Logan has carved a new place for itself when it comes to superhero movies and it seems like the difference started in the influences even before the film began. Logan director James Mangold had recently confessed to being deeply influenced by the western movie Shane, even having bits of the movie be included in the movie. But that was not the only film who factored into Logan.
Mangold recently sat down for a massive interview with Empire magazine where he discussed the various parts of making Logan and the films that inspired it. One DC superhero made a surprise entrance. The director said:
“Richard Donner’s Superman was extremely human to me – a different tone to Logan by far, but still. Those beautifully-written scenes by Robert Benton between him and Lois Lane on the terrace, the beautiful humanity and simplicity of those scenes, and the lyrical joy of being swept in the air by a god who also happens to have a crush on [her], the contradictions in all of that are beautiful to me.”
Although the original Superman movie was more hopeful in tone than Logan, both movies really do capture the essence of the characters in question. Logan just went down a darker route where all the characters have internal conflicts that they either are running away from or are not ready to face. Whether it was Logan’s denial to listen to his body’s signals that he wasn’t well, or Professor Xavier’s own mind blocking him from accepting the murder he committed at Westchester, there was a sense of unease, a hubris that was taking place.
Logan has marked a new change in the market of superhero movies, highlighting that character study and evolution is as much of an importance as a CGI action sequence. The traditional format for the genre has become too generic for audiences who crave new ways to connect with their favorite characters whether in movies or comic books.
