The Wolverine Trilogy Review

OK.  I have waited, I think, long enough to post this.  If you have not seen all 3 Wolverine films by now, you probably don't care to.  That being said...SPOILERS ahead!

The Trilogy

OK, so Hugh Jackman played the character of Wolverine across 9 films and 17 years.  That's pretty impressive.   I am not going to talk about the original X-Men trilogy or the Prequel trilogy.

Instead, I want to focus on the 3 solo films.

The first solo film was a bit of a critical flop but let's start there...

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE

Origins was released in 2009 and focused on how Wolverine became the man we saw in X-Men in 2000.  It was meant to start a new series of films focusing on the origins of your favorite characters from the X-Men films.  People hate this film.  They despise it. It's often regarded as the worst in the entire X-Men Universe.

I disagree.

First, watch the Extended version.  That applies to all films.  Always go for the Extended/Unrated/Director's Cut.

The film is solid.  Here's why:

Liev Schreiber is the only incarnation of Sabretooth that will ever count.  The chemistry between Jackman and him is top shelf! Danny Huston is one of my favorite Strykers and Will.I.Am is actually a solid actor and Taylor Kitsch gave us our long desired first look at a big screen Gambit.

The story is, as far as X-Men stories go, pretty good.  We get to see Logan grow into the monster he is.

Did the film take liberties with a couple of ancillary characters?  Sure.  Is that upsetting to fans like me?  Sure.

I now watch the film and just pretend Kayla and Wilson are not Silverfox and Deadpool.  That makes it better right there.

I grew up on these characters.  It would be very easy for me to hate this film.  I don't.  If you can ignore the Deadpool fiasco and get past the slight mistreatment of Silverfox and Emma Frost, this is a great action flick!

Do I wish the opening sequence made up more of the running time?  Hell yes!  I would pay to see an entire film of Jackman and Schreiber as Logan and Victor battling through every historical war.

This is a good start to a trilogy.  Remember, trilogies are meant to tell a story the way a single film does.  Look at these three films together at this one makes a good opening act.

THE WOLVERINE

Fast forward many many years and we've got The Wolverine, released in 2013.  This film takes place after the original trilogy and now you get to experience the PTSD Logan has from killing his one and only true love.

This is the beginning of Logan's downfall.  The perfection in this film lies in the flashbacks.  Seeing a younger Logan expanding his personality is a real treat.

In the future scenes, you see Logan's anguish and passion clashing.  Jackman is sublime in this film.

Sure, some liberties with the Silver Samurai were disappointing, but overall, this is a great film.  Again, grab the Extended Cut.

As a part of the trilogy, you can feel yourself building to the climax.  A solid entry and definitely better than the last.  These was released after his cameo in First Class so mentally, some may have trouble in the timeline, but remember, Days of Future Past erased everything, technically including this film.  So if you don't like the trilogy so far, that's ok.

LOGAN

The crescendo.  The swansong.  The perfect ending to a 9 film series, and this trilogy.  Logan came out in 2017 and is the most recent Fox X-Men release.

There is no Director's Cut or Extended Cut. The theatrical release is exactly the film the director wanted.  There is a Noir version that is black and white and is equally fantastic.

Logan takes place in the far future.  This is the altered future after Days of Future Past but all is not well.  Something else has gone horribly wrong and Logan is one of a few mutants left in the world.

The beauty of the last sentence is that we only hear about what happened.  The film doesn't waste time with a flashback.  It makes the event that much more powerful.

Logan isn't a superhero movie.  It's a road film about a journey that 3 generations of family take together.  It's in my top 5 movie list of all time along with The Little Mermaid, Trainspotting, The Shawshank Redemption, and Hook.

I have always said the Sir Patrick Stewart is the perfect man and definitely the perfect man to play Charles Xavier.  This movie takes him so far past that.  He is the epitome of acting in this film.  There has never been a more perfect performance.  Add to that Jackman in his best run as The Wolverine yet and this is chemistry defined.

We finally get to see a TRUE adaptation of Wolverine thanks to the R rating.  We get to see the violent, angry, rage machine that Logan is in the comics.

Everything in the solo films and frankly all the X-Men films before this have culminated in a perfect performance.  This is the Logan we deserved.  If you don't cry, yes cry, at least twice in this movie, you're not anybody I want to associate with.

I can't wait to see where the franchise takes X-23, because she was a perfect palate cleanser for Logan.

THE TRILOGY

As a trilogy, this is a solid way to entertain yourself.  If you watched the first and hated it, give it another chance and then watch the remaining two to complete your experience!