‘Logan’ Reviews: Hugh Jackman Wows As Wolverine, ‘Logan’ Box Office To Be Huge?
Logan reviews are coming in for the new film, with Hugh Jackman scoring high marks in his third standalone effort as Wolverine. Taking place in the future, Logan serves as a bit of closure for the character of Wolverine, as it has been widely reported that Jackman is retiring this role. It doesn’t mean someone else won’t pick up the torch a bit later, but Jackman has nearly completed his run as the star of this particular franchise.
The early Logan reviews are suggesting that this could be the best film to come from the X-Men franchise so far. In a report on the movie review site Rotten Tomatoes, the critics have stated that this film is “certified fresh.” With 141 critics weighing in on the film written and directed by James Mangold, the Logan reviews have received an overall mark of 93 percent. This is an exemplary grade, especially for a film coming from the comic book and action genre.
The film continues the latest story arc that the character of Wolverine has undertaken, with Logan opening in the year 2029. Barely any mutants are left in the world, save for Wolverine, outcast Caliban, and a much-older Professor X. As nearly all of the Logan trailers have shown, one of the main focal points of this particular story is a girl that has begun to exhibit some of the characteristics of other mutants from the past.
Returning as Professor Xavier is Sir Patrick Stewart, providing some aging continuity to the storyline. James McAvoy hasn’t been advertised as a participant in this film, but he should appear again as Professor X when the rebooted storyline continues later. Other members of the Logan cast include Dafne Keen as Laura as Stephen Merchant as Caliban. Keen plays the little girl and was most recently seen on the television show The Refugees. Merchant plays Dave Gibbs on The Big Bang Theory and was a writer on projects like The Office.
The Logan reviews are much higher than the marks The Wolverine garnered back in 2013. Although The Wolverine was also “certified fresh” on Rotton Tomatoes, 239 critics only gave it an overall grade of 69 percent. The fans were in a similar boat with the Wolverine reviews, as 251,834 users rated it at 69 percent as well. This was the sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine from back in 2009. That original film landed with a “splat” as critics didn’t enjoy it as much. The film scored a 38 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, with fans only giving it a 58 percent.
These early Logan reviews certainly shine a very positive light on the film, but the biggest test will be to see if movie fans will turn out for an early March release date. The Logan box office will need to be quite good to overcome the rumored production costs. Can the Logan box office beat out the first two films in the series combined?
Box Office Mojo has detailed reports about the box-office receipts for the first two Wolverine films. With a May 1 debut in 2009, X-Men Origins: Wolverine made just about $180 million at the domestic box office. The film made an additional $193 million at the foreign box office, working out to about $373 million worldwide. The Wolverine debuted on July 26, 2013, earning about $133 million in the United States and $282 million in the foreign market. That works out to a total box office of about $415 million for the second film.
It’s very easy to see why producers and 20th Century Fox wanted to put out a third standalone story, especially with the rich source material that the writers had to work with. Some of the core story points in this film come from the graphic novel Old Man Logan. James Mangold may have succeeded in a very difficult task, as the studio doesn’t control all the superheroes that appeared in that particular novel. If the early Logan reviews are any indication, though, it appears that Mangold and Hugh Jackman have a winner on their hands.
[Featured Image by Cindy Ord/Getty Images]
