Logan vs. X-Men Origins: Wolverine

“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” is back on Disney+, putting another X-Men film on the streaming service alongside the Marvel Cinematic Universe we figure they'll be officially joining in a mid- or post-credit scene any year now.

Because it's under the Mouse Ears, you won't find the R-rated “Logan” in this collection, but that's just as well, because given the choice, I'd pick the first Wolverine solo film over the last nine times out of 10.

Please notice I did not say “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” is a better movie. While I find taste in movies largely subjective, I feel pretty confident in saying “Logan” is the other film's equal or superior in just about every category.

Except enjoyment. Your mileage, of course, may vary.

Directed by James Mangold with a screenplay by Mangold, Scott Frank and Michael Green, 2017's “Logan” is partially inspired by the “Old Man Logan” storyline yet thankfully never ventures down the revoltingy vile road taken in the Mark Millar-written, Steve McNiven-drawn comic finale. (I may have just thrown up in my mouth a little thinking about it.) The performances are excellent, the atmosphere tense, the emotions genuine, and I am not sure I'll ever feel the need to watch it again.

It didn't need to be a wacky, quip-laden spectacle. It shouldn't have been. But for all that darkness, I was hoping for a little light at the end of the tunnel.

Spoilers, of course, follow.

The movie focuses on a down-on-his-luck Logan (Hugh Jackman), whose healing factor ain't what it used to be, caring for an ailing Professor X (Patrick Stewart), who apparently accidentally killed the X-Men. Mutants are on the brink of extinction.

The opening line of the movie has four letters and starts with “F,” followed by Logan brutally dispatching the thugs who try to steal the limousine he drives. I lost count of both how many times that word was used and how many people's heads Logan jammed his claws through pretty early on.

Logan is contacted by a woman on the run with Laura (Dafne Keen), a young mutant girl who, it turns out, can heal and pop claws out of her hands and feet. He can barely keep himself and Charles safe, let alone this kid, but some of his long-dormant heroic instincts start to stir.

We get a nice sequence where Logan, Professor X and Laura interact with the guy from ER's (Eriq LaSalle) family. It's a refreshing bit of normalcy in the nigh-apocalyptic setting and a reminder that mutants and humans can coexist peacefully. Then the bad guys show up and butcher the family. LaSalle's kindness veers toward fear and hatred before he dies, and I can't exactly say I blame him.

Eventually, Logan has to rely on Laura to save him, making what could have been the best line of the movie ring very hollow.

“Don't be what they made you,” he tells Laura, who along with other mutant kids was raised by a shadowy organization to be living weapons.

Except when his younger, stronger clone shows up and Wolverine can't stop him, that's exactly what Laura has to be.

Wolverine is a character who has never shown a reluctance to deal with problems violently in the comics, but what sets him apart to me are the stories where he recognizes the problem with that and tries to spare others. He even broke off from Cyclops in the comics and started his own school to give mutant kids the chance to grow up as something other than soldiers. He kicked Laura (X-23 and sometimes Wolverine in the comics) and other more “innocent” characters off the revamped X-Force but kept the black ops team going with ruthless and morally questionable characters to do what he felt needed to be done without forcing others to get their hands dirty.

I'm not saying Logan's ends justified the means, but it's an interesting idea and leaves room for the possibility that there is something more to heroing than racking up a body count. (One of those mature readers “Uncanny X-Force” issues even involves Deathlok fighting off Apocalypse's influence by scientifically proving love is superior to hate, so take that, grimdark pessimists!)

That's what I was hoping to get after the brutality and sadness of “Logan.” But what I saw instead was, “You don't have to be the killer they made you ... after you kill every single one of them.”

“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (2009) is a flawed movie. Prolific comic writer and novelist Peter David once described it by saying it's the best there is at what it does and what it does is set up other movies. Almost none of them came to fruition.

Yes, it's violent and, it's been a while since I watched it, but some of that violence is no doubt dialed down just enough to get a PG-13 rating. I generally dislike this kind of sanitization, but “Logan” goes way in the other direction, far beyond what's “necessary” to tell a darker story.

“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” has Gambit and Easter eggs galore. It's the kind of movie I'll put on while I'm doing stuff around the house. I don't have to devote my full attention to it, but it's a comic book movie and I won't feel worse after it's over than I did when I put it on.

(No, I didn't mention Deadpool. Yes, Ryan Reynolds' performances in the actual “Deadpool” movies are infinitely better than “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” But the first one is a story about a funny, mentally ill guy murdering his enemies. The second at least gives him some motivation beyond himself, but is still absurdly vulgar. I have no desire to own and little to ever revisit either.)

I know. But still ... no.