Things couldn't go better for the start of 2017! I got excited, even going a bit to the hyperactive side after watching Hugh Jackman's latest film; Logan.

Deep breath

So, the movie kick off in 2029 with Logan literally falling apart as his healing powers are no longer there to keep him from ageing. You could see his scarred, lined face and notice a certain heaviness to his stride, which was once proud, confident (to the extent of being a bit arrogant) and strong. Logan now lives in a smelting plant with an albino mutant called Caliban - who can smell/detect other mutants - and senile old Charles Xavier (sniff sniff) who happened to have terminated fellow mutants (and specifically X-Men teammates) a year earlier because of seizure-induced psychic attack.

Sad as it seems, this film shows Logan as humanly as possible, it destroys the image of the beast with the healing powers, of the lover who sacrificed the love of his life to save the rest of the team. Logan here is just an ageing man, limping and weak, courageous, yes! still a bit too aggressive (who isn't these days?), but human, not an X-Man, not remotely close. So I sat there watching Logan being begging by a certain Gabriella to take them to Eden, relentlessly asking the protagonist to save them. It was after seeing the large amount of cash that Logan take the initiative and responds to her desperate calls, only to find Gabriella gazing blankly at him, dead as a doornail on a chair in her motel room. So the interesting part lays not in the death of that poor woman, but in the fact that the little cub she was trying to protect is literally a cub (at least not in the animal sense ... to a certain extent), Logan's cub, an offspring that has come to life thanks to his DNA.

Wild and exuberant, little Laura shows great fighting abilities that are akin to her "dad's" before the Adamantium started poisoning him. The adventure is quite impressive and takes you through twists and turns that, albeit predictable, remain interesting thanks to Logan's inner dilemma concerning Laura. I particularly loved the moments you could see his need to show the little one some affection but refraining to do so since he knows his end is close at hand. And I wonder ... was Dafne Keen cast due to some resemblance to the late lover? It might have been just me, but I couldn't but see a trace of Jean in her features. Again, it's just me, but I still wonder if it were on purpose.

The story unfolds with Logan and his pack reaching Eden, meeting young mutants, trying to fend off attackers who had previously caused the death of an innocent family - by unleashing a younger version of Logan, Yes! A clone! - and inadvertently Caliban's termination after capturing him and using his powers to track old Logan. You should really see how badass Caliban turns out to be after spending most of the film looking helpless and lost. I guess this is the best performance I have seen by Hugh Jackman in that specific role, not because of the crazy fight scenes, which are so well done you could see those gorgeous Adamantium blades literally slashing and cutting off limbs, but because of the Logan/Laura match and their very similar wild, feline attitude.

One last note and you'll be done with this. Well, I did some research and stumbled across some easter eggs that I may or may have not missed while at the movies, so here are just three of the many ones:

Rictor

I researched this mutant's name since I had no idea who he was and what his lineage would be. Well, he turned out the son of Avalanche; a super villain who can create seismic waves through his hands. This information was seen in Rictor's file as Logan was going through the children's files.

Greenwood Cemetery

This was where Logan was chauffeuring a widow. Little did I know that this place was Greenwood Cemetery until a friend of mine noticed it and sparked my interest. This goes to those who are not familiar with that place. Greenwood Cemetery is where Steve Rogers' (aka. Captain America) memorial was erected.

The children ... weapons

The mere presence of Laura and the Wolverine clone X-24 could be traced back to X-Men: Apocalypse’s post-credits footage where Wolverine's DNA was collected. Go figure! The rest of the young mutant pack go back to various fictional characters such as Chris Bradley known as Maverick or Bolt (electric powers). Alas, the rest of the children are only shown with their abilities, which can only point towards their origins such as the kid with the ice breath and touch who could be bearing the DNA of Bobby Drake; the child with the fire powers, maybe Pyro; the child with the plant power, or the one with the telekinetic powers, etc. Their origins will remain mysterious with the hopes that we might be given some insight into exactly who their parentage is in later movies.

This movie, which loosely based on Old Man Logan and Death of Wolverine, is the last of Hugh Jackman's portraying the Wolverine and is filled with numerous signs that I did not mention in this article, so it's up to you to find them and share them with us as you go. This last attempt at embodying this beloved character was marked with success, not only on the production/technical level, but on the emotional one, most notably with Wolverine's death being such a massive closure following an invigorating roller coaster. From the satisfying punch-throwing, gut-slashing moves to the simple hand-holding scene joining Wolverine and Laura, Logan is a must-watch.

Next Movie … Beauty and The Beast, can’t wait for that one.