THE STORY – Six years after the events of Deadpool 2 (2018), Wade Wilson is retired as the mercenary Deadpool and lives a quiet life until the Time Variance Authority (TVA)—a bureaucratic organization that exists outside of time and space and monitors the timeline—pulls him into a new mission. With his home universe facing an existential threat, Wilson reluctantly joins an even more reluctant Wolverine on a mission that will change the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
THE CAST – Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin & Matthew Macfadyen
THE TEAM – Shawn Levy (Director/Writer), Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick & Zeb Wells
THE RUNNING TIME – 128 Minutes
Once the Fox and Disney merger was official, it was only a matter of time before X-Men and Fox’s slate of Marvel characters would be incorporated into the MCU. Fans have speculated if these characters would be inhabited by a new batch of actors, reprised by their original or revival actors, or be a combination of both. However, in recent years, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and Marvel have experienced extreme pushback from their audiences. A slew of mediocre films and television shows were too much for casual movie-goers to keep up with and too underwhelming for passionate fans to be interested in. As a result, the MCU has been on a bit of a break to allow audiences to miss their superheroes. So, it makes perfect sense that its grand return to the big screen includes some of our favorite X-Men actors and the actors who played them during Fox’s acquisition.
“Deadpool & Wolverine” takes place after such events in our world. Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds), casually breaking the fourth wall as he always does, tells the audience he didn’t know if he would ever come back due to the Disney/Fox merger and strikes that occurred in 2023. But alas, he’s here and officially now a part of the MCU. Wade is trying to adjust to this new lifestyle, but this is clear: he is still that hard R-rated Deadpool audiences fell in love with after the release of “Deadpool” and “Deadpool 2.” The Disney logo doesn’t change any of that. Deadpool is still cracking jokes in his timeline within the multiverse and, now, particularly, takes many jabs at becoming part of the Disney and Marvel brands. But now, Deadpool can officially say he wants to be an Avenger. Years after his quest to become one was politely denied, Wade has retired from being Deadpool and now sells cars with his buddy Peter (A charming Rob Delaney). Until one day, a Time Variance Authority (TVA) agent known as Mr. Paradox (Multi Emmy Award-winning “Succession” actor Matthew Macfadyen) alerts him that his timeline is disappearing at a rapid rate due to an anchor being, the most important inhabitant of the timeline, vanishing. That anchor: Logan (Hugh Jackman) sacrificed himself to save Laura in 2017’s “Logan.” Overcome by the thought of his universe and friends ceasing to exist, Wade comes up with a plan: find the Wolverine, restore the timeline, save those who make up his world, and find true purpose in being a hero. Along the way, the two heroes will be confronted by Cassandra Nova (“The Crown’s” Emma Corrin), a formidable antagonist with ties to Professor X, in a desolate area where the TVA dumps their disregarded garbage known as “The Void.”
Now, while the plotline of “Restore the timeline from extinction” has been a central plot for numerous projects in the MCU post-“Avengers: Endgame,” the idea of centering it around a mutant makes sense narratively. It solves the problem as to why MCU audiences haven’t seen them the entire time and gives a reason for Logan to be in the film itself. But, the way the writers of “Deadpool And Wolverine” (Shawn Levy, Rhett Reese, Ryan Reynolds, Zeb Wells, and Paul Wernick) justify Logan’s existence is not as organic or seamless as it wants to be. The writers of “Logan” (James Mangold, Scott Frank, and Michael Green) wrapped up Logan’s arc so effectively and with tremendous emotional impact that the “Deadpool & Wolverine” writers can never fully overcome it, and the way they “bring Logan back” is the lackadaisical result. In addition to being a buddy comedy movie about two unlikely personalities who become friends, “Deadpool & Wolverine” also serves as a tribute and celebration of Fox’s run with their Marvel canon, particularly the X-Men. To an extent, writer and director Shawn Levy (“Free Guy“) is most successful in this endeavor (we dare you to watch the film’s closing credits and not feel just a little bit emotional). But again, there is a degree of overwriting or just ignoring Fox’s original stories – and more importantly – their endings, for “Deadpool & Wolverine’s” plotlines to fully work and justify specific characters’ presence in the film. These narrative pitfalls can be hard to overcome. Still, with enough quippy one-liners, banging music tracks (thanks NSYNC and Madonna), buckets of blood, one hell of an adorable puppy named Dogpool, and more swear words than the entire MCU combined has ever uttered, “Deadpool And Wolverine” manages to claw its way through and find a place within our hearts.
Nevertheless, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are a superb pair of crazy goofballs who will go down as the dynamic duo of the summer of 2024. No matter the writing blunders, Reynolds and Jackman make this film work. They play off each other exceptionally well in both the comedic banter and physicality of their bloody fights in the film. Reynolds is at home as Wade/Deadpool, and it is apparent he loves the character, injecting every bit of himself into the performance with maximum effort to ensure the audiences enjoy themselves. In addition, it is as if Jackman never stopped playing Logan. While the character arc may be similar to a lot of “X-Men” films, Jackman plays Logan with a more animalistic and hostile nature, which differentiates the character in this installment compared to the more vulnerable and tampered versions we’ve been presented with before this and “Logan.” It also helps that Deadpool is a fair and almost equal opponent to Logan due to his regeneration abilities, meaning the two can fight to the best of their capabilities without pulling any punches, resulting in hard-hitting and gory set pieces.
Due to the film paying its respects to Fox’s work with the X-Men and other Marvel characters, starting with “X-Men” (2000) and ending with “The New Mutants” (2020), “Deadpool And Wolverine” is loaded with mutants and conversations about them, particularly the X-Men. Levy knows the work Fox did in the early 2000s laid the groundwork for the MCU and the success of Deadpool to the point of having a third installment. Plenty of jokes are made about the mistakes and failures during those years, but it is also touching to see Wade and Logan interact with that legacy as “Deadpool & Wolverine” serves as a bridge between what was and what will become, even if some of the jokes and cameos exist purely for nostalgia bait. However, this is a common critique of most post-“Avengers: Endgame” MCU installments, and it doesn’t seem like that will change in the near future.
“Deadpool & Wolverine” is a chaotically violent, vulgar, and entertaining time at the movies. It has lots of jokes and amusing set pieces, but it also has a ton of heart behind it, which you can feel coming through all of the actors’ performances. Even if the film has a weak reason for existing and includes the characters it includes, it is still wickedly pleasurable to see the MCU fully plunge into the R-rated world of Deadpool. Jackman’s Wolverine excels in Deadpool’s world while allowing the “Merc with a Mouth” to be cathartic and have deeper conversations when he’s not too busy dishing out juvenile insults and making a joke about anyone and everything. The two characters work so well off one another that it is a breath of fresh air for the MCU and both actors at this point in their careers. If one is suffering from superhero fatigue, “Deadpool And Wolverine” might be a nice shock to your system, or you won’t feel anything at all because your mind is already made up about this genre. It can be an incredibly fun time if you’re willing to give yourself over to what “Deadpool And Wolverine” offers. More importantly, it’s a love letter to the work of Fox’s that helped shape the audience’s love for comic-book movies as they are today, for better or worse.
