Deadpool and Wolverine see you across the bar, and they like your vibe.
Whether you think there’s no more Marvel after Endgame or you’ve been cautiously optimistic about the Multiverse Saga, come see Deadpool and Wolverine’s superb chemistry, but more importantly, come see the film’s blunt assessment of Marvel Studios’ past, present, and future.
It’s a comforting outcome. The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has become too bloated and unorganized in recent years, and it’s time for someone to deflate it and have some fun. In that sense, Deadpool and Wolverine is like a well-timed and long-lasting fart, a confident fart that releases accumulated gas and makes room for future nutrients, making the body feel instantly better. It can’t single-handedly help the MCU escape its current indigestion, but it’s a refreshing moment of self-reflection, showing that Marvel can still let go and let go when it really matters.
Shawn Levy’s superhero comedy is on fire from the start, with Deadpool spitting out comments before the Marvel Studios credits even roll, and he almost immediately gets in trouble with the Time Variation Authority (TVA) from Loki. It’s a very exciting opening – after all, this is Deadpool’s MCU debut, and like a drunken, giggling cousin after Thanksgiving dinner, you never know what weird, funny nonsense he’s going to say next, or how much he’s going to stun your aunt.
With more than a decade of MCU plot (and marketing) to spit on, Ryan Reynolds is quick to poke fun at all aspects of the “holy timeline.” Ryan Reynolds still has a good handle on Deadpool’s spiciness, and applies it to the current state of the MCU, which brings this smug and pretentious film series back to Earth.
You can practically see Ryan Reynolds slamming a bunch of Kevin Feige jokes onto a table and then recording every single one of them. These meta jokes are unexpected and pointed enough — and at first, it’s enough to be the most perilous moment in the MCU since the Infinity Saga.
One of my biggest questions heading into Deadpool vs. Wolverine was whether the MCU’s first R-rated film could maintain the raunchy, expectation-subverting tone that has always made the Deadpool franchise so unique among superhero movies.
As it turns out, that core is still intact, and in fact, if Deadpool and Wolverine swearing at each other every 10 seconds can keep you in the theater, then you’re definitely in for a treat.
But I must admit that I also found some jokes to be clearly held back and somewhat restrained, some of which you think “how dare you say that” halfway through before quickly stopping or changing the subject. The movie has so many laughs and a lot of self-mockery that it’s hard to blame the director’s decision to make Deadpool a little more mellow, but it’s still a little disappointing that Deadpool vs. Wolverine doesn’t try to surpass the more outrageous and outrageous actions that Deadpool has done in previous movies.
Speaking of which, less than 10 minutes into Deadpool vs. Wolverine , we’re going to see Deadpool tarnish our fond memories of Logan — both as a character and as director James Mangold “The Wolverine: The Last Stand”.
This is a tightrope that “Deadpool and Wolverine” must walk: “The Wolverine 3” is still regarded as one of the pinnacles of superhero movies, although audiences have become more or less accustomed to the concept of “transformation” Concept, but having Hugh Jackman appear in Wolverine’s classic suit would still seem a bit tacky, especially after his near-perfect farewell performance. But Hugh Jackman – an actor known for his level of performance and perfect portrayal of Wolverine – found a good balance for this Wolverine, and he clearly enjoyed every “F-word” and every word. An angry outburst.
There’s definitely some cognitive dissonance at first, as the film asks the audience to project decades of love onto a variant we’re seeing for the first time. But ultimately, this version of Wolverine is still the familiar Logan, a reluctant but ultimately heroic character with a deep self-loathing and a struggle to find redemption, so the awkwardness fades as the film progresses. But Deadpool vs. Wolverine is a reminder that nothing is sacred except the timeline, and playing with the rules is what matters most.
Jackman and Reynolds have been testing their chemistry on social media for a few years now, and Deadpool vs. Wolverine proves that their confrontation alone is enough to support a feature film. You can feel that the two leading actors trust each other and are very comfortable together, which makes their banter and banter significantly stronger than other MCU combinations, because as I said before, they had many years of “rehearsal” before joining the crew, and the R-rated movie rating gave them a lot of room to let loose.
As a “buddy comedy”, “Deadpool vs. Wolverine” is very good, but it also has the common problem of Marvel movies in recent years – perfunctory plot. Whenever there is a need for background explanation, the rhythm will stagnate, and although Deadpool will immediately make a joke about this situation, the clumsy and garbage plot will not be improved.
Most of the exposition lines used to explain information are thrown to “Mr. Paradox” (Matthew MacFadyen) of the TVA. It is this timeline policeman (or middle manager) who finally convinces Deadpool to help the TVA, but apart from his initial contact with Deadpool, Mr. Paradox has very limited influence on the direction of the story. In fact, he basically has no role after the first scene of the movie.
The Void, the main setting of Deadpool and Wolverine, is also not a plus. This garbage dump at the end of time, first seen in Loki, looks very drab. The featureless and desolate terrain further dilutes the already weak sense of urgency. We are frequently reminded that Deadpool is trying to save the world and his family, but our only connection to them is when he pulls out some Polaroid photos of them when the plot requires him to show real emotions.
The Void is also home to the mysterious villain Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin), whose motivations are very old-fashioned and inconsistent with her erratic and playful personality. Deadpool and Wolverine are characters that the audience has loved for many years. The audience knows their world and their relationship with other characters, which gives them an inherent advantage in mobilizing the audience’s emotions. But as a resident of the Void, Cassandra has almost no connection to anything, which makes her (and Emma Corrin) easily overshadowed by more familiar characters.
Deadpool vs. Wolverine’s boring but budget-friendly wasteland setting at least opens the door to the cameos and variants we’ve come to expect, and despite Deadpool’s constant MCU digs, the film is actually quite respectful of the MCU’s history. A marauding group of Fox veteran mutants, such as Pyro (played again by Aaron Stanford from X-Men 2 and X-Men 3) and Sabretooth (played by Tyler Mane from X-Men 1), opens the door to more surprising characters.
The importance and role of those characters range from “my brain recognized that character, which made my brain happy” to “it made up for one of the biggest regrets in superhero movie history.” Fox’s superhero movie series created at the beginning of the century can be said to have laid the market foundation for the future MCU, and Deadpool vs. Wolverine’s meta elements are also played best when it pays tribute to those old predecessors. Deadpool vs. Wolverine has a serious conversation with that history, and it may be more warm than you expect.
Conclusion
Deadpool vs. Wolverine is an outrageous and hilarious superhero comedy that owes much of its success to the infectious enthusiasm of its leads, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, and its surprisingly tasteful take on superhero movie history. Deadpool and Wolverine’s foul-mouthed adventures force the MCU to take its biggest step outside its comfort zone in years, but some increasingly frustrating old problems remain unresolved, such as unmemorable villains and a rudimentary, almost nonexistent plot, proving that breaking the fourth wall isn’t always the answer to a movie’s fundamental problems.