Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
Director: Shawn Levy
Screenwriters: Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Zeb Wells, Shawn Levy
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Aaron Stanford, Matthew Macfadyen
It’s strange that neither of the characters who represent the two biggest box office draws for the X-Men movies started out in the main Marvel comics series. Wolverine made his debut as an opponent of the Hulk in 1974 and Deadpool as an antagonist to the New Mutants in 1990, and yet, the now-defunct 20th Century Fox ended up largely building their superhero franchise around Wolverine, while Deadpool’s self-titled film would unexpectedly go on to become the most lucrative of all X-movies to date. A project in limbo for six years largely due to Disney’s acquisition of Fox, ‘Deadpool 3’ eventually became Deadpool & Wolverine and was faced with the challenge of not only finally bringing the Merc’ with the Mouth over to the Marvel Cinematic Universe but addressing the wider Fox franchise’s convoluted history with broad enough humour to please both superfans and newcomers.
After failing to impress in an interview to join the Avengers, mercenary-turned-superhero Wade Wilson aka Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) reluctantly decides to settle down to an ordinary life. His retirement plans are upended, however, when the Time Variance Authority (T.V.A) inform him that his universe is on the brink of collapse because of the death of their “anchor being”, Logan aka Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). Not prepared to lose the handful of people he genuinely loves, Wade decides to traverse the multiverse to find a replacement Wolverine to help save his reality, encountering individuals discarded from many dead universes along the way.
The third Deadpool film, as is tradition by now, opens with a flashy and ultraviolent scene presented without much context before doubling back to allow Wade to provide some in sardonic voiceover. An early fear with this project was whether or not it would sully Wolverine’s legacy after he was given such a perfect, moving sendoff in Logan. As this movie explicitly states early on, almost inviting outrage: they really don’t care about that.
It’s obvious, if you think about it, that this pairing of nigh-on-indestructible mutant antiheroes ends up being the perfect odd couple to build a summer action movie around. You’ve got the comedian and the straight-man, the motor-mouth and the strong silent type, polar opposites of personality forced to put up with each other to achieve a greater goal. It’s Lethal Weapon, Midnight Run or 48 Hours retold with a fistful of comic books in hand. Both Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are inseparable from their roles and have all the love-stab chemistry in their characters’ relationship you could ever want; they’re the real reason this all works.
Putting aside a wide range of noteworthy cameos and surprise appearances (which should remain a surprise), the rest of the cast are solid, with Emma Corrin (‘The Crown’) effective as the creepily puckish psychic villain Casandra Nova and ‘Succession’ actor Matthew Macfadyen on secondary antagonist duties as petulant T.V.A. bureaucrat Mr Paradox. Rob Delaney is still on reliable form as cuddly comic relief Peter, but unfortunately Morena Baccarin (as love of Wade’s life Vanessa) only appears fleetingly, which is especially disappointing considering everything Deadpool has been through in the last two films to save her, not to mention how well her crazy “matches his crazy”.
One of the best things about the action scenes in the Deadpool movies is that, while they are invariably creative and well-choreographed, they’re usually really funny as well. As he demonstrated on the likewise Reynolds-starring Free Guy, director Shawn Levy seems to have a good sense for this. Slapstick punctuation to big superhero brawls certainly helps avoid monotony setting in, the over-the-top visual gags being like if Takashi Miike directed a Monty Python sketch with a blockbuster budget. The opening sequence is a viscera-soaked dance-fight, a midway rumble is confined to the cramped interior of a sensible family van, and a late-stage brawl heavily references Oldboy as the camera tracks steadily sideways over bad guys lining up to meet their grisly demise.
There are plenty of classic needle drops in this, usually in the form of power ballads from the likes of Madonna and Chris de Burgh, as well as a few cheeky references to Hugh Jackman’s career as a song and dance man. They are each usefully juxtaposed with extreme acts of comic book violence for maximum comedic effect, though they could have probably had a bit more fun referencing the music from the earlier Fox movies for more of a deep cut.
It is safe to claim that the “Multiverse Saga” of the MCU has not quite connected with audiences, with many feeling that it is largely directionless and lacking compelling stakes. Deadpool even voices this opinion out loud at one point. Deadpool & Wolverine moves away from this, essentially presenting a loosely connected series of set pieces and pleasing references to earlier Fox superhero movies, though it isn’t actually about much and lacks the other Deadpool movies’ big beating heart in moments where it would have had a real impact.
Is the $200million budget for this film excessive? Probably. Though, rightly or wrongly, it seems to be the new going rate for the last few MCU movies. The money is for the most part on screen with plenty of flashy VFX, though there are presumably some big pay cheques heading out for the returning Fox movie alumni. It is ironic, then, that we still get the problem (also called out by Deadpool) of miraculously deserted, background artist-free streets in any location about to play host to some superhero carnage.
Deadpool works so well as a comedy character largely because of his irreverence, his ability to burst the bubble of anyone taking their genre too seriously. Because of this, of course the 34th MCU movie doesn’t really help lay the ground for what is still to come in the ongoing franchise, with little indication given of how the X-Men and associated characters will make their official entrances. This is a breather from anything convoluted or exposition-heavy, a ridiculously expensive series of in-jokes at the expense of the main proponent of the (now somewhat precarious) biggest genre in movies. It won’t convert those who have had their fill of the superhero craze or who don’t already have a certain amount of affection for these characters, but it is somewhat refreshing to see a massive studio agreeing to so many jokes at their own expense, plus an affectionate acknowledgement of the movies that paved their way to success.
Score: 16/24
Recommended for you: Every X-Men Movie Ranked
