Boasting an emotion power to match its breathtakingly brutal violence, Logan establishes itself as one of the best examples of the comic book movie, providing a fitting end to Hugh Jackman’s long tenured & lauded portrayal as the iconic Wolverine.

Directing a superhero movie must be a difficult juggling act for filmmakers. Where on one end there can be a wealth of material to delve into and create with, on the other there is a plethora of restrictions (namely tapping into the coveted PG-13 market) that can stun the creativity of a project. Yet with Deadpool proving that you can have your R-rated superhero cake and eat it too, the climate was right to make that Wolverine movie which its hardcore fan base was waiting for. Regardless of whether fanboy or novice, Logan is a spectacular and emotionally powerful experience to behold.

Although based on characters from the popular X-Men series of films, Logan by all purposes is an original story created by (highly underrated) filmmaker James Mangold (3:10 to Yuma). Set in a future where mutants have become a dying breed, short-fused survivor Logan (Hugh Jackman) tries to stay low-key by working as a limousine driver, while taking care of embattled yet unpredictably powerful telekinetic Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart). When the unexpected arrival of lethal young mutant hybrid Laura (Dafne Keen) enters Logan’s life, a once physically & emotionally sheltered existence is left wide open to all kinds of trouble, as Logan and his “family” go on the run from a threat hellbent on their destruction.

Combining elements of road-trip and western genre conventions with a smattering of smack-in-the-face action scenes, Logan is a masterful example of genre filmmaking at its emotive and visceral best. Mangold has long been a filmmaker who has brushed with greatness (Copland and 3:10 to Yuma can attest to that), and he achieves just that with his pull no punches approach to one of the comic book world’s most enduring and beloved creations.

Jackman portrays that creation with a heartbreaking world weariness and trembling, terrifying rage. Old age has caught up to the Wolverine, yet the ferocity of his spirit is given new life when allies close to him (old and new) are threatened. Jackman has portrayed Logan/Wolverine 9 times now (in varying degrees), yet it is with Logan that Jackman can portray a wholly rounded character whose fragilities are played with the same intense power as his superhuman abilities. Jackman has effectively grown as a screen actor through his Logan tenure. Only fitting that his final performance encompasses all his thespian abilities to truly stunning results.

Expertly separating itself from the other X-Men films without becoming too much of an outlier, Logan places itself into a pantheon of action filmmaking where the emotional power of its characters and their story packs just as much (if not more) of a wallop as its action scenes. These in themselves are of the highest grade, choreographed and executed with a brilliance that proves their worth in the weight of visceral and emotional impact, Mangold expertly placing the stakes on an intensely high threshold that is met with every violent strike and thudding blow.

A criticism of superhero movies is that often the victims of violence have no weight, no presence, resulting in a diluted impact as the perished become nothing more than pixels blown away by VFX winds. Logan does not follow suit. Mangold makes damn sure that the high-level impact of the violence is grounded and gritty, edgy yet never over the top. This isn’t Kick-Ass brutish immaturity, or Man of Steel overkill. Logan has bite that leaves a mark. Surprisingly, that biggest mark is left on the heart.