Deadpool & Wolverine Review – MCU’s Island of Misfit Toys
Ken Jones, OnScreen Blog Chief Film Critic
It’s hard to believe it’s been six years since Deadpool 2. Since then, 20th Century Fox was bought by Disney, bringing the X-Men movie universe under the same umbrella as the MCU. With Marvel wanting to bring all its properties into the MCU, ‘Deadpool and Wolverine’ are the first of these franchises to be integrated. Star Ryan Reynolds also managed to convince Hugh Jackman to reprise his role as Wolverine.
The gloves are off almost immediately, showing that the irreverence of the franchise has not been tempered a bit since coming under the umbrella of Disney. Trying to explain the plot of this movie is too involved without giving away too much detail and getting into too much minutia about the multiverse (which continues to be an anchor around the neck of the MCU).
Long story short, Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) jumps around the multiverse looking for a Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) who can save his world from being eliminated by the TVA (Time Variance Authority), an organization that oversees the “sacred timeline” and all other timelines that make up the multiverse. The version of Wolverine he ends up with is viewed as the worst in the multiverse. Despite being banished to the Void despite the long odds, the two reluctantly pair up to try and get back to Wade’s world and save it while contending with a supremely powerful mutant, Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin).
While it helps to have seen at least some of the Loki series on Disney+, for the most part, Deadpool & Wolverine does a good job of streamlining the convolutedness of the MCU since it has gone headlong into the multiverse. While the fate of Wade’s world is at stake, the plot is not overladen with exposition so much that it drags down the story. The story is complex, as any story involving the MCU timelines is, but the jokes and the meta-commentary are a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down.
Reynold and Jackman are heavily featured in their co-starring roles. Most of the cast from the previous Deadpool movies are only around for the beginning and end of the movie as Deadpool and Wolverine butt heads with the TVA and a suit named Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) that has his eyes on the top of the TVA.
Both co-leads are saddled with redemption arcs; Deadpool is a bit aimless and tries to show his worth to his estranged girlfriend, Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). While he has tried to impress by trying to join superhero super-teams, his fight to save his world (which is really just Vanessa and his close groups of friends) provides him with the selflessness that he needs to actually be a superhero.
Wolverine is saddled with a far heavier load, having to live with dire consequences. He is a character who is without hope and has largely given up, and the movie tries to play it out as long as possible, whether he will embrace his shot at redemption.
Enough of all that, though, because while there are some stakes to the goings on, the movie’s main draw is the chemistry between Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman and the movie’s comedy overall, and the movie nails both aspects. Reynolds and Jackman have great banter with one another; it’s like a mismatched buddy cop movie.
They don’t get along initially, and both are prone to pushing the other’s buttons and setting off a fight at the drop of a hat. Since both have the power to heal, they keep going. There are a few spectacular fights between them before they finally get on the same page and start inflicting their damage on others. There is a great fight between them in a car.
Being in an R-rated movie, Jackman really leans into the gruff, darker side of the Logan character and his disdain for the Merc with a Mouth. He gives as good as he takes when dealing out the barbs. Reynolds has always been perfect for the role of Deadpool; their humor is one and the same.
There is a South Park aesthetic to the humor that roasts everyone. There are a lot of laughs to be had at everyone’s expense, and no one is spared. Not just the characters but even the actors playing them get roasted by the script. There was one joke about Hugh Jackman and his personal life that I was genuinely shocked by. It’s a testament that everyone was so egoless in putting out this film; even Marvel is willing to take some shots for their uneven post-Endgame track record.
There are also a ton of cameos, which are sure to entertain. Almost all of them are tied back to Disney’s acquisition of Fox and the forgotten or cast-away characters from some of those movies outside of the MCU that were still nonetheless a part of Marvel. One cameo in particular is a spectacular swerve that completely upends the audience's expectations when you hear the actor's voice.
On a geek level, it’s also great to see the fan service of Wolverine finally putting on the iconic yellow suit. It’s been a long time coming. The variants of Wolverine that we get as Deadpool jumps from universe to universe looking for a Wolverine that he can take have a lot of goodies for the fans. And there are a lot of characters in the Void that will make fans geek out.
No matter how sophisticated I may like to think of myself as when it comes to movies and my tastes, there’s still the teenager hidden inside of me that still enjoys the sophomoric humor I laughed a lot at Deadpool & Wolverine. It is an entertaining arrival into the MCU and a fitting send-off for the 20th Century Fox superhero franchises. I don’t know what is in store for the MCU in Phase Five and beyond and how the X-Men universe is weaved in, but I’ll be there for a fourth installment of the Deadpool franchise.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars