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MT 5 March 2017

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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 5 MARCH 2017 38 This Week CRAFTED out of the futuristic parallel universe comic book se- ries Old Man Logan by Mark Mil- lar and Steve McNiven, the film adaptation Logan – directed by James Mangold and once again starring Hugh Jackman as Logan/ Wolverine and Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier/Professor X – presents a down-and-out but strangely bittersweet cinematic swansong to characters that, on admission of the actors playing them, have ran their course on the silver screen. It is the near future, and mu- tants have been wiped from the earth as the result of the machi- nations of some evil scientists, chief of which is Zander Rice (Richard E. Grant). But Rice's henchman Donald Pierce (Boyd Holbrook) is on the prowl yet again, as this nefarious research- er-militia team have sniffed out some stragglers. Logan Jack- man), who now ekes out a mis- erable existence as a limousine driver, is keeping Charles Xavier (Stewart) in a safe bunker in the middle of nowhere, where the former X-Men leader's teleki- netic powers – now made to run amok thanks to a degenerative brain disease – can do no harm to others. He is aided in this by the albino mutant 'tracker' Cali- ban (Stephen Merchant) who is however growing wary of the fact that keeping Xavier medicated and under lock and key might just prove to be unsustainable. When Pierce comes knocking, the trio's already precarious exist- ence is tipped to breaking point. But Xavier knows there's a card yet to be played: the promise of a young mutant going by the name of Laura (Dafne Keen) who may just hold the key to the regenera- tion of the mutant race. Problem is, Rice's and his henchmen are looking for her too… Unshackled from the commit- ments to franchise-building, Lo- gan turns out to be a thrilling an affecting character drama that just so happens to be set in a dys- topian future and deal with su- perpowered beings. It's a shame- less genre cocktail told with power and verve, and feels like a cross between the merciless hin- terlands of Cormac McCarthy's The Road and No Country for Old Men, and the high-concept sci-fi drama of Children of Men. Another thing that distinguish- es Logan from affiliated Marvel fare is that the film is, to a sig- nificant degree, a passion project for its star – and Jackson's com- mitment to the role is palpable in every scene. The mechanics of the film itself don't, of course, al- low for any subtlety or major 'ac- torly' moments to seep through for any length of time, but Jack- son still manages to pour great dollops of pain and world-wea- riness amidst all the explosions and dismemberment. Coupled with a Patrick Stewart wonderfully let loose – it's both painful and utterly infectious to see such a formerly dignified character as Professor X devolve into a potty-mouthed grouch in his old age – and the Man- gold's film managed to lurch into wounded, crabby life despite the generic confines it still operates under, after all is said and done. Logan is a violent but strangely heartfelt tribute to a beloved character, whose passing from the cinematic veil is treated with dignity and a strange, addled form of grace. May the gods of franchising accept to – finally – let sleeping wolverines lie, heart- breaking as it is to accept as a truth of many of his fans. IN CINEMAS TODAY Embassy Cinemas Valletta Tel. 21 227436, 21 245818 Logan (15) 10:30, 14:30, 17:30, 20:30 The LEGO Batman Movie (U) 10:00, 13:50, 16:10, 18:30 La La Land (12A) 20:50 Patriots Day (15) 15:50, 18:35, 21:10 Fifty Shades Darker (18) 10:30, 13:30, 16:00, 18:30, 21:00 The Great Wall (12A) 10:20, 13:45, 16:00, 18:20, 20:40 Lion (PG) 21:15 Sing (U) 10:35, 13:40, 16:00, 18:20 Valletta Living History (U) 10:00, 10:45, 11:30, 12:15, 13:00, 13:45, 14:30, 15:15 Eden Cinemas St Julian's Tel. 23 710400 Logan (15) 12:30, 15:20, 18:10, 21:00, 23:10 Hidden Figures (PG) 13:15, 15:50, 18:25, 21:00, 23:35 Patriots Day (15) 13:15, 15:55, 18:35, 21:15 John Wick: Chapter 2 (15) 13:30, 16:00, 18:35, 21:10, 23:45 Denial (12A) 14:00, 16:15, 18:35, 21:00 Split (15) 14:00, 16:25, 18:50, 21:15 Fifty Shades Darker (18) 14:00, 16:25, 18:50, 21:15, 23:45 Toni Erdmann (TBA) 14:00, 20:00 Sing (U) 14:00, 16:15, 18:35 Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (15) 14:05, 16:20, 18:35, 20:50 The Great Wall (12A) 14:05, 16:20, 18:35, 20:55, 23:15 The LEGO Batman Movie (U) 14:10, 16:25, 18:40, 20:50 The Sleeping Beauty (PG) 15:00 The Young Offenders (TBA) 18:00 Lion (PG) 18:50, 21:15, 23:40 Rings (15) 20:55 Empire Cinemas Bugibba Tel. 21 581787, 21 581909 John Wick: Chapter 2 (15) 10:45, 13:30, 16:05, 18:35, 21:05 Fifty Shades Darker (18) 11:00, 13:45, 16:10, 18:35, 21:00 The Great Wall (12A) 11:00, 13:45, 16:10, 18:30, 20:45 Logan (15) 11:00, 14:00, 18:00, 21:00 The LEGO Batman Movie (U) 11:00, 14:00, 16:15, 18:35 Lion (PG) 20:45 Hidden Figures (PG) 10:30, 13:15, 15:55, 18:35, 21:10 Patriots Day (15) 10:45, 14:00, 18:15, 21:00 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ WOLVERINE ★ ★ ★ ★ PEACHY KEEN ★ ★ ★ MAKE A SCENE ★ ★ LACKING SHEEN ★ SIGHT UNSEEN FILM By Teodor Reljic FILM: LOGAN (15) ★ ★ ★ ★ Lone again: Logan (aka Wolverine) gets one hell of a swansong by actor Hugh Jackman in James Mangold's futuristic take on the fan- favourite X-Men character Fond farewell to a brutal teddy bear The girl with the claws: Dafne Keen

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