You go to the movies with the Hollywood you have, and these days that means looking for the good in franchises and remakes, looking for pre-sold films in which corporate predictability gives way and real creativity shines through. With that in mind, let’s consider two of the biggest hits of the winter-into-spring: Logan and Beauty and the Beast, one an object lesson in how to make a franchise story that’s also a real movie, the other a lesson in how to just cash in without doing anything to justify your grab.
“Logan,” for non-adepts, is the real name — technically the adopted real name, but let’s not go too far down the rabbit hole — of the fierce, mutton-chopped mutant better known as “Wolverine.” He has been played by Hugh Jackman in a quite remarkable number of X-Men films now — six group outings (counting cameos) and two Wolverine-specific titles — with Jackman each time contriving to bare his rugged chest as he deals out justice with adamantine claws. The character has a detailed and tormented backstory, so Jackman has also occasionally contrived to show his acting chops in the part — but only intermittently, in stories that aren’t particularly interested in the human element inside their moneymaking fantasy machine.
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