing superhero movie". Germain Lussier of io9 said, "Logan is beautiful, sophisticated, and still a kick-ass superhero film". Michael Roffman of Consequence of Sound called the film "A game-changing masterpiece." Matt Donato of We Got This Covered said, "It’s not just one of the best superhero movies ever, it’s a damn-fine cinematic representation of the human condition in all its agonizing forms." Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal said, "It's the best superhero film to come out of the comic-book world, and I’m not forgetting Christopher Nolan’s 'The Dark Knight'." Jackman's acting as Wolverine has been lauded with wide acclaim and his performance topped The Hollywood Reporter's Greatest Superhero Movie Performances of All Time list.

On the other hand, Anthony Lane of The New Yorker reacted negatively, saying "If ever there was a time to hang up [Hugh Jackman]'s claws, that time is now." Mara Reinstein of Us Weekly gave the film 2.5/4 and specified, in a lukewarm review, that "[T]he film loses its way during the 20-minutes-too-long journey. For all the breathless talk about how Logan transcends the superhero genre, there’s nothing groundbreaking about a road trip movie in which adults try to elude the bad guys to protect a super-special child." Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 2/4 and said, "Logan is deadly serious, and while its gamer-style killing sprees are meant to be excitingly brutal, I found them numbing and, in the climax, borderline offensive." Stephanie Zacharek of Time magazine said, "The grim side of human nature is all over James Mangold's Logan. But that doesn't necessarily make it a good movie."

Future

During production of the film, Jackman and Ryan Reynolds have both spoken about the possibility of a Wolverine and Deadpool crossover in the Deadpool sequel, despite the fact that Logan was meant to be Jackman's final appearance as Wolverine. In February 2017, Jackman said that he had made up his mind and would not be appearing in a Deadpool sequel. His reasoning was that he felt Logan had the perfect ending to Wolverine's story arc. Although Patrick Stewart had stated that Logan would be the final time he played the role of Professor X, he later stated that he would be willing to return to the role in Deadpool 2 or the Legion TV series.

Mangold stated that with the introduction of Laura / X-23 into the X-Men film universe, he would like to see the character appear in future films, and would want to be involved should that happen. Simon Kinberg, producer of the X-Men film universe, later stated that the studio had plans for future movies that would be revealed soon, and that there might be another film featuring X-23 in the future.