Logan shreds the box office

Clawing through the strenuous struggle for survival and the momentary glimpse of a possible future, the tenth installment of the X-Men series “Logan” was released on March 3.   

The story begins in the year 2029, an age where mutants are on the brink of extinction, and no new mutants have been born within the past 25 years. With his regenerative abilities degrading, James “Logan” Howlett (Hugh Jackman) spends his days in Texas working as a chauffeur, maintaining a cover for his identity and background, while returning frequently to his base: a dilapidated smelting facility across the border of Mexico.

Occupied by him and an albino mutant-tracker named Caliban (Stephen Merchant), the two care for the ailing Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), whose condition has rendered him incapable of controlling his telepathic abilities. While trying to maintain a low profile, Logan is approached by a woman named Gabriela (Elizabeth Rodriguez), a nurse for the biotechnology company Alkali Transigen. Pleading with him to escort her and 11-year-old Laura (Dafne Keen) to the elusive sanctuary of “Eden” in North Dakota, Logan eventually finds himself within a situation that tests the limits of his faltering strength and his responsibilities to those he holds dear.  

Unlike the typical portrayal of Wolverine, “Logan” boasts a plot that evolves from the palpable strain and heartbreak the characters experience throughout. Still adhering to the action-thriller aspect Marvel fans are accustomed to, the film puts itself within its own category due to the seamlessly woven depicting the strenuous hardships and plausible beginnings the storyline is based around. The plot strives to render the sensation of both excitement and pity in the sullen facets of Logan’s life that gradually come to fruition. The storyline aims more for sincerity and less for exacting the thrill of watching Wolverine decimate every individual that crosses his path.

Revealing the history of the characters and amalgamating them in the same sphere of agony and hope, the plot succeeds in creating a flawless representation of the mutants’ lives within a world that endeavors towards their complete extinction. As not just another hack-and-slash motion picture, the movie ascends to a higher level than its predecessors, merging the struggles of one man’s present tribulations and weakening resilience to survive. Succeeding in creating the visage of loss, pain and action, “Logan” is a phenomenal finale to the story of a complex character and his overarching conflicts.

Supported by its extraordinary storyline, the acting complements the movie astonishingly. Returning as the immensely wild Wolverine from previous films, Jackman brings forth the immense vulnerability present for one of the very few moments in the character’s history. Containing the intricate dimensions of an ex-hero turned frail survivor, succumbing to the effects of alcoholism and ill-temperament, the portrayal of Logan transcends through the tangible dejection and anguish he endures.

Stewart’s exhibition of the aged and afflicted telepath, whose aspirations still harken towards the possible future for mutants, depicts the motion picture’s faining sense of hope. Alongside Keen’s representation of the vicious child mutant, the acting creates the unified element of each character and the trials that ensnare their lives.

In its entirety, “Logan” provides moviegoers with an experience suffused in the numbing trials and internal conflicts of a hero and his final mission as he is left to erode in a remorseless dystopian world. Supported by the overarching seriousness, the underlying tones of a miniscule prospect within a dismal situation complements the plot perfectly. While still complying to the usual action-packet motifs that are central to Marvel movies, “Logan” distinguishes itself through its own mutant form of humanity and heartache from the lives of dejected heroes in a vicious world.