Welcome to The Daily Cup a movie blog/writing project by Kyle B. Dekker, presented by Hot Chocolate Media. You can read series concept here. The basic rules, Kyle must watch 365 movies in 2018 and write about all of them. 292 of them have to be movies he's never seen before. Thanks for reading.
2017 was arguably the best ever year for superhero movies to date. Wonder Woman, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Thor: Ragnarok and The LEGO Batman Movie all graced the big screen. Early in March one of the best Logan hit screens. The final story featuring Hugh jackman as the titular character and Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier. There couldn’t have been a better or more emotional send off of two actors playing characters they’ve know for so long.
What makes Logan work so well is that it’s a story that stands on its own, independent from previous X-Men and Wolverine movies. We know these characters and these actors very well. Director James Mangold uses this audience familiarity with these characters and tells us a story that is both fantastic and relatedtable. Both Wolverine and Professor X, previously invincible mutants of tremendous power are vulnerable. Age has stripped them of their great power, and in the case of Professor X, he is now a danger to those around him. To pile on top of this, all their friends are dead or gone, they are alone, and just trying to survive.
The movie really takes off when Laura/X-24 (Dafne Keen) enters A young mutant cloned from Logan as part of a corporate program to weaponize child mutantants. She’s been dehumanized, but a team of nurses helped her and a bunch of other children escape. Logan, Charles, and Laura embark on a road trip to evade the pursuit of the private agency and their band of mercenaries. This is a classic western, a gritty old gunslinger trying to protect the last things he loves from gunman in black. The journey is violent, heartbreaking, and in the end our heroes die and only the children remain.
The visuals of this movie are flat out stunning. From the Mexican desert to the North Dakota/Canadian border, the visuals are astounding. Adding to the visuals is a emotionally heavy score that hits all the beats you want it to, and drives your emotion throughout. The craft of this film is impeccable, the pinnacle of filmmaking of any genre.
For all it’s beauty and craft this film is so damn good because of its story. James Mangold and his writing team deservedly earned their Oscar nomination for best adapted screenplay. The biggest human fear is of mortality and losing our ability to be who we are. And before us over two hours and fifteen minutes we see two superhumans degrade and die before our eyes. While they are slipping towards their end they still show the love and empathy we know they have, these people are our long time friends and they are a shell of what they once were. The one last hurrah of Logan and Charles wanting to help other mutants, and just barely succeeding hits you like a truck.
Logan will go down in history as one of the greatest superhero movies of all time. Every aspect of this film is simply top notch. The visuals, music, performances, story, editing, and effects all set gold standards for film in any genre. James Mangold has demonstrated that superhero isn’t a genre, they are a type of character, a component for a story. These components can be used to tell any kind of story. Mangold crafted one of the best western stories ever, it just happens to star a guy with claws.
Tally
Movies new to me watched: 48/292
Other movies: 16/73
Total movies watched: 64/365
Have your own thoughts or opinions on this movie? Comment below or contact Kyle at kyle@hotchocolatemedia.net or on Twitter at @kbdekker.