Now I’m mad again…. but first I need a nap and a blanket. Damn I’m old….

It’s been a long time since we last looked at Fox’s take on the Marvel universe, actually looking it up, it was 2016’s Deadpool which last fell under my watchful review eye. X Men Apocalypse came and mehed, and in the meantime, Marvel and Sony themselves seem to be heading for completely dominating the comic book genre for the rest of the year. But earlier this year, Fox released something which frankly astonished in quite a number of ways.

It was another X-Men film, but good. Really good. As in contender for one of the best if not the best X-Men film made during Fox’s ownership of the film rights to the characters. Quite a way to start the review of Logan, isn’t it?

So how is this worthy of such praise?

Well let’s set the scene first. It’s been a couple of decades that have passed as we come into the story here, as Logan (for the final time by all accounts, played by the Huge Hugh Jackson) has fallen on hard times. I mean really hard times, as the superhero has gotten older, slower, and drinks himself stupid on a hourly basis. Gone are the glory days of saving humanity. Now all he is now, is a limo driver. During one of his jobs, we get to see some boobies during a night out by a hen party. WOO for the boobies! We’re adult now!

Mutants are dying out and now, all he’s working towards is buying a boat for himself and a very old and ailing Charles Xavier (played just fantastically well by Patrick Stewart) who has been deemed a weapon of mass destruction due to the fact his mind is failing and without medication, would cause a bit of bother to a huge number of people.

What starts to unravel afterwards is that Logan is called to a motel by a nurse who wants him to help her and her small child to get to Canada as they are being chased by naughty people. He declines but shows up later, and finds that the nurse was killed. Off he goes to collect the professor to escape and this is where the little child called Laura or X-23 turns up (played by Dafne Keen).

Turns out though…. she’s rather angry and happens to have all of Logan’s abilities, including the cutlery that comes out of his hands. She’s got a couple less but still will kill any mother lover that comes to get her. Cue the bad guys making themselves known and we start a roadtrip adventure to get Laura to safety (Eden or something like that, she’s read it in a comic book about the X-Men!)

For f**k’s sake, I smell like death…. and I need the toilet. F*cking bladder.

As the film goes on, there are just some wonderful scenes which are standout fantastic. The flashbacks to how Laura escaped the bad guys give more than enough background without overstaying their welcome. The fight scenes within Logan are way more bloody than before, simply because they have a 15 rating. Thanks to Deadpool, it seems that the producers and writers decided “F**k it” and just throw in blood flying everywhere and a hell of a lot of f**king swearing. Trust me, in the first few minutes you know it’s not going to be a 12A rated film.

However, once it’s settled down, it’s actually a really good story, with frankly some of the best chracter development scenes I’ve ever witnessed within the X-Men series. Patrick Stewart is just outstanding as the aged Professor who is semi lucid at times. He’s also at times very funny and it’s amazing to see the difference, the vulnerability on show here.

The little Wolverine girl, Laura, played by Dafne Keen also yielded some surprises herself through the film and actually, was a welcome addition to the cast. She also is silent for quite a lot of the film and this really works well. Other characters which show up (including Richard E Grant, I kid you not) also give a decent go at things. The action was pretty damned good, the setting and lower key story really helped to make it more interesting and personal. The conversation between people was really good at times, and it was great to see real chemistry between Stewart and Jackman.

There are parts of this film which will leave you shocked, without giving too much away. The wonderful addition of X-Men comics existing in the X-Men films was a wonderful silly touch and it was funny to see Logan remark on them at one point. A couple of scenes were a little confusing, like how driverless trucks would never slow down for objects in the road. Methinks the old Google would have fixed an issue like that in the 2030s!

But overall, I highly recommend this without question. It was a great action roadtrip film, with great chracter arc development, some really great moments and honestly the ending will not leave you disappointed. You even get a trailer for Deadpool 2 during the end credits! Go see it it if you still can in the cinema, or failing that, wait a couple of months for the DVD as it really is worth the time and money. Excellent way for Hugh Jackson and Patrick Stewart to leave the franchise.