MOVIE REVIEW: LOGAN (2017)

From IMDB:

Storyline

In the near future, a weary Logan cares for an ailing Professor X in a hide out on the Mexican border. But Logan's attempts to hide from the world and his legacy are up-ended when a young mutant arrives, being pursued by dark forces.

73 Metascore From metacritic.com

Reviews 27 user | 148 critic

From Rotten Tomatoes:

MOVIE INFO

It's 2029. Mutants are gone--or very nearly so. An isolated, despondent Logan is drinking his days away in a hideout on a remote stretch of the Mexican border, picking up petty cash as a driver for hire. His companions in exile are the outcast Caliban and an ailing Professor X, whose singular mind is plagued by worsening seizures. But Logan's attempts to hide from the world and his legacy abruptly end when a mysterious woman appears with an urgent request--that Logan shepherd an extraordinary young girl to safety. Soon, the claws come out as Logan must face off against dark forces and a villain from his own past on a live-or-die mission, one that will set the time-worn warrior on a path toward fulfilling his destiny.

Rating: R (for strong brutal violence and language throughout, and for brief nudity)

Genre: Action & Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Directed By: James Mangold

Written By: James Mangold, Scott Frank, Michael Green

In Theaters: Mar 3, 2017 Wide

Runtime: 135 minutes

Studio: 20th Century Fox

TOMATOMETER 93%

Average Rating: 8/10

Reviews Counted: 100

Fresh: 93

Rotten: 7

Critics Consensus: Hugh Jackman makes the most of his final outing as Wolverine with a gritty, nuanced performance in a violent but surprisingly thoughtful superhero action film that defies genre conventions.

WANT TO SEE 99% want to see

User Ratings: 33,326

This is Old Man Logan. He's a chauffeur trying to make enough to buy a boat... ©20th Century Fox

This is not the Wolverine you know...

Okay, at least not based on the Wolverine you've seen in the previous X-Men movies at least. So, Logan, the last and final movie that Hugh Jackman will play Wolverine. This news has disappointed a lot of people and that's quite understandable. Jackman's Wolverine is one of those rare moments when an actor perfectly cast in a role. The first time anyone saw Mr. Jackman as Wolverine that was the moment the standard for Wolverine in a movie was set. Mr. Jackman is the only constant and the only good thing in every X-Men movie ever made. The only other good things are Patrick Stewart and Ian Mckellen, and maybe Halle Berry but they weren't in every X-Men movie. Wolverine has been in most of them if not all including the reboots that introduced us to the younger versions of the X-Men that we are familiar with. 

And this is Old Man Xavier. His mind isn't what it used to be. Something bad happened and he hasn't been the same...  ©20th Century Fox

So  since you already know that this is the last time you'll see Wolverine you probably also know that the story takes place sometime in the future and that Logan is an old man and that his only other companion is an even older Prof. Xavier. They are living in hiding, They are possibly the last of the X-men. The last mutants. Until one day when a little girl comes into their lives and they discover that she is very much like Logan. 

You've seen the trailers, right? So you know what she hand in her hands before this...  ©20th Century Fox

So here's what I like...

• The story. Just so different that what we've been given from the X-Men franchise, even when compared to The Wolverine (2013) movie that was also directed by James Mangold. What was explored in that movie is taken even further and in a more personal and darker direction. In this movie you really get to know who Logan is and what a lifetime of being a mutant and having to fight because of it has done to him. And you also get to see a different side of Prof. Xavier too. A more human side and a very frail side. And to give you an example of how different this movie is to every other X-Men movie is, the first words you hear Logan say is, F*ck. 
• The cast. Totally amazing. We're so used to seeing and expecting Wolverine and Prof Xavier a certain way that seeing them the way they are in this one is somewhat jarring but a welcome one. We finally get to see the human side, the real world side of them and how Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart show us who these characters are after a lifetime of fighting and finally losing is is just amazing. You will be moved. And Dafne Keen who plays Laura or X-23 is just as amazing. She doesn't say much but she says volumes.
• The visuals. It looks completely different not only from all the other X-Men movies but even when compared to The Wolverine. It looks like an indie drama. It's beautifully done. As is the action sequences. There's little special effects in this one but that's primarily because there aren't that many mutants with special abilities but you don't miss it. 

Those claws don't belong to Laura...  ©20th Century Fox

This was such an amazing film and so unlike all the other X-Men films, in fact when compared to other Marvel or even DC superhero films. It's the first time where you see a character especially a superhero character look so different from what you know them to be. A more human side. This movie is essentially a drama with a familiar X-Men in it. And it's good. I'm hoping that this is the beginning of a trend in a way. I'm giving Logan a solid 4.3 out of 5.

Check out the final trailer below. 

A GREAT BIG THANKS TO KLIPS.MY AND 20th CENTURY FOX MALAYSIA FOR THE PREVIEW PASSES! 

MOVIE REVIEW: MORGAN (2016)

From IMDB:

Storyline

A corporate risk-management consultant must decide whether or not to terminate an artificially created humanoid being.

52 Metascore From metacritic.com
Reviews 8 critic

From Rotten Tomatoes:

MOVIE INFO

A corporate troubleshooter (Kate Mara) is sent to a remote, top-secret location, where she is to investigate and evaluate a terrifying accident. She learns the event was triggered by a seemingly innocent "human," who presents a mystery of both infinite promise and incalculable danger.

Rating: R (for brutal violence, and some language.)

Genre: Drama , Horror , Science Fiction & Fantasy

Directed By: Luke Scott

Written By: Seth W. Owen

In Theaters: Sep 2, 2016 wide

Runtime: 92 minutes

Studio: Scott Free Films

TOMATOMETER 41%

Average Rating: 5.3/10

Reviews Counted: 22

Fresh: 9 | Rotten: 13

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

WANT TO SEE 92% want to see

User Ratings: 2,825

MORGAN OPENS IN THE U.S. ON THE 2nd OF SEPTEMBER AND IN MALAYSIA ON THE 1st OF SEPTEMBER. TO FIND OUT WHEN IT OPENS NEAR YOU CLICK HERE.

See that little girl in the hoodie? She's only a few months old. ©20th Century Fox

From the man who was the Second Unit Director on such films as Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) and The Martian (2015)...

So this is the directorial debut for Luke Scott who prior to this has worked as a Second Unit Director on his father's projects whom you can probably guess by now (if you hadn't read about it somewhere) is Ridley Scott. Those are pretty big shoes to fill. And considering how people/fans remember Ridley Scott more for his Sci-fi work e.g. Alien (1979) and Blade Runner (1982) than his other stuff e.g. Thelma & Louise (1991) and Gladiator (2000), I guess it isn't all that surprising that his first feature length film would be something Sci-fi then something period and epic like Gladiator. 

And that's Morgan about five years later trying to creep people out. ©20th Century Fox

Anyway, Morgan. What is Morgan? If you haven't read about it or seen the trailer then let me briefly try to clue you in without giving away the whole movie. Morgan is an artificially created human. She is the ninth iteration of the artificial human project created by a corporation for purposes which you will eventually discover at the end of the film. The difference between the L9 a.k.a. Morgan (Anya Taylor-Joy) and the others is how she is raised. The project helmed by Dr Lui Cheng (Michelle Yeoh) takes place in what appears to be an abandoned mansion in a desolate area surrounded by forest. She is assisted by Dr. Simon Ziegler (Toby Jones), Dr. Amy Menser (Rose Leslie), Dr. Darren Finch (Chris Sullivan), Dr. Brenda Finch (Vinette Robinson), Dr. Kathy Grieff (Jennifer Jason Leigh), Ted Brenner (Michael Yare) and Skip Vronsky (Boyd Holbrook).

Their first meeting. This mirroring thing happens quite a bit and it means something. ©20th Century Fox

The facility and the project runs smoothly for several years until one day approximately 5 years into Morgan's upbringing that she does something that raises questions at corporate headquarters. This is where the story begins. We are introduced to Lee Weathers (Kate Mara) who is making her way to the facility and as she drives there we hear her being briefed by Jim Bryce (Brian Cox) regarding her tasks ahead. 

Meet Amy and Ted. They've been there since the beginning and have done the one thing that scientist shouldn't have done. Get too emotionally involved with their subject. ©20th Century Fox

When she arrives she meets first with the scientist as the day progresses and discovers of course that they see no reason for her to be there and that they can handle and sort out what corporate headquarters considers a problem. But things quickly deteriorate when during a psychiatric evaluation with Dr. Alan Shapiro (Paul Giamatti) and after being provoked to reveal her emotions to certain hypothetical situations she jumps up from her chair and lunges towards the doctor and kills him in cold blood. Weathers watches all this with a clinical expression and soon after reports the events to headquarters. Headquarters instructs Weathers to oversee the destruction of the L9 and the closure of the facility. 

The decision is met with quiet disagreement with most of the scientist except for Dr. Cheng and they begin to hatch a plan. Little do they know that what they were planning to do isn't what Morgan wants to do. 

This is Dr. Shapiro, he's the last to arrive to the party but boy does he make things exciting. ©20th Century Fox

Hopefully that didn't reveal too much and now here's the list of likes and not likes. 

The likes.

1. The story. It's intriguing and unfolds very nicely. You're given enough to go on and the characters you meet give enough about what's going on and about themselves to move things along and a nice pace. You're not spoon fed everything and nothing comes in big chunks of exposition.
2. The visuals are beautiful and keep the story dark and tense. The camera work and composition of certain scenes and shots add to the complexity of the situation and probably tries to say something else as well. 
3. The performances. Kate Mara is brilliant. You don't know who she is and what she's about. She's cold and methodical but there's something else about her that just doesn't fit. You find out why at the end. Anya Taylor-Joy does a pretty good job as well considering this is her first major role in a feature length film. Her transition from almost robotic to a child unsure of what's going on is pretty good. Then there's Michelle Yeoh, it's been a while since I've seen her on the big screen and although she doesn't have many scenes she does each of her scenes beautifully. 
4. Seeing for the first time a movie in the Sci-fi/Thriller genre with a few huge fight scenes not involve a single male person was pretty awesome. Kate Mara finally got to kick some ass which she didn't really get to do properly in her role in that horrible Fantastic Four movie last year. And she did a really good job at it. Would love to see her in more roles like this. 

In The Martian directed by Ridley Scott, he had her running on a treadmill in a space ship. Luke decided to have her run in the forest instead. ©20th Century Fox

The not so likes.

The story is tense and gripping from the get go but about two thirds of the way in you can begin to guess what's in store in the end and what the little twist might be. And because of that it sorts of fizzles out in the end. It's not a bad end to the film but it's sort of predictable and not the building crescendo that you were probably hoping for. 

When you've been a bad experiment you have to be strapped down on a metal bed and then... ©20th Century Fox

All in all I thought this was a pretty enjoyable movie. It had an interesting and gripping story that kept you wondering about the characters and what was going to happen. Kate Mara was impressive as was Anya Taylor Joy especially when you consider that most roles like these don't go to young female actors and especially not to new ones. As for Luke Scott, I think he did a commendable job. The directing was tight and each scene added something to the story, the characters and the film. I think that he's got a pretty good future ahead. But and there is a but here, I don't think this movie will please everyone. But then again what movie ever does. I'm going to give Morgan a solid 3.5 out of 5. Interesting story, good cast, excellent first time out by Luke Scott.

Have a look at the latest trailer for Morgan here. 

A BIG THANK YOU TO THE FOLKS OVER AT BFM RADIO AND 20th CENTURY FOX MALAYSIA FOR THE PREVIEW PASSES TO WATCH MORGAN!