Logan (2017)

Film and Plot Synopsis

“Logan” is a 2017 superhero film directed by James Mangold and is part of the X-Men film series. It serves as the third and final installment in the Wolverine standalone trilogy, focusing on the character of Logan, also known as Wolverine, portrayed by Hugh Jackman. The film is unique within the superhero genre, known for its darker and more mature tone, as well as its exploration of themes like mortality, legacy, and the passage of time.

‘Logan’ Movie Summary

“Logan” is set in the near future, around the year 2029. Mutants are nearly extinct with no new mutants born in the preceding 25 years. Logan (Hugh Jackman) works as a chauffeur in El Paso, Texas and cares for an ailing Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) along with mutant tracker Caliban (Stephen Merchant). The X-Men have disbanded, and it is implied that Xavier may have killed some of Logan’s former team when his age caused his powers to rage out of control. Logan is trying to live a quiet and secluded life. Logan is grappling with the effects of his healing factor diminishing, causing him to age and slowing down his regenerative abilities.

The plot takes a turn when Logan is approached by a mysterious woman named Gabriela Lopez (Elizabeth Rodriguez), who pleads for his help to transport a young girl named Laura (Dafne Keen) to a refuge called Eden in North Dakota. Eden is a rumored sanctuary for mutants. Laura, it turns out, is a mutant with powers remarkably similar to Logan’s, and she has been created from Wolverine’s DNA as part of a secret experiment called X-23. Gabriela is revealed to be a former nurse at the Alkali-Transigen Corporation, a biotech company responsible for creating mutant children as weapons. Laura is one of the successful experiments, and Transigen, realizing the potential danger she poses, wants to capture her.

Donald Pierce (Boyd Holbrook), a cybernetically enhanced mercenary, is sent by Transigen to retrieve Laura. To make matters more complicated, Transigen has also created a clone of Logan, named X-24 (Hugh Jackman), who is younger, stronger, and without any of Logan’s moral inhibitions. X-24 becomes a formidable adversary throughout the film. After Gabriela is killed, Xavier, Laura, and Logan escape from Pierce and his men. However, Caliban is captured, and Pierce uses the mutant’s powers to track Logan’s group.

Logan reluctantly agrees to help Laura and embarks on a road trip with her and Xavier. They face numerous challenges, including confrontations with Transigen’s forces and encounters with other mutants who have escaped from the corporation. As the journey progresses, Logan learns more about Laura’s past and the extent of Transigen’s atrocities. During their journey, Logan and Xavier reflect on their past deeds and the consequences of their actions. The arrival of Laura, a genetic successor to Wolverine, brings forth questions about passing the torch and the impact one leaves behind. Xavier argues with Logan that he has a responsibility to Laura while Logan is reluctantly to take on the responsibility.

Nature made me a freak. Man made me a weapon. And God made it last too long. Logan (Hugh Jackman)

Throughout the journey, Logan’s internal and external struggles come to the forefront. His reluctance to embrace a fatherly role for Laura reflects his own emotional scars and fear of attachment. Meanwhile, Xavier is haunted by the consequences of a psychic seizure he experienced in the past, which resulted in the deaths of several X-Men. Pierce’s team catches up to Logan’s group when Logan stays overnight at Will Munson’s (Eriq La Salle) house. Will is a farmer that befriended Logan after he helped them. X-24 is unleashed and kills Xavier. Munson and his family are also killed in the crossfire with Pierce’s team. Caliban commits suicide in an attempt to take out Pierce. Logan and X-24 fight, and Logan is overmatched. However, Logan and Laura survive the fight and manage to escape.

After Xavier’s death, Logan and Laura continue their journey as Logan’s body begins to fail him. As Logan and Laura bond, Logan discovers the depth of Transigen’s cruelty and realizes the true purpose of X-24. The revelations intensify the stakes of their journey and set the stage for a climactic confrontation. They reach a refuge at Eden where Logan and Laura encounter several other young mutants who are looking for sanctuary in Canada. The climax of the film takes place at the Eden refuge, where a final showdown unfolds. Donald Pierce, Transigen’s forces, X-24, and Transigen’s head scientist Dr. Zander Rice (Richard E. Grant) converge on the location, leading to a brutal and emotionally charged battle.

A dying Logan takes an overdose of serum that a young mutant named Rictor (Jason Genao) gave him that temporarily enhances his healing abilities and boosts his strength. Logan and Laura kill most of the Transigen forces. Pierce holds Rictor at gunpoint, and Rice informs Logan that no mutants have been born for years due to Transigen’s genetically engineered crops that have been spread throughout the world’s food supply. Logan uses a gun to kill Rice and injure Pierce. Logan and X-24 fight each other as the serum starts to wear off on Logan. The mutant children kill Pierce and all the remaining Transigen forces. X-24 impales Logan on a large tree branch. Laura loads a gun with an adamantium bullet that Logan has been carrying with him to end his life. Laura shoots X-24 in the head, killing him.

As Logan lies dying, he tells Laura not to become the weapon that the scientists made her to be. Laura tearfully acknowledges Logan as her father as he dies in her arms. The mutant children bury Logan before beginning their journey to Canada. Before leaving, Laura tilts the grave’s handmade cross on its side creating an X.