Even before embarking on the project, Jackman and Mangold understood that the story needed to exist apart from the dense and heady mythology of the larger X-Men franchise. Specifically, Mangold, who wrote the “Logan” script with co-scripter Scott Frank and Michael Green, set out to create a character-driven piece that would focus on Logan (Jackman), Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Laura (newcomer Dafne Keen) as they made their way across a barren landscape. “I had this kind of strange vision in my head that I wanted to make a road movie with these characters, in a way almost trapping myself as a filmmaker,” Mangold says.
“The idea with this film was to find him in a state where his ability
to heal is extremely diminished,” Mangold says. “His strength is
diminished. His own health and his mental state are dark.”
Logan serves as a surrogate father to Laura as he’s the prodigal son to
Charles Xavier, who is battling a debilitating illness that threatens
to harm others as well in the movie. “He’s old, he’s ill, but most
importantly, he’s dangerous. And the person who looks after him,
mothers him, nurses him, supervises him, argues with him, picks him up
off the floor when he’s fallen down is Logan,” says Stewart.
Like Jackman, the acclaimed British thespian’s performance in “Logan”
represents a culmination of years of work on screen. “He reveled in this
character, and it shows,” Jackman says of Stewart. “It’s a
heartbreaking, beautiful, layered, textured, complex performance—at
times unbelievably lucid and clear. You see the relationship with him
and Logan as very sort of father-son in all its colors: pride,
disappointment, anger, frustration. It all plays out.”
“Logan” sees the wizened hero find a surprising human connection, but
the film also offers its most authentic, unfiltered depiction of
Wolverine yet. It earns its R-rating, a first for any film in the X-Men
series. “Wolverine may be one of the darkest, most complex characters in
the comic book universe—all Jim and I were worried about was taking off
the seat belt,” Jackman says.
But there’s no question that the movie absolutely will speak to those
longtime fans of Wolverine, those who have followed Jackman’s portrayal
over the last 17 years. In fact, it was critical for Jackman, as he said
farewell to his extensive X-Man past, to put everything on the screen
for this, his last mutant adventure. “There was a moment that I came
to terms with the fact that this was my last one,” Jackman says. “I love
this character, and he’s been amazing to me. I’d be lying if I said
that I would have been okay if I didn’t feel everything was left on the
table. And I mean everything. Every day, every scene was a kind of
battle to get the best out of that character, to get the best out of
me.” Concludes Jackman: “There was an element of life and death about
it—I know that sounds dramatic, but that’s how it felt.”
“Logan” opens March 1 in cinemas nationwide from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros. Also available in IMAX (2D) screens. Rated R-16 by the MTRCB without cuts.
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