Logan (Blu-ray) (2017)

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General		Extras
Category	Action	Deleted Scenes-x 7 (7:45) Featurette-Making Logan (76:05) Audio Commentary-Director / cowriter James Mangold
Rating
Year Of Production	2017
Running Time	137:23
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	James Mangold
Studio Distributor	Twentieth Century Fox	Starring	Hugh Jackman Patrick Stewart Dafne Keen Boyd Holbrook Richard E Grant Stephen Merchant Elizabeth Rodriguez
Case	Standard Blu-ray
RPI	?	Music	Marco Beltrami

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English DTS HD High Resolution Audio 7.1 English Dolby Digital 2.0 English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 5.1 French dts 5.1 Italian dts 5.1 German Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.40:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired French Dutch German Italian English Audio Commentary French Audio Commentary Dutch Audio Commentary German Audio Commentary Italian Audio Commentary	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     It is 2029 and time has not been kind to Logan, aka Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). His body scarred and broken by the many fights he has participated in over the years, his spirit weak, he now is drinking heavily and lives with Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Caliban (Stephen Merchant), the last of the mutant beings, in a hideout just over the Mexican border. Far from a superhero, Logan now drives a limousine to make enough money to acquire (illegally) the special drugs required to ease a dying Charles’ brain spasms. When Logan is approached by Gabriela (Elizabeth Rodriguez) seeking help for herself and young girl Laura (Dafne Keen), Logan wants nothing to do with them. But when Logan finds Gabriela murdered he discovers that she was a nurse at a facility in Mexico City owned by Transigen, a company headed by Dr. Rice (Richard E Grant) that has been experimenting on children, creating children from mutant DNA so that they have mutant powers for military application. But it had not worked as planned so Transigen had created a different type of mutant, an adult killing machine, and the children were to be executed. Gabriela and some of the other nurses had helped a number of the mutant children to escape, including Laura, and Transigen wants them back.

     Laura hides in the boot of Logan’s car when he returns to the hideout. But when Pierce (Boyd Holbrook) of Transigen arrives with a squad of Reavers and Federale to get Laura it becomes apparent that she is very deadly indeed, and has similar powers to Logan. Logan, Laura and Charles escape. Laura says that the mutant children will all head for a spot in the wilderness in North Dakota called Eden, a place shown in an X-Men comic. Logan is convinced that Eden is a myth, just as most of the events shown in the comics are imaginary, but Laura is adamant. Pursued by Pierce and his men, driving to a place he does not believe exists, his friends dead, Logan is a shell of his former self, weary and disillusioned. But maybe, in Laura, he has found a daughter he never thought he had.

     Logan has been nominated for an Oscar this year in the best adapted screenplay category; this is not a category that one normally associates with Marvel superhero territory, but it is a recognition that the themes and complexity of the script of Logan make it a rather different type of superhero film. The director and co-writer of Logan is James Mangold, who has a habit of delivering interesting, character driven films in action genres, such as Copland (1997) or the 3:10 to Yuma (2007) remake. He also directed Hugh Jackman previously in The Wolverine (2013) so he certainly knows something about the character. However, I don’t think many would have expected the depth and complexity of the script of Logan, which, rather like Unforgiven (1992) was a debunking of the myths of the western genre, is a demythologising of superhero themes. Not that the script is heavy handed, it’s not with delightful self-reverential comparisons between the X-Men comics and the “reality” the mutants are in, where pain is a result of fights and people do die. Also, like Unforgiven, Logan is about aging, regret, death, redemption and the passing of an era.

     For all that Logan remains an impressive action film with loud, chaotic and quite brutal and bloody fights which justify the film’s “MA” rating; the sequence when the mutants escape from their hideout, for example, is violent, gory and heart in mouth exciting! The film is also beautifully shot by cinematographer John Mathieson, who is no stranger to spectacle having been nominated for Oscars for Gladiator (2000) and The Phantom of the Opera (2004), and the action and visuals are supported by a good score from Marco Beltrami, who currently has 121 credits listed on the IMDb in just over 15 years; with such an extensive CV the quality of the films varies – he has two Oscar nominations (3:10 to Yuma (2007), The Hurt Locker (2008)) amid films such as Gods of Egypt and Ben-Hur (both 2016).

     Jackman has made the role of Wolverine his own over almost 20 years in a number of films, and it is impossible to think of anyone else in the part in this, Wolverine’s swansong. He is simply superb, showing all the anger, weariness and disillusionment in his lined face and scarred body, haunted by the years of killing. Patrick Stewart is also excellent as the crotchety, ailing, Charles but the real surprise is eleven year old Dafne Keen as Laura, who in only her second acting role gives a wonderful performance as a deadly innocent, wild eyed and excited at the world she is discovering one minute, snarling and lethal the next. Her relationship with Logan becomes one of father and daughter, funny, occasionally adversarial and ultimately poignant.

     Logan is not your usual superhero film, any more than Unforgiven is your usual western. Logan has enough heart, drama, soul-searching, mythmaking and action for a dozen superhero movies and is a fabulous film in its own right which can be viewed without any knowledge of the X-Men films or comics.

Video

     Logan is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, in 1080p using the MPEG-4 AVC code.

     This is a stunning print. Detail in the film is very sharp, with every whisker, line or blood splat on Wolverine’s face clear. However, in line with many recent films the colours in Logan have been manipulated so some sequences have a silvery / blue look, others look brownish. It has also been filmed in a gritty, rough way in some sequences, deliberately distancing the film, as James Mangold explains in his commentary, from glossy, high tech superhero movies. Elsewhere the browns of mountains and blue of the sky of New Mexico, where the movie was filmed, are deep and vibrant. Blacks and shadow detail are excellent, skin tones natural, contrast and brightness consistent. Marks and artefacts are not present.

     English subtitles for the hearing impaired are available as well as French, Dutch, German and Italian subtitles. The same range of subtitles is also available for the audio commentary.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The principal audio is English DTS-HA MA 7.1. French, German and Italian DTS 5.1 audio tracks are available plus English Descriptive Audio (Dolby Digital 5.1), English Dolby Digital 2.0 and English Audio Commentary, Dolby Digital 2.0.

     I am not set up for 7.1 audio but even in 5.1 this is a great, enveloping audio experience. Dialogue is clear and the rears and surrounds were always active with rain, thunder, engines, gunfire, impacts, crashes, the thud of bodies, general mayhem and the music. Panning and directional effects are also frequent, and detailed. The subwoofer supported the crashes, impacts, music and engines.

     The score by Marco Beltrami drives the action along when needed but was also effective in the quieter moments.

     There are no lip synchronisation issues.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Deleted Scenes (7:45)

     These seven deleted scenes can be played with or without a commentary by director James Mangold, who explains why each was cut. The deleted scenes can be selected separately or there is a play all option. The scenes are:

• Logan Gets a Ticket
• Alternate Dinner Scene
• Caliban’s Death
• Bobby’s Action Figures
• Medical Tent – Connect the Dots
• Mutant Kid Puppet Master

Making Logan (76:05)

     This is an extensive and genuine making of which uses only a few film clips but otherwise consists of on-set and behind the scenes footage, costume and make-up tests, screen tests, original concept art and original costume designs, storyboards and insightful comments from a range of people involved in the production including director / writer James Mangold, cast Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Dafne Keen, Stephen Merchant, Boyd Holbrook and Richard E. Grant, co-writers Scott Frank and Michael Green, DP John Mathieson, composer Marco Beltrami, two producers, the production designer, location manager, property master, make-up artist and the stunt coordinator and assistant stunt coordinator. Matters covered include the intentions of the filmmakers, including the decision not to make a PG rated film, influences on the script, casting, locations, the look of the film, building the hideout set, influences on the score, the stunts and the challenges of having Hugh Jackman fight himself when Wolverine fights X-24. For the record, it is divided into these chapters which can be selected individually, although there is a play all option:

• Crafting the Story
• Casting the Film
• Designing the World
• Creating the Score
• Stunts and Fights
• Wrapping Logan

Audio Commentary

     This is an impressive commentary by director / cowriter James Mangold providing a wealth of information about the production of the film. Without being boring or describing what is on screen he talks about his philosophy of filmmaking, influences on the script, his intentions with certain scenes, the cast, locations, production difficulties, lighting techniques and where effects were used. This is a commentary that aids one’s understanding of the film.

Trailers (6:32)

     Three theatrical trailers for the film.

     The Region A US Blu-ray of Logan has the same extras but some different audio and subtitle options. However, that release does include, on a separate Blu-ray, Logan Noir, a black and white version of the film. I suppose that makes the US the best version if your system can read Region A locked releases but I am not really sure this is any more than a curiosity that does not add anything much to the film.

     I am not a great fan of superhero movies, although with the massive box office returns I guess I am in the minority; for me even the best of them over rely on CGI, are formulaic with one-dimensional characters and basic plots without a lot of mystery or drama. Logan is very different; it is a stand-alone film, not interconnected with the Marvel universe as such so knowledge of X-Men or Marvel is not necessary to follow it. While it has some impressive action sequences, it is character driven, not spectacle driven, and is dramatic, funny, sad and poignant, a wonderful send-off to Wolverine if this is, as stated, Hugh Jackman’s last outing as that character.

     The video and audio are fabulous, just what should be expected from a recent action film. The extras are genuine, resulting in an excellent Blu-ray package.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall