'Deadpool & Wolverine' Review: Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman try to save the MCU in middling 'Days of Fox Fan Service Past' romp
I didn't think we would see the day when Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds would wear their metal claws and iconic outfits for a cinematic team-up, let alone think either of them would be operating under the Mouse House-owned Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) banner, retaining their R-rating and all.
Long before superhero cinema sucked the soul out of my system, I, like Ryan Reynolds, yearned to see Marvel’s most-profitable mutants share the big screen. During my youth, Old Man Rendy introduced me to Deadpool through the 2009 animated one-shot movie Hulk vs. Wolverine, which we both adored and frequently quoted. If he were here, he'd be thrilled to see the two finally join the MCU's circle of life.
Deceased father aside, this amalgamation of claws and katanas deserved a superior cinematic package.
Photos courtesy of Marvel Studios
R: Strong bloody violence and language throughout, gore and sexual references.
Runtime: 2 Hrs and 7 Minutes
Production Companies: Marvel Studios, Maximum Effort, 21 Laps Entertainment
Distributor: Disney
Director: Annie Baker
Writer: Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Zeb Wells, Shawn Levy
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Aaron Stanford, Matthew Macfadyen
Release Date: July 26, 2024
Several years after fixing and screwing with the timeline in Deadpool 2, Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) experiences a midlife crisis, despite his immortality. He discontinues his role as Deadpool, splits with Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), and moves in with Blind Al (Leslie Uggams) while collaborating with Peter (Rob Delaney) at a car dealership. But during his birthday party, Wade is taken away by the Time Variance Authority and recruited by Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) to join "The Sacred Timeline". There's only one catch: his world will be destroyed. Wade impulsively signs up a hapless Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), figuring it'll help his world stay safe. They end up in a non-canonical purgatory desolate wasteland called “The Void,” ruled by Cassandra Nova Xavier (Emma Corrin on their hot enby villain shit) and her army of mutants, thanks to Wade's recklessness. Between their squabbles and bloody fights, Wade and Logan work together to return home and save each other's worlds.
Deadpool & Wolverine delivers exactly what you were waiting for. The film works best when Reynolds and Jackman partake in classic odd couple bickering. As tough of a cookie as you might be, Deadpool & Wolverine's avalanche of irreverence and self-satire lands some solid laughs. Despite the exhaustion of Reynolds’ Deadpool shtick – the only card he’s played in every film appearance since 2016 – he still finds a way to make you cackle. Even though the man evokes irritating X’er humor. Not Gen-X’er. But a man who refers to twitter as X unironically as they spew jokes about woke culture in a chronically online manner.
Watching Hugh Jackman wear those adamantium claws again after lying through gritted teeth saying he’s “done” is the equivalent of hearing Tom Hanks return in Toy Story 4; he has no right to be as good as he is in this one, even though the predecessor was the perfect finale for them. For Jackman's tenth outing as Wolverine, he retains a passion that never gets old. Even though this Wolverine iteration is from “the worst timeline” – though not so far off from the other times Logan has been brooding and stricken by grief – there are instances where Jackman’s Oscar-nominated ass sends shivers down your spine. You can tell he shared the same excitement as Ryan Reynolds for their crossover.
Just as I lamented my dad in the intro, the Deadpool threequel also grieves its late loved one: 20th Century Fox. Once Wolvy and DP land at "The Void", Marvel takes a page out of the Warner Bros. playbook when it had those LEGO Movie rights, dumping their well-known IPs from the Fox-era onscreen. Many of them will make the most annoying, reactionary comic book fans scream out (one of them got me good). While we all knew this film would be a cameo fest, for a brief moment it feels like a swan song for the "20th Century Fox" era when it was part of the big six. Specifically the Marvel characters who were part of the zeitgeist of comic book cinema culture, regardless of whether they had good movies or never had the moment in the sun they deserved. It's the equivalent of Sonic Generations, for it honors all of its history, even embracing the cringe that has been a part of it along the way. For a brief moment, it felt like a middle finger to Disney for their monopolizing acquisition. This is the first movie I've seen with an AMV dedicated to a movie studio attached to the credits.
Jackman and Reynolds' committed performances hold the film together, but Shawn Levy's lifeless, flat direction makes it all fall apart. Do you remember the odd "Wrecking Ball" music cue featured in Free Guy that was utilized for a cheap gag? Imagine that one brief moment spanning the entire film's duration. While Levy is shuffling through his Spotify playlist, you're treated to horrendous, incoherent filmmaking. His erratic use of handheld hindered the comedy and, most importantly, action sequences that made even the most cool cameos feel wasted. In contrast to the previous two MCU entries – Guardians Vol. 3 and The Marvels, which exhibited some degree of style and craftsmanship – the shoddy and indistinguishable direction on all the action set pieces does both stars a significant disservice. Somehow, Shawn Levy made Deadpool and Wolverine look more lifeless than they did in friggin' X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
For every satirical farce it does against Disney, the movie doubles down and indulges in mechanical MCU nonsense. Half of the humor (when not taking meta jabs at their new corporate overlords) is simply Wade thirsting for Logan. As funny as those gags may be, it's frustrating to see the most sexually fluid Marvel hero can't get past the Marvel standards of being all bark and no homoerotic bite.
The film is overstuffed with corporate objectives, from throwing in the TVA to tie together the multiverse component, trying to tie Deadpool into the MCU, progressing Deadpool's arc from the predecessor, and finding a new one for Wolverine since it's canonically separate from Logan. And because the film's five scribes (Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Zeb Wells) can't handle these objectives, it frustratingly winds up in the middle of the road, leaving some story decisions feeling half-assed or nonsensical. A big job interview joke taken to bizarre severity by Zeb Wellsism of Wade's break-up with Vanessa is the source of Wade's signature midlife crisis. It's not that a movie reliant on IP and nostalgia of this nature wasn’t done before. DC did it best in animated form with Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, delivering strong meta-commentary about the current state of Hollywood. But because DP is now working within the confines of a dying horse, it feels insincere that it can’t decide to kick it or reinvigorate it.
Either way, the film is a romp made for Jackman and Reynolds to finally share the big screen in their purest, non-sewn-mouth form. Next time they should get someone who can direct clear action sequences and let them play within the X-Men world they were meant to be in. Even though we sure as hell know it's not going to happen.
Rating: 3/5 | 61%
