Director and writer James Mangold’s cinematic swan song to Marvel Comics popular feral mutant moves to ultra high-definition in the depressing as well as dazzling Logan (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, rated R, 133 minutes, 2.40:1 aspect ratio, $42.99).
Set in the year 2029, the intensely human drama offers a physically and spiritually sick Logan, aka Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) taking care of an elderly, mentally deteriorating Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) with help from mutant tracker Caliban (Stephan Merchant) while holed up in an abandoned smelting plant in the Mexico.
Professor Xavier is now essentially a weapon of mass destruction as the onset of Alzheimer’s has unleashed his telepathic powers to uncontrollable levels, strong enough to kill humans and mutants in mass.
While Logan works as a chauffeur, slowly saving money to execute a plan to get his old friend somewhere the world will be safe, he meets a nurse who offers him a large sum of cash to drive a mysterious 11-year-old girl named Laura (Dafne Keen) to North Dakota.
What results is a perilous and odd family road trip for the trio to find a refuge called Eden while fighting off along the way a group of corporate soldiers and an enhanced mutant named X-24 sent by a bio-tech corporation looking to take back its young mutant property.
Fans of Wolverine who have been clamoring forever to see an “R” rated version of the character in action using his Adamantium-laced claws will not be disappointed.
The opening scene of “Logan,” displaying a touch of berserker rage to stop a group of armed thugs from stripping his limousine, sets the tone for a descent into numerous violent confrontations that realistically portray the results of unbreakable steel slicing and dicing into human flesh.
Performances from Mr. Jackman and Mr. Stewart are stellar, perhaps the finest of their careers, with ample support from Mr. Merchant, newcomer Miss Keen and Boyd Holbrook as the security chief hunting the pair.
“Logan” is one of best, raw dramas of the year, transcending the superhero movie and delivering a heartbreaking denouement to a pair of the most famous characters in the history of comics.
20th Century Fox also offers on the disc a black-and-white “Logan Noir” version of the film that really brings the grittiness of the effort into the light and shadows.
However, although the result certainly looks stunning, it suppresses the raw violence of the work.
I’ve waited a lifetime to see Wolverine in full blood sport mode, and it’s too great to watch the original version with the colorful carnage exposed on the screen as he receives and delivers damage to so many enemies.
4K UHD in action: A digital transfer from the original 4K source material leads to a ferocious appreciation of the ultra high-definition format and high dynamic range enhanced action.
Vivid color (when warranted) is fantastic and led by any of the southwest outdoor locations during daytime, clear enough to practically see dust granules swirling against the desert vistas. The scenes at dusk show a sharp dark-blue sky, speckled with pink and purple hues.
Details pop from the screen when examining the pattern on Caliban’s face scarf; Charles age spots and facial stubble (one can practically count the bristles); the bloody bullet casings ejected from Wolverine’s body into a motel sink; his open wounds as well as torso scars; and the flaking of sun-dried newsprint hanging on windows in the smelting plant.
The chaotic moments of Professor Xavier’s seizure in Las Vegas allows viewer to carefully scrutinize Wolverine slowly impaling a series of soldiers with blood sprays in tow.
For the noir version on the film, the contrast is sharp throughout, lending to appreciating iconic moments of Logan overlooking a funeral in a rain-soaked cemetery harkening viewers back to the early days of gunslingers in classic Westerns.
Best extras: Both 4K UHD versions of the film offer an optional commentary track with Mr. Mangold as he dissects his masterpiece.
The polite director first begs listeners’ forgiveness, as he may not deliver non-stop narration to let a scene play out.
That’s fine as what he does deliver is great insight about his fascination with Westerns, especially “Unforgiven,” and wanting to make a film about a character’s journey that was less polished, grimier and more authentic than past X-Men films.
Besides touching on production details throughout, he further explains that when a film is rated R and not marketed to children and toy companies, studio types no longer need to read the scripts through the eyes of a child. The result can be a movie filled with adult ideas, and a much more sophisticated and satisfying story.
Owners will next need to pop in the included Blu-ray disc to find a wonderfully in-depth, six-part, 75-minute documentary on the making of the movie. It covers the story origins, the cast, the design, the score, the incredible stunts and the tricks behind bringing the professor’s seizures to visual life.
It’s loaded with interviews from Mr. Mangold, Mr. Jackman, Mr. Stewart, Mr. Merchant and Miss Keen (with her audition tape) as well as key production personnel such as screenwriters Michael Green and Scott Frank and cinematographer John Mathieson.
Also worth watching are six deleted scenes, with an optional commentary track with Mr. Mangold. The best has Charles mentioning Jean Grey to Logan’s chagrin and showing a young mutant displaying puppet-like powers.
• Joseph Szadkowski can be reached at jszadkowski@washingtontimes.com.
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