Logan (2017) Review kicks off this week's episode of Born to Watch, and boys… this is not your usual superhero movie.

Whitey, Gow and Damo head into the wasteland of 2029 to talk about the final outing for Wolverine, and right from the start the big question is asked, is this actually a superhero movie at all… or is it a western wearing claws?

After nearly two decades of Hugh Jackman playing Logan, the X-Men universe throws away the colourful costumes, the CGI sky beams and the multiverse nonsense, and replaces it with dust, silence and a dying hero who just wants it all to end.

This week, the boys dive into:
• Why Logan feels closer to a Clint Eastwood western than a Marvel film
• The emotional weight of Professor X and Logan’s relationship
• Laura (X-23) stealing the movie without saying much at all
• The brutality and why the R-rating actually matters
• Whether this is the greatest superhero film ever made

Whitey argues that this is the natural evolution of comic book movies, a character study about regret and aging rather than saving the world. Gow admits he expected CGI chaos and instead got a real film. Damo questions the timeline, the X-Men continuity and whether the emotional ending works if it doesn't match the earlier movies.

The discussion also covers how Logan was clearly inspired by classic westerns, especially Shane, and why the movie works best when it forgets it's part of a franchise entirely.

Hugh Jackman delivers possibly his best performance as a broken warrior who no longer heals, drinks too much, hurts constantly and carries decades of guilt. Patrick Stewart's Professor X adds heart and tragedy, while the road-trip structure slowly turns the film into something surprisingly intimate.

And then… there's the ending.

No big sky battle.
No final speech.
Just consequences.

The boys debate whether Logan's death lands emotionally, if Laura is the future of the character, and why this film changed how studios approached superhero movies afterwards.

Is Logan the peak of comic-book cinema? Or just a really good western accidentally starring a superhero?

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• Is Logan the best comic book movie ever made?
• Does the R-rating improve superhero films?
• Is this secretly just a western?

Drop us a voicemail at https://www.borntowatch.com.au and be part of the show.

Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Our Hard to Kill 1990 Review kicks off with a simple truth: the late 80s and early 90s were the golden age of action heroes. Stallone, Schwarzenegger and Willis ruled the world… and then along came a man with a ponytail, a whisper voice and an absolute obsession with breaking forearms.

This week Whitey, Dan and Will the Worky step back into the dojo to tackle Steven Seagal's second ever film, Hard to Kill (1990). A movie that, at the time, felt like the arrival of the next unstoppable action icon… and now feels like a fever dream involving aikido, silk shirts and extremely uncomfortable sex scenes.

Seagal plays Mason Storm, a cop who uncovers political corruption and is immediately shot, along with his wife, in what might be the least secure safe house ever filmed. Storm survives after being pumped full of shotgun pellets and spending seven years in a coma. Yes, seven years. And apparently, all it takes to recover is a massage, a training montage and a nurse who instantly falls in love with him.

From there, the movie becomes a revenge story, but also, somehow, a romance, a conspiracy thriller, a martial arts film, and a weird Seagal self-fantasy all rolled into one.

The boys dive deep into:
• The unbelievable hospital security
• The most aggressive love scene ever filmed
• Mason Storm's questionable medical recovery
• The ponytail era of action cinema
• And why nobody recognises the villain's voice despite him repeating the same catchphrase constantly

There are discussions about video store culture, the 1990 action boom, and how Seagal briefly convinced the world he belonged alongside the legends.

But time has not been kind to Hard to Kill. Watching it today reveals something different. Schwarzenegger knew he was in on the joke. Bruce Willis had charm. Seagal genuinely believes he is the most dangerous man alive… and that may be the biggest reason this film is unintentionally hilarious.

Still, there are broken bones, exploding pool cues, corrupt cops and more arm snapping than a chiropractor convention.

And honestly… that’s why we kind of love talking about it.

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Is Seagal the strangest action star of all time?
Does Hard to Kill accidentally become a comedy?
And is this the most confident bad movie ever made?

Leave a review, share the episode and send it to a mate who still thinks Seagal could win a real fight.

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This week, the boys jump aboard the Andrea Gail for The Perfect Storm 2000 Review, the Wolfgang Petersen disaster epic that tried to answer one simple question:
What if Mother Nature just decided you were finished?

It's a Monday night. You've done your research.
You head down past Burleigh, just west of Palm Beach. Three chairs are waiting. Gow's checking stats, Damo's preparing the Snorbs Report, and Whitey's tweaking the levels.

Game time.

Based on the true story of a sword-fishing crew who sailed directly into a once-in-a-lifetime weather system, the film brings together an all-star cast, George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, John C. Reilly, Diane Lane and a collection of "hey-that-guy!" actors, but the real star might just be the ocean itself.

Whitey is deep in his Clooney phase and openly declares him possibly "the most handsome man we've ever reviewed," while Gow and Damo debate whether the movie actually needs characters at all once the waves hit 100 feet.

Because this is Born to Watch, the conversation doesn’t stay serious for long.

We cover:

• The legendary boat-on-the-wave shot
• Why every sea captain is basically Captain Ahab
• The world's worst job (professional fisherman easily makes the grand final)
• Mark Wahlberg's historically patchy beard
• The glow-stick responsibilities aboard a fishing vessel
• Whether the crew should've just sailed to Portugal instead

The boys also dig into the film's strange structure. Half character drama, half disaster movie, half weather documentary, and somehow still compelling once the storm begins. Even critics admitted the storytelling problems stop mattering once the chaos kicks in.

There's praise for the James Horner score, debate about the true events versus movie invention, and an unexpected emotional reaction to the funeral scenes.

Plus:

• The 2000 Movie Lottery (Remember the Titans vs Bring It On vs The Cell)
• Box office success vs critic ratings
• The Snores Report returns
• Michael Ironside is officially considered for Born to Watch Royalty

And of course, the most important question of all:

If you knew the storm was coming… would you still turn the boat around for the payday?
Because sometimes the scariest part of a disaster movie isn't the wave, it’s the decision that leads to it.

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If you enjoyed the episode, don't just listen, become part of the Born to Watch community.
Leave a rating on Spotify or Apple, drop a YouTube comment, and tell us:

Did Billy Tyne make the right call… or did he doom the Andrea Gail?

#BornToWatch #ThePerfectStorm #MoviePodcast #FilmReview #GeorgeClooney #MarkWahlberg #DisasterMovies #2000sMovies #TrueStoryMovies #MovieNostalgia