STACK #152 Jun 2017

DVD&BD FEATURE

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TheWolverine has always been the heart of the X-Men franchise, and Logan marks the end of the road for the mutton-chopped mutant after 17 years and eight films.

Words Adam Colby

I t was a chat with Jerry Seinfeld in 2014 that led Hugh Jackman to the epiphany that it was time for the Wolverine to hang up his claws after 17 years and eight films – but not before one last hurrah. The comedian noted that it’s always best to leave on a high, and that’s exactly what Jackman does in the third and best standalone Wolverine adventure, Logan . In fact, it might just be the best comic book movie to date. Reuniting Jackman with director James Mangold, who had previously guided the surly superhero through Japan in The Wolverine (2013), Logan is set more than 50 years after the events of X-Men: Days of Future Past – a time when mutants are virtually extinct. The former X-man is older, greyer and more vulnerable – his ability to heal has been diminished, his claws no longer fully extend, he’s not as strong physically, and he’s in a dark place mentally. Initially, both Jackman and Mangold were on the fence regarding a third solo Wolverine film. “If we were going to do it, I wanted to take it somewhere that interested me,” says the director, “someplace intimate and primal – a character based story where we explore the fears and weaknesses of these larger than life heroes, a film that makes them more human.” Jackman, too, wanted to do something

I wanted to get to the heart of who that human was, more than what his claws can do

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JUNE 2017

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