Logan ★★★★☆

After securing screening tickets to the Day One showing of Deadpool and Wolverine (one day before the official release date), I realized there was one X-men film I hadn't seen yet! Within a few minutes of this movie I realized how different it was from the other 'comic-book' style X-men movies, and it was an amazing if not emotional journey! The story follows Wolverine, now known as Logan, in the year 2039. Most mutants are dead at this point, and Logan takes care of a dying Charles Xavier while keeping him safe from mutant hunters. When a young mutant girl with powers similar to him finds Logan, he is now tasked with keeping her safe from hunters who want to kill her. I will say, this film was beautiful and surprisingly sad. The tone of the entire film is bleak from start to finish with a lot of great cinematography that helps sell the 'end of days' tone throughout the entire movie. The character arc of Logan is done pretty well as his ambitions and dreams from previous films are mentioned and help him grow into his final form since this is the last film with this specific Wolverine from this timeline. I also loved the pacing of the film since it helped build the dramatic conclusion along with the thrilling fights along the way. Speaking of the fights, the choreography for the casino fight sequence (when everyone was frozen) was done well and the tension in that moment could definitely be felt as an audience member, which helps the story progress as well. The fights in general used the current setting to their advantage, which is something I look for in superhero movies, and it helped especially for this film since it is the only R-rated movie in the X-men series so I expected it to have over-the-top action sequences. It always bothered me when watching the X-men movies in general that the claws were not that realistic or as graphic as they should be considering his hands are literally sharp claws, so I was glad that the gore and the fight sequences constantly added the level of realism that's important for this character. The final thing I want to note is the number of emotional scenes in this movie. While I knew about certain events before watching this movie, it was still surprisingly sad and emotional (I would say sadder than Endgame on some levels) which was unexpected for a superhero movie, but it totally fit the story and themes that were building throughout, and it strangely made me even more excited for Deadpool and Wolverine. Overall, this was an amazing movie with strong characters and great fight scenes, and prepare to see an emotional superhero film!