4) Grit With Meaning
Fans have heard the terms “gritty reimagining” so many times over recent years that it’s become near groan-inducing. Oh great, here comes another film that thinks it’ll be good if it removes all the jokes and enjoyment that made the original fun. While it is a hard R-rated, generally gloomy take on the Wolverine character, Logan still feels like its grittiness has a meaning and a purpose.
From the opening scene where Logan brutally kills a bunch of carjackers just to keep his limo safe for his next chauffeur job, the movie pitches itself into a moody, morally-grey world that’s full of darkness and danger. Yet, it’s also a world with hope, a place where heroes still do the right thing, even if the weight of the world has made them reluctant and broken.
Likewise, Logan is a very violent movie – if you’ve ever wanted to see Wolverine let out his full berserker rage when not confined by a PG-13 rating, you’ll be over the moon here. However, it doesn’t come across as the movie pandering to its mature rating, but simply an organic outcome of its overall tone. Unlike most films where the gritty card is thrown around, death and violence actually mean something here and every head and limb Logan dismembers clearly weighs heavily on his mind.