Logan Review: 9 Ups & 2 Downs

7. James Mangold's Incredible Direction

James Mangold is a terrific director, and shouldn't really be blamed for 2013's The Wolverine going off the deep end in its later sections.

His prior works, such as Walk the Line and the 3:10 to Yuma remake, are proof enough that he has a fantastic handle on both drama and action, which combine in Logan to make a smoothly controlled whole.

There's never a moment where Mangold feels like he's out of his depth or working with a plot point that's beneath him, and it certainly helps that he co-wrote the script.

As far as superhero movies go, the patience and technical prowess on display here makes Logan one of the genre's best-directed movies, right up there with the work of Christopher Nolan.