There's a scene in "Logan" — the latest addition to the "X-Men" franchise — where an aged, ailing Professor X (Patrick Stewart) exhorts Logan, aka Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), to open his mind to the possibility of a normal human existence, with a family to love and care for.

The year is 2029, and the mutants are all but extinct. Logan is one of the very last survivors after living over two centuries as a ferocious, fearless, claw-endowed super-being with amazing powers of physical recovery. On the other hand, he has been hurt and abused, by evildoers and authority figures alike. He was betrayed time and again and had to bear witness to the suffering and deaths of his X-Men comrades. Yet, listening to Professor X, a look of hope flits across Logan's face. Could it be that, after some 200 years, Logan might at last find meaning, and a semblance of human happiness?

"Logan" feels like both a finale and a reboot of one of the most successful action franchises in cinema history, an extravagant farewell (though not in the way you might think) that refuses to play it safe. From the opening sequence, the story swerves into uncharted territory and never quite returns.