How Logan Juxtaposes the Superhero Genre

X-Men fans had a bittersweet experience in 2017 with the release of Logan. The film was marketed as Wolverine and Hugh Jackman’s last appearance in the X-Men film Franchise. So we knew something bleak was going to happen, it was only a matter of how it was going to happen.

Compared to other superhero films, Logan really stands out. It’s truly a passion project between Hugh Jackman and Director, James Mangold. The film feels minimal and lonely. Just the name alone has an isolated vibe to it. It’s just ‘Logan’ there's no mention of a team, no subtitle, not even a nod to the X-Men. The film is just a character study.

The reason why Logan is a more realistic superhero film is because of its depiction of real emotions. Let’s face it, this movie is sad af but it has to be. The point of Logan is juxtaposing the genre’s norms by that our heroes don’t always go out with a bang. Sometimes there isn’t going to be a massive funeral with a grand tombstone and hundreds of people mourning. Instead these characters that we grew up with are buried in the middle of nowhere in shallow graves. That’s just the way life goes sometimes.

In a way Logan is telling us to grow up. Although the film is brutal and violent it's really a sobering reminder that there isn’t always going to be an apocalyptic level threat, alien invasion or a battle to save mankind. Sometimes things just play out differently on a smaller, more intimate scale