An examination for the poignant in Logan

Hugh Jackman as Logan

Some Major Spoilers Ahead

    This is especially for the men...

    A few weeks ago, I had a friendly disagreement with someone on Facebook about how good Logan is. He was clearly a Wolverine fan and he said the movie takes itself too seriously as another story rehash of “omg Logan isn’t healing.” I admit I’m not a fan of the source material the way he is. I didn’t really like the last two solo movies and I expected this one to fail. But I’m really excited about this one.

   In Logan, the challenges are grounded in a way that puts the character under a strain we’ve never seen before (at least onscreen). Logan appears on the scene with a grown out beard. He’s taken a job now as a chauffeur in Texas. The facial hair is a way to avoid being recognized. It becomes mourning. An unexplained horror took place years before with the X-Men in Westchester and now his goal is to quietly save enough money to retire out at sea. Part of his daily routine is to visit a contact at the hospital that does him a favor by giving him medication. He comes home to a downed, hollowed out water tank where he keeps Professor Charles Xavier as comfortable and as hidden as possible-- now a fallen, sometime profanity-spewing shell-of-a-man to heartbreaking effect. Logan has to give him shots daily. If he doesn’t, Charles can have a bad seizure and inadvertently send out telepathic blasts that paralyze- and potentially kill- anyone within the surrounding area. Logan copes now with a failing healing factor that has caused him to age naturally. Somehow, the adamantium that coats his bones is poisoning him. One of his claws does not extract evenly. He soothes himself with alcohol and the small security of an adamantium bullet he keeps in his pocket.

   And then… his cover is blown when news reports come in of several mutilated thugs discovered on the road the night before. Some bad men tried to jack his car and wouldn’t listen when he tried to talk them down. He is then sought out by a woman linked to a secret government operation for the breeding and experimentation of new mutants. He tries hard to discourage her away. Adding to his irritation, he is located by Donald Pierce who is after the woman. And then a mysterious little mutant girl named Laura who shares attributes with Logan is introduced to him by Charles.

Patrick Stewart (in wheelchair) as Charles Xavier

   The carnage in the movie is plentiful. But that’s not what makes the movie exhilarating for me. I’ve never been too impressed with Wolverine in the comic book because he's really this mean-spirited thug. The positive for this is that it’s always been a great dynamic when you put him in the company of other Marvel characters. But in my opinion, Hugh Jackman has made him more accessible. I recall a scene in a comic book where Captain America and Wolverine were in a private chat on a plane. Cap was putting Logan in check. Wolverine lunged at Cap enraged. I mean, he was going to kill Cap. Cap gets the upper hand in the fight and knocks Logan out of the plane. The sight of Wolverine landing on his back in the arctic was one to gladden the heart! However Logan actually makes him a more interesting character. The R-rated violence and language for the movie only aligns in harmony with the story. No small feat. I was initially disappointed to hear Charles cursing, but I settled into the understanding that this was part of his decline and not something to glory in. It’s safe to say that being in isolation with Logan would rub off in that way.

"It's not a choo-choo..." - Logan to Charles

   Charles Xavier is reeling from having his vision seemingly crushed. He set out to help young mutants find safe shelter, and he provided a sense of family and education. He taught them to love by using their powers to protect people that hated them. He opposed his old friend but never gave up hope in appealing to his conscience (I couldn’t help but wonder what happened to Magneto). Now, this massive failure should build a very strong case to discredit him in front of the whole world. Isn’t that in large part why Logan fled to the Southwest and hid Charles? But we see a spark of life in Charles when he comes in contact with Laura. He sobers up. He’s excited at being a mentor again. He offers her cornflakes because there’re no cookies. His heart is aflutter. The purpose of his life was always to nurture young mutants. Charles Xavier remains the greatest of all characters in Marvel's mutant mythology because his purpose was to love and even after falling into a kind of ruin, he doesn‘t lose that. And Logan is like a good son who sacrifices what he wants to care for his “incapacitated father“. Of course, expert film-making makes that easy to sit through. We don’t see the worst interactions between scenes. But talk to anyone who looks after their ailing, bedridden loved one. Or rather, volunteer to help. Or watch for a couple of days as they clean up fecal matter. There’s zero glamour in it. It is taxing. But there lay a great nobility in it that finds a weight in heaven that no man can measure.  

   Speaking of R-rated movies. This isn’t Deadpool. One of the points made by the fan I disagreed with was that Deadpool was superior to Logan. I beg to differ. Deadpool is an irreverent and gross assassin. A colorful character, sure and that’s okay in the world of fiction. But the maturity of Logan elevates it. I’ve highlighted the suffering of these characters in part to show how it translates into an intimacy that is found in the family unit-- the troubles between people you are knit to who can draw out the worst. There’s nothing gratuitous about this film. It’s a moving and outstanding piece of story-telling that raises superhero fare the same way The Dark Knight or …Winter Soldier succeeds in doing.

The Munson House

   The choice to use the song “Hurt” by Johnny Cash in the first trailer makes it a classic among trailers. From the opening rift, the western is set before me. There’s a down-to-earth... a weathered sturdiness that is evocative in this song. When he sings, “I hurt myself today… to see if I still feel,” it perfectly senses the weariness. It’s commonplace for trailers to give you the plot and how the actors affect it. But Logan stays confident by staying vague. As a result, I think I felt a greater impact of fear and revulsion when X-24 appears and the ensuing abrupt finality of the Munson family. There is the striking image of X-24 scowling at Logan as he comes down the Munson house steps. He was genuinely

Screenshot of Jackman as the X-24 clone

frightening. If you want to see exquisite brutality on Jackman’s face, then pay close attention to the scene when Rictor is lifting the truck over X-24 to drop it on him. Jackman looks almost unrecognizable in a brief shot of him gazing up at the truck. We see it again when he mercilessly slashes Logan before being shot by Laura. For years, Jackman has expressed his ambition in bringing the most authentic performance of Wolverine to the screen. If anyone still doesn’t believe he did it, then I submit that he certainly overshot that goal by playing X-24.

 

Front cover of Old Man Logan

   This film is loosely based on the graphic novel, Old Man Logan. I read it years earlier and I loved it. I hope a proper sequel will be produced. In this alternate reality, all super villains have united in a concerted effort to overcome the heroes by sheer numbers. They mount a clever assault on Wolverine at the mansion and deceive him into killing all of the X-Men. He is numb with horror and staggers out and away into the woods to kill himself. When he fails to do even that, he goes into exile vowing to never pop his claws again. Having removed a genuine threat to their plan, the super villains defeat the majority of the heroes and take over the country. The ones who are not dead go into hiding. Several years later, Logan is living a quiet life with his wife and children. He is soon hassled and threatened for rent money by his landlord (a corrupt and deranged Hulk). Logan hooks up with a now blind Hawkeye for a job to deliver a package back in New York. The revelations and the territories seen are part of a gripping story, so well done. Logan takes the mood, the shame, the urgency and the catastrophic encounters from the graphic novel and still succeeds without the presence of Spider-Man, Hulk or any of the current MCU characters. That is a triumph in itself! Just like in the book, Wolverine is the most human in this film. It makes him more than just berserker rages.

Hawkeye poking fun at Logan in a scene from Old Man Logan

   During the end credits, the producers included another Johnny Cash song in keeping with the tone of the trailer. “The Man Comes Around” is a beautiful send-off for the character. But much more noteworthy is who Johnny Cash is actually singing about in that song.  I’m of the mind that the decision by the producers was not wholly of their own making. There're simply too many biblical references to the second coming of Christ in secular media everywhere and that simply can't be plain coincidence. In the deep consciousness of people throughout the world, God is making it very clear that the promise is going to be fulfilled. Looking at a select choice of verses from the song:

“And I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder
One of the four beasts saying,

‘Come and see,’ and I saw, and behold a white horse.”

Dafne Keen as Laura

“The hairs on your arm will stand up.
At the terror in each sip and each sup.
Will you partake in that last offered cup?

Or disappear into the potter’s ground?”

“Hear the trumpets, hear the pipers
One hundred million angels singing…”

Boyd Holbrook as Donald Pierce

“It’s Alpha and Omega’s kingdom come…”

“The virgins are all trimming their wicks…”

“It’s hard for thee to kick against the pricks…”

“The wise men will bow down before the throne

And at his feet they’ll cast their golden crowns…”

   I’ll begin to close with this. If we take away the metal claws and healing factor, there’s the familiar trudge of a man surviving. He's beyond tired and beat-up. He's broken-hearted. Whenever a man loses something that gives him power, he has to come face-to-face with himself in plain. If the man is wise then he’ll recognize the health in letting humility finish its work. It’s a very grievous process. I would know. In “The Man Comes Around” Cash sings, “It’s hard for thee to kick against the pricks…“ It’s a Greek proverb. It’s a reference to resisting discipline. When Saul of Tarsus was going around dragging Christians out of their homes, beating and throwing them in prison, Jesus met him on the road to Damascus. A great light knocked him off his horse. Saul heard a voice: “Why do you persecute Me? It’s hard for you to kick against the pricks (Acts 26:14, depending on the translation).” In the Hebrew agriculture of that time, an ox goad was used to steer oxen when they were plowing. If the animal went a different way and the farmer stuck the iron tip in its flesh, sometimes the animal would kick back in rebellion. I know, it’s awful. I love animals. But if we could be honest, we’re all pricked by some awful thing that causes us to change our mind about a particular path. God does cause the sun to shine on the just and the unjust. But God disciplines those whom He loves as sons and daughters and if someone is without discipline then that person is an illegitimate child (Hebrews 12:7-8). Saul of Tarsus repented and was saved by faith in Christ. He became Paul the Apostle and wrote more than half of the New Testament.

"It makes him more than just berserker rages."

    Most of the time, I think, suffering is a way for God to get a man’s attention. Instead of humbling down, a man may decide to get worse. I knew a guy years ago-- a younger guy I used to work with who told me in a resolute way that he would rather be a bully than be bullied. At least he was upfront about it. There’s a multitude of men and women like that. They rely on their own strength, their peoples and their credentials and they keep the blinders down. God is clearly trying to make contact with people to introduce them to something better-- on this earth and the next. The awful things that happen to us-- sometimes they happen because we choose to ignore the guard rails that God lovingly set in place to keep us from unnecessary harm. Like a good father who makes sure that his little ones don't play on the stairs. Having success doesn't produce dignity. It's often the reverse. Just watch Wolf of Wall Street. God brings dignity from humility. Humility handles success with grace. In this case, a fictional mutant superhero dies with his daughter at his side in dignity. I think that’s why we cried. A man lives and dies well in the dignity of living sacrificially. But for what? Let me remind the die-hard fans who may be reading that in the really, real world physical and emotional abuse very rarely finds you dignified… or in good mental health for that matter. This difference does make Wolverine a very unique and interesting character. It should also point in some way to something greater than even this.

Logan is directed by James Mangold

Screenplay by Scott Frank, James Mangold and Michael Green

Old Man Logan’s storyline is written by Mark Millar