I would argue that people actually had plenty frame of reference, especially at a time when superhero movies are constantly being pumped out. The bar had been raised pretty high (and Logan even raised it higher). People already knew what kind of a Wolverine movie they wanted, and just by looking at the ratings, Logan delivered, and it was a lot more than just "Wolverine slash people apart grindhouse style or because they got to see Prof X use the F word." Of course, It was incredibly fulfilling to see Wolverine doing what he does best!
I'm not saying you should like Logan just because everyone else did. That would be closed minded. I just don't think it's cool to come to the belly of the beast to tell us why you think we all liked it.