Despite his colorful yellow costume, Wolverine isn't a very child-friendly character. His main powers are that he can stab forever, and while he may look good on a lunchbox, it's hard to ignore how he uses those metal claws. The X-Men movies have mostly avoided seeing Wolverine slip into full blown Berserker Rage to make their PG-13 rating, but that all changes with Logan. The R-rated film does not shy away from the more violent sides of the mutant, delivering action that fans have been waiting for since 2000. There is some brutal violence in the film, and here's why director James Mangold felt it had to be there.
One of my main reasons for wanting rated R wasn't just to be able to deliver for audiences the kind of action they'd been wanting for a while with Logan. Because as much as this movie kind of dived into the violence of having a lead character and a daughter with claws, I think it's also about feeling the weight and the loss that the aftermath of violence results in. And that is what I was most interested in, in making an adult-themed film, a more sophisticated film. For me, getting the studio to agree to rated R is also when the movie stops being about the four boxes. The movie stops being a vehicle for moving merchandise. No one's watching the film through the prism of a 9-year-old or a 12-year-old and hoping to be able to sit through this six-minute scene between Charles Xavier and Hugh Jackman
James Mangold is the director of Logan, and many have touted him as the man who may have delivered the best X-Men movie yet. Mangold chatted with THR's Heat Vision about Hugh Jackman's final outing as the character and the desire to make the film R-rated from the start. None of the other X-Men or Wolverine films to this point have been R (outside of step-child Deadpool) and Mangold was asked why he pushed on the rating for this one. With Jackman backing him, Mangold felt it delivered on two fronts: giving the fans what they wanted and making a comic book movie that bucks the trends of comic book movies.
Logan definitely plays as an R-rated film. The trailers have teased plenty of blood and guts, with Logan and Laura going absolutely ham on henchmen. Violence and the effect it has on violent people is a big aspect of Wolverine, and it's very cool to see this dynamic finally tackled in a movie. Plus, what isn't awesome about seeing a guy with metal claws cut some dudes arm off?
You can see all this R-rated violence and more by heading down to your local theater as soon as humanely possible by seeing Logan, which is currently playing right now.
