The film takes visual, tonal and thematic inspiration from classic western and noir cinema, with director James Mangold having stated that Logan's influences included "visual reference points" of cinema, citing Shane (1953), The Cowboys (1972), Paper Moon (1973), The Gauntlet (1977), Unforgiven (1992), Little Miss Sunshine (2006), and The Wrestler (2008).[170][171][172][173] Mangold was also inspired by The Dark Knight trilogy, saying "It seemed to me that the only films of this ilk that did interest me, that I did admire, or to use Chris Nolan's movies as an example, the ones that have really moved me beyond just the spectacle. There was a very clear decision to apply a film genre to the material, if that makes any sense.""[174] The film also takes tropes and themes of the cyberpunk, with focus put on automation affecting the world of a near future.[175]
Mangold spoke of visual framing, while noting that he does not necessarily think about the "comic-book" related sort, instead highlighting the variety of stylistic influences that went into Logan.[176] These influences include film noir framings and classic Hollywood filmmaking styles, as well as the Germanic expressionist filmmaking style of the early twentieth century, which Mangold stated has a commonality with comic-book art.[177] Mangold highlighted "Strong foregrounds, playing things in depth: you have to make an image say more within that one image."[178]
Using the image of Logan at a funeral as an example of his stylistic logic,[179] Mangold concluded by mentioning the aspects within modern filmmaking, primarily everything in close-up format. For Logan, his aim was to set frames that are descriptive, and evocative of comic-book panels and classical filmmaking.[180]
