Deadpool & Wolverine

In this latest offering from Marvel, Wade Wilson/Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) has hung up the red tights to live a normal life with his wife and friends. But he is soon called upon to save his timeline from being destroyed. To do so, he must find Wolverine/Logan (Hugh Jackman), the only person who can help him. Together, the reluctant hero must team up and stop an evil villain (Emma Corrin). The convoluted plot hardly matters, considering that it is simply a paper-thin excuse to merge 20th Century Fox with the House Mouse, bringing the X-Men under Disney’s umbrella.

Deadpool & Wolverine marks the first R-rated film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (or the MCU). This franchise of superhero movies, which began with Iron Man in 2008, has been fairly accessible to families, with multiple entries dropped a year that have been mostly successful. After a significant number of disappointments and flops at the box office, Marvel head Kevin Feige decided to release only one this year. He allowed director Shawn Levy (who also directed the Reynolds vehicle Free Guy) and the two stars to go crazy. It’s an event more than a coherent story, comparable to Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: No Way Home, brimming with cameos, Easter eggs, and more.

So does it work? It’s definitely a mixed bag, and naturally it has both highs and lows. There are at least four writers credited, including Reynolds. It’s most definitely a Deadpool movie first, which should please devoted fans of the “Merc with the Mouth”. For those worried that Disney would soften down the rough edges, fear not: from the opening credits, it’s amazing that Reynolds was allowed to get away with so much of his trademark naughtiness flowing freely from start to finish. Of course, he also breaks the fourth wall constantly, with some cheeky and admittedly funny jabs at the franchise’s over-reliance on cliches such as exposition, overlong third-act battles, and even the Multiverse.

Levy showcases his creativity in multiple fights throughout as well. He can definitely craft well-staged action. A few of these sequences are messy, and you lose track of the players, but they’re still entertaining. The director was also allowed to soak the screen with as much blood and gore as he wanted, as with previous Deadpool entries.

The filmmakers do a great job with Wolverine as well. Instead of a character assassination, they respect the clawed mutant’s legacy, including his fitting and poignant death in Logan. The buddy dynamic between Jackman and Reynolds is definitely boosted because they are real-life friends. Their natural chemistry is one of the film’s best strengths, and it’s great fun to see him play the straight man. The actor also effectively supplies some scenes with gravitas. And he doesn’t look ridiculous in his comics-accurate yellow spandex, either.

Then there’s everything else here. The pacing is probably the biggest enemy, as this production feels longer than its 127 minute runtime. The villain is also a problem, as we never really understand her motives completely beyond merely another “destroy everything” MCU baddie. There are so many needle drops here that I found myself wanting fewer songs, and more than one felt out of place. There were plenty of jokes that landed, but quite a few predictably fell flat or some gags were dragged out too long. Seeing more than a few short scenes with Wade and the people he’s trying to save would have helped flesh them out and make us care.

There is no doubt that this latest MCU film will attract crowds to the theater, especially diehard fans of the “Merc with the Mouth”. Despite the restrictive rating, I would be surprised if it didn’t break even, and even join the first Deadpool in the billion-dollar club. Still, casual audiences (yours truly included) may not want to invest their time and money in these characters. Yes, I was genuinely curious to see what Jackman’s famous mutant would bring to the table, and fortunately he did not disappoint, and some of the cameos here did put a smile on my face. But this franchise should learn to leave the dead to rest. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them digging up Iron Man again.

127 minutes