Logan

The Wolverine is back, again.

Once again, and perhaps for the last time embodied by Hugh Jackman, our favorite clawed mutant ditches his moniker for his real name in Logan. It's unlike any X-Men film you've seen before.

It's the future and it's terrible. Mutants are pretty much extinct. It's just Logan, Professor X (Patrick Stewart) and the tracker Caliban (Stephen Merchant). Professor X is senile and his mental abilities frequently go out of whack as result. Logan is a chauffeur and assists Caliban in taking care of Professor X. Logan's healing powers are also failing and his adamantium skeleton is killing him. Like I said, not good.

Logan is given a job by a nurse named Gabriella. His mission, that he begrudgingly accepts, is to escort her daughter, Laura (Dafne Keene), to a place called Eden. The evil corporation Transigen and its Reaver agents want Laura badly. She's a mutant test subject with much of Logan's abilities. Logan doesn't want to get involved but Laura won't let him quit. He'll have to fight the evil Donald Pierce (Boyd Holbrook) and his own degenerating health to get Laura to safety.

The film eschews all restraint in its superpowered action. Unlike Deadpool, it doesn't display blood and guts for laughs. Our heroes slice up the bad guys and get hurt themselves. Even civilians get in the crossfire. Every bit of carnage was impactful. The film's ending is especially powerful if you've seen the series from the beginning. That includes all the "bad" films.

The screenstory, by director James Mangold, defines our cast perfectly. Logan still fights like his old, reliable self, even if he's otherwise lost the will to live. He finds a purpose in fathering Laura. Laura is a killing machine but she's still a moody child. Their interactions were believable. Professor X is funny when in his harmless rants, warm in his sage advice and compelling in his emotional moments. Pierce is a perfectly despicable villain as is Transigen head scientist Zander Rice (Richard E. Grant). The actors had much to work with and pulled it off.

There's much to admire in the technical department. The makeup crew aged up Jackman and Stewart quite well and rendered many unique mutants. The sound designers make Professor X's psychic seizures perfectly excruciating for us as the characters find them. The visual effects once again conjure up an eclectic display of mutant powers. The film's best effect is the digital work that allowed Jackman to play the brutish X-24. You wouldn't think it was digital at all.

It's best to quit when you're ahead. Logan is a perfect exit for Jackman from the franchise. It's well-acted, well-scripted and nicely paced at 137 minutes. It's also a good finale for the X-Men franchise except I hear Fox isn't done. At least this makes a lot of hiccups in the franchise worth it.

The whole experience kicks off with a special short/teaser for Deadpool 2, which won't shoot till June. It's "coming ... not soon enough."