Logan
4K
(2017/Fox 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray, plus Logan
Noir
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)
Picture:
A/B+ Sound: A/B+ Extras: B Film: B+
The
X-Men
franchise takes a more mature route in this final performance by Hugh
Jackman as Logan, as known to comic book lovers as 'The Wolverine' in
the third film of this spin-off series. Directed by James Mangold
(Walk
The Line),
who also directed the previous installment in the franchise, which
saw the character journey to modern day Japan, his entries in the
Wolverine franchise are much more 'adult' than the cartoonish
approach evident in some of the Bryan Singer X-Men
films.
Logan
(2017) is the R-rated final film in the trilogy is bloodier, darker,
and a more accurate approach to the character (no doubt thanks to the
success of Fox's Deadpool
last year, which was also R-rated, albeit more comical) and also
concludes his story in a interesting and more thought provoking way
than his demise in the comics.
When
looking back at the Wolverine trilogy, I really wish that Mangold had
directed the first installment, the hideous X-Men
Origins: Wolverine
(2009), which is a sloppy and muddled popcorn muncher that's almost
as bad as X-Men:
The Last Stand
(the worst X-movie by far.) Mangold's 2013 entry, The
Wolverine
(the second installment as mentioned earlier), isn't so bad, but
could have been improved had it have been given this same R-rated
approach and perhaps focuses on past Logan rather than present day.
At any rate, Logan
is in a whole different league than any of those films, with the
focus being more on Logan, an aged Professor X (Patrick Stewart),
Laura (played brilliantly by newcomer Dafne Keen) and a few other key
mutants, as opposed to previous films, which had a wealth of his
extraordinary characters and far more CGI.
In
Logan,
we find the character battle hardened and weaker than ever before in
an alternate timeline, where mutants have become an endangered
species. Nearly everyone he knew and loved is dead, save Professor
Charles Xavier, who is now dependent on drugs to maintain control of
his abilities, and Caliban (Stephen Merchant) - a character who can
barely stand in the sunshine due to his mutation. Living in an
isolated spot in the desert and driving a limo part-time, Logan ends
up coming across a troubled mother and her estranged 'daughter' named
Laura (Keen) who is a mutant herself, with abilities similar to
Wolverine. Upon a hefty payday and a gang of bad guys who are out
for Laura, Logan finds himself (and Professor X) on the run to get to
the Mexican border, to bring the girl to a safe place. Hot on their
trail are many adversaries that will stop at nothing to stop Logan
from his final destination, including a stunning revelation that
dates back to his history in the Weapon X program.
Some
of the film's weaker points that could improve the film would be a
better explanation as to why Logan has diminished powers to the
extent that he does (the explanation is alcoholism and adamantium
poisoning), and at least one scene where with more of a description
as to how everyone died and why. The film has plenty of surprise
moments and included in this version is Logan
Noir
(on 4K and Blu-ray in this set), which shows the film in black and
white similar to what Warner Bros. did with last year's home video
release of Mad
Max: Fury Road.
In my opinion, Logan
works in black and white and it was the original intention of Mangold
to have the film this way, so I'm happy the studio at least included
that version in this set. I wish we could see big-budgeted,
effects-driven films like this get a theatrical release in black and
white and think that it would be an interesting experiment for
Hollywood to try (though they probably never will).
As
for the 4K presentation, it's absolutely stunning and far superior to
the Blu-ray version that is also included. The film is presented in
2160p with a widescreen presentation of 2.38:1 (originally 2.39:1)
and of course 1080p high definition for the Blu-ray copies. The
noticeable differences between the formats lie in the sharper HDR
(high dynamic range 10-bit color) on the 4K and detail throughout the
film with small details such as skin textures and even sand in some
scenes looking more profound. Note that both the theatrical and the
Noir
versions are both included in this set on both 4K UHD and 1080p
Blu-ray.
The
sound mix is as good as it gets with a Dolby Atmos 11.1 lossless
track on the 4K version, as well as a lossless English DTS-HD MA
(Master Audio) 7.1 track on the standard Blu-ray as their respective
top sound mixes. The film has very rich soundscapes and a great
score by Marco Beltrami, who also scored the previous Mangold
Wolverine
film as well.
A
digital UV copy is also included.
Special
Features...
Logan
Noir
- black and white version of the film in both 4K and 1080p formats
Feature-length
audio commentary by Director James Mangold
Deleted
scenes with optional audio commentary by James Mangold (Blu-ray only)
Making
Logan
- behind-the-scenes documentary (Blu-ray only)
I'm
a little disappointed that the Deadpool
2
short film that was shown with Logan
in theaters before the feature presentation isn't included as an
extra (or even as an Easter Egg,) but I guess Fox is saving that for
a later date. I also heard about a Jean Grey deleted scene that
either wasn't included or wasn't filmed; I'm not sure of which.
In
short, Logan
looks fantastic on both 4K UHD and Blu-ray respectively and is
definitely worth picking up if you are an X-Men fan like I am. There
are several different editions of the Blu-ray edition of the film
from retailers such as Target, Best Buy, and Wal-Mart, however the
differences only lie in the packaging and not the discs themselves
unlike the recent release of Star
Wars: Rogue One,
which had an extra disc with more bonus content at one retailer.
Previous
X-Men
film and animation reviews are elsewhere on this site with more to
come, plus we covered the 2013 The
Wolverine
Blu-ray at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/12535/The+Wolverine+(2013/Fox+Blu-ray+w/DVD+++Di
-
James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
