Synopsys: Wolverine got old in an unspecified timeline of the X-Men universe. He is very much pissed off by how life is unfair: he is an Uber driver, he has a drinking problem, and he as to take care of Professor X that, in this timeline, has some problems with his powers. For a series of reasons, he finds himself in the role of protecting a young girl that has his powers and is chased by some random organization.
Logan is one of the most anticipated Marvel movies of the year, attracting a lot of attention due to the fact that, for once, it is rated R. Let's try to grasp the relevant aspects and remain spoiler-free.
The movie is filled with gruesome scenes, you can thus expect to see a lot of blood and limbs on a regular basis for the entire film. The consequence is fully representing the spirit of Wolverine for the first time on the big screen through a series of excellent action scenes. The character is built to be violent and the movie is very explicit in this sense. The effect is enhanced when we come to the little girl that is, to say the least, a little badass savage animal. On this point of view, the movie is very entertaining.
The main actors bring a very convincing performance. Logan is a broken man, Professor X is ill and filled with guilt, and the little girl really likes to cut people throat open. The three performances are consistent and deliver a good amount of emotion to the viewer. I can't say the same about the antagonists: their presence is constant but never charismatic. In other words, they are very disposable villains. I am almost sure you will not remember their names, why they do what they do, or what they do.
A possible reason for this underwhelming presence is that the main villain can be identified as the past of Logan, now constantly battling against himself, crushed by his past actions and losses.
The introspective aspect of what can be called the main theme is thus reflected in the challenges that our heroes have to face. However, the theme is not strong enough to fully define the purpose of this film. The quest is to save an innocent mutant from a mysterious evil organization; this is something we have already seen many times in this very franchise. The result is a movie that lacks meaning and purpose, it is, to a great extent, an empty movie.
For comparison, if you look today at the first two X-Men movies (early 2000's), you can recognize a deep theme (that was the role of discrimination in our society) and a plot that brings that theme to the viewer and made it awesome. The same philosophy was later transposed in more recent movies of the franchise, with results that went from bad to less good than the previous level. Here, the theme is new and well displayed by the actors, but not supported by a plot, by a context. The feeling is that, without the existence of the previous movies, this film would not entertain anyone beyond the action scenes: something that a YouTube clip could do as well, by making you save time.
Another issue, in a way related to the previous one, is that for the entire movie there are references to something happened in the past, one or more terrible events that shaped the current reality. The spotlight on this mystery is constant and, at times, strong. However, everything simply stays in the darkness, bringing that sense of emptiness. I am not saying that they should have explained, but if you focus so much on a mystery and you develop no aspect of it, the result is not going to be good or satisfying.
In conclusion, I wasn't displeased for spending my time to watch a movie that I was waiting for a fair amount of time. However, and this is something that I recognize on the faces of everyone in the theater with me, I was left with the feeling of a missed opportunity. The kind of feeling that makes harder to focus on the various good aspects of the movie.
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