Logan and Hugh Jackman…A Bet’s A Bet

I can’t wait for Logan. Not only will it be the best movie in the Wolverine Trilogy (albeit that won’t be difficult) it is the swan song for Hugh Jackman. I grew up loving the character. I can remember the day I learned about Wolverine and even through the explosion of media attention he has garnered throughout the years, he remains a favorite of mine.

After all, he is Canadian.

Selfishly, the movie is more than that for me.

This movie signifies a long standing tradition for my brother and I.

Bet

Here in Canada, we have a football league called the CFL. Please don’t confuse this with the American NFL. They are different. The CFL has its own set of rules and its season culminates in the Grey Cup.

Each year for as long as I can remember, Jeff and I have placed a wager on the Grey Cup, with the loser having to do something of the winners choice. The bet is never about money. Where’s the fun in that?

Past bets have concluded with one of us having to demonstrate the merits of the Shake Weight (if you remember the Shake Weight) to strangers passing by, while others have had one of us clean the others toilet with a very phallic toothbrush. We pride ourselves on the creativity of the bets and look forward to the annual game each year.

This year I won.

Coinciding with Logan is the release of the next 50 Shades of Grey movie, aptly titled “50 Shakes Darker”. As a consequence of the “bet” Jeff has to accompany my wife to 50 Shades whilst I accompany his wife to Logan.

Yes, you read that correctly. A comic fan such as he will not be at Logan on opening night because he will be “enjoying” the newest installment of 50 Shades of Grey. He claims that he will begrudgingly go and see it but I think otherwise.

This “bet” heightens my already strong appreciation for Wolverine. After I see the movie, I will bring you a review.

I need your help. What I need to know is would you like Jeff, as a by-product of the “bet”, to bring you a review of the movie that he will be seeing? Email me at [email protected], comment below, or leave a message on our Facebook page with your thoughts.

Swan Song

Logan is the swan song during Hugh Jackman’s run as Wolverine. A run that has spanned the better part of 17 years. 17 years! He has been playing the Wolverine character for longer than I have been out of school.

I can remember sitting the theater back in 2000 about to witness the dawn of the Superhero movie era. My friend from many years back was an usher at the theater and sat down beside Jeff and I while on a break to told us that we were in for the ride of our lives.

He was right.

Jeff and I dreamed of the day that our favorite heroes would grace the silver screen. When we were kids, we would imagine who we would cast to play our favorite X-Men. I can’t quite remember who we had picked but I always know that Arnold Schwarzenegger was destined to play Colossus. He was in the prime of his career, a mountain of a man, and a big budget action star. It made sense.

To our surprise when Colossus made his appearance in X2, it was not Arnold playing him. And you know what? It proved to be perfect.

Hugh Jackman

I suppose it didn’t really matter. As much as it was an X-Men movie, it was a Wolverine movie. Fox knew that they had something special with Jackman. He was…scratch that…he is Wolverine.

I think Jackman understood that. Over the years, as the movies progressed, he became more and more dedicated to achieving the “Wolverine” look. By the time Days of Future Past debuted, he was a monster. He had achieved physical perfection. There is no shortage of videos on YouTube that will show you just how dedicated he was to the role.

Hugh Jackman knows that to an entire generation, he is Wolverine. While he has starred in many other movies over the years, none of them seemed to fit like Wolverine. Sure, there is Les Miserables, Van Helsing, Real Steel, and Swordfish but he built his career on being Wolverine. The world is better for it.

Logan is due out March 3, 2017, and you can bet that I will be at the prescreening watching it. As for Jeff, he’ll have to wait another day.

Cheers,

Joel

Liked this article? Join the community on Reddit for the latest Marvel & DC news!