The Wolverine is one of the most popular characters in the history of comic books. He has been ranked #4 by IGN (Imagine Games Network) and #1 by "Wizard" magazine. The brooding X-Man mutant with the long, retractable claws and healing powers has been featured in several Marvel comic book series since the 1970s, not to mention video games, TV series and, of course, films. Hugh Jackman has played the character in almost all of the X-Men films, including three based solely on his character. In 2009, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" takes the character from his childhood in 1840s Canada through several wars and into league with Professor Xavier and the X-Men. 2013's "Wolverine" is set mostly in modern Japan and sees the title character struggling with the "curse" of his invulnerability. 2017's "Logan" (R, 2:17) is inspired by the 2008 graphic novel "Old Man Logan". It takes place in the near future, shows an aging Wolverine as anything but invulnerable and is intended to be the character's final appearance on film.

2029. El Paso, Texas. Wolverine / Logan (Jackman) is working as a limo driver. He's not the mutant he once was. Far from it. The alloy adamantium, which gave his skeleton and claws such strength, is poisoning him. He's slowly dying. And he's not the only one. For a variety of reasons, mutants everywhere are dying off and Charles Xavier / Professor X himself (Patrick Stewart) seems set to join them soon. Logan has Xavier stashed at an abandoned smelting plant across the border in Juarez, Mexico. A mutant called Caliban (Stephen Merchant) is caring for the ailing Professor and Logan brings him medications that he purchases illegally in El Paso. Xavier is suffering from a form of dementia and, when he has one of his seizures, the powers of his mind that had served him so well in the past, cause tremors and considerable discomfort for those nearby. It's not a happy life for any of these men, but it is a quiet, anonymous and relatively peaceful one. That is, until Logan's past catches up to him once again.

Logan is surprised to encounter Laura (Dafne Keen), an 11-year-old mutant who needs Logan's help, but he wants no part of her problems. Gabriella (Elizabeth Rodriguez), a nurse at a secret surgical clinic called Transigen, begs Logan to help Laura get to North Dakota, to a place called Eden, which is supposed to be a refuge for young mutants. Laura is being pursued by Transigen's evil surgical head, Zander Rice (Richard E. Grant), and his ruthless head of security, Donald Pierce (Boyd Holbrook), who has with him a private army of cybernetic soldiers called the Reavers. Soon, Logan has no choice but to step up and protect Xavier and Laura. What follows is a road trip from hell, with Reavers in hot pursuit, Logan and Xavier both suffering physically and mentally and with some major revelations along the way.

"Logan" brings Wolverine's story to a satisfying conclusion, but it's only somewhat entertaining. The tone seems darker and more violent than previous Wolverine movies (if that's possible). There's plenty of action, including fight scenes with generous amounts of blood and gore, but the story is smaller, more personal and more emotional. It's a good mix of action-driven and character-driven, but can be difficult to watch. It's almost overwhelmingly depressing, the extreme violence cheapens human life more than most action movies and the frequent use of adult language (all of it involving children) is disturbing. Wolverine fans may enjoy this final chapter, but there are better action movies out there. "C+"