Logan - 1 nomination

Adapted Screenplay, Screenplay by Scott Frank & James Mangold and Michael Green; Story by James Mangold

Logan/Wolverine is one of the last known mutants alive.  Professor X, the leader of the X Men, is slowly dying and Logan is caring for him.  Along the way, he discovers that there is a young girl who is not only a mutant, she appears to have similar but enhanced powers to the Wolverine; she also has incredible healing powers and knives that emerge from her hands like he does but in addition, she also has knives that emerge from her feet.  A kind woman busts her out of a secret facility building and exploiting mutant children, and seeks out Logan to help protect the girl.  All of these children seem to be victims of a plot to use them as weapons.  Logan's mission becomes clear - move this girl and the other children to safety, out of the hands of the people who would exploit them.

Logan is an excellent film, maybe one of the best of the X Men series.  Hugh Jackman is wonderful, as always, but what makes him so good is that he is the Wolverine we know, but the more worn down version of this character.  Professor Charles Xavier is also different than the person we have grown to know and love, as he is more vulnerable if not less wise.

I was surprised to see Logan nominated as an Adapted Screenplay, or frankly, to be nominated at all.  But I think what got this film to the top 5 is that the character arcs of people who have been so familiar to us through 9 X Men films that have featured these characters (there are actually 10 X Men films, if you count Deadpool, but neither Professor X nor Wolverine appear in that film) have evolved, have grown tired, have become different people than just the cookie cutter Wolverine and ProfX that we have always known.  The story of the end of a superhero's life has a totally different tone to the rest of them, even with all of the regular and expected action scenes.

I loved this film, I was moved by the ending in particular.