I saw “Logan” over two weeks ago. At the time, I was tempted to hand in a two-sentence review: “They went there. Period.” And leave it at that. I truly considered it. But it’s my job to write about this, so I have to sort through this utter emotional destruction to convey it to you.

Before I begin in earnest, I must confess a few things. First, I walk into movies pretty clueless. I watch the first trailer and maybe the second and then show up. I might have intimate knowledge of a film’s production aspects, but plot-wise, I just try to go with the flow. This unawareness often leaves me blindsided by the turn of events. Second, I am an actual grandma with the preferred rating of PG-13 for my movies. I close my eyes at graphic violence and sweat nervously at sex. Judge me if you want, but I’m just trying to let you know where I’m coming from when I tell you this movie bulldozed me right through the pavement and down into eternal suffering.

“Logan” is the third Wolverine solo movie in the “X-Men” franchise. In it, Logan (Hugh Jackman) lives a quiet life, taking care of Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) in 2029 after mutants are all but extinct at the hands of humans. The pair is old and decrepit and just trying to survive. They encounter Laura (Dafne Keen), a young girl with claws similar to Logan’s, who is being hunted by a sinister corporation. Ultimately, they engage in a cross-country road trip to bring Laura to safety. This feels like a great bastardization of the plot, but I believe pretty strongly in avoiding spoilers.

The film combines many different story lines into one. It’s inspired by the 2008 Old Man Logan Marvel Comics series, which depicted an alternate dystopian universe. It also adds Laura, present in the regular universe comics, and builds on canon from the “X-Men” movies.

“Logan” fought for its R rating, which it earns within the first three minutes. F-bombs drop from the opening line onward. The violence is there from the outset as well, with graphic head-slicing that continues throughout the film. The villains use a harpoon against the mutants and other nasty stuff that I honestly wish I could unsee. This is not a movie for kids, just in case you were wanting to bring your Wolverine-crazed five-year-old with you.

What the movie is, however, is a stunningly compassionate superhero movie that goes where no superhero movie has gone before. Instead of going big, “Logan” went small. The ensemble is only a few main characters and the conflict one of personal safety, not universe ending consequences. The results of this are felt keenly. “Logan” is the most human of the superhero movies. Combining crotchety Logan with young but angry Laura brings depth and reflection to Logan that he has rarely been allowed before. She is Logan’s mirror, in which he sees both the good and bad in himself play out. He experiences more growth in this movie alone than he does all of the previous 6. He cries in this one.

In terms of plot, “Logan” goes all the way. The film takes incredible risks with its events and ending. Interpret that how you will, but just know to expect suffering—about as much suffering as you can imagine if you grow to care for these characters at all. It is an absolutely heartbreaking movie in just about every way.

The best part about all this is that it was a good movie. Actually, it was a great movie. The acting was impeccable, with both Jackman and Stewart easily adapting their beloved characters to an older age and Keen conveying a depth greater than her scowl. The plot was a good mix of intrigue, conspiracy and character-focused drama. The tone was appropriately dark and serious. It was, all in all, an extremely well-made movie. So well-made that all of this suffering at the hands of tragedy and violence was totally worth it.

I don’t think superhero movies will ever be the same. “Deadpool” may have changed the game rating-wise, but “Logan” does so much more. The ending of the film, which you can probably guess if you think more than I did, is liberating for the genre as a whole—and so is the gritty and open way the film tackles themes of aging, family, depression and suicide. This is not Marvel’s sunshiny, globe-trotting boy scouts or DC’s dark but empty action flicks. This is an entirely new phenomenon: a savagely humanistic take on the superhuman. Bring tissues.