This is supposed to be actor Hugh Jackman's last 'Wolverine' ever and China Film Bureau just decided to chop 14 long minutes off the film. The reason behind the cuts being cited is violence. So, when Chinese audiences would be getting up from their seats to exit the cinema, their American counterparts will still be watching for another fourteen minutes. The original runtime of the film is 137 minutes.
As noted by website China.org.cn, China Film Bureau's release permit for the film mentions the running time of 'Logan' as 123 minutes. The original version has been rated R in the United States for strong brutal violence and brief nudity. The website learned from insider sources that the censors asked to cut out 14 minutes of violent scenes from the film.
In the film, based on Mark Miller's 'Old Man Logan' comic book series, we are shown an ageing Logan, who has been isolated and has to take care of a little mutant girl played by Dafne Keen, who has powers like him. The girl, Laura Kinney, also known as X-23, is Logan's clone and has metal claw coming off her hands as well. Hugh Jackman has bid adieu to the tortured metal-clawed mutant after inhabiting the role for 17 long years.
'Logan' is also Sir Patrick Stewart's final outing as Professor Charles Xavier. The veteran British actor told Entertainment Weekly after watching the premiere at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival "I was so moved by it, much more moved than I had been the first time of seeing it. Maybe it was the company of these two guys, but the movie ended and — this is an admission — but at one point [Hugh] reached out, and he took my hand in those last few minutes, and I saw him go [mimes wiping a tear from his eye] like this, and then I realized I had just done the same thing.
"Then, the movie ended... and we were going to be taken up on stage, but not until the credits were over. So, we had some time to sit there and, as I sat there I realized there will never be a better, a more perfect, a more sensitive, emotional, and beautiful way of saying au revoir to Charles Xavier than this movie. So, I told [Hugh] that same evening, 'I'm done too. It's all over.'" Stewart told Entertainment Weekly.
Critical response to the film following its premiere at Berlin on February 17 was very positive. Brian Tallerico of Rogerebert.com gave the film 3.5 out of 4, saying 'Logan' has "characters with which you identify and about whom you care. It's not just "great for a superhero movie," it's a great movie for any genre.' Owen Gleiberman of Variety says "It's Jackman who holds 'Logan' together and gives the film its glimmer of soul. Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter says "Seamlessly melding Marvel mythology with Western mythology, James Mangold has crafted an affectingly stripped-down stand-alone feature, one that draws its strength from Hugh Jackman's nuanced turn as a reluctant, all but dissipated hero."
American review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes certified the 'Logan' as fresh, with 95 per cent positive rating. Critical consensus as per the site reads "Hugh Jackman makes the most of his final outing as Wolverine with a gritty, nuanced performance in a violent but surprisingly thoughtful superhero action film that defies genre conventions." That is enough for fans of Wolverine, X-Men and Hugh Jackman to aim for a day one ticket purchase at the cinemas.
'Logan' releases on March 3 in the United States and March 2 in Singapore.
