Deadpool & Wolverine
Not only is this one of the best superhero movies since Avengers: Endgame, it’s also one of the funniest R-rated comedies for years. This is Marvel’s best film since Spider-Man: No Way Home, and it’s a joy to see Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman on screen together portraying the characters they were born to play.
Premise: Having lost his sense of purpose in life, Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) has hung up his Deadpool costume and is living a mundane life, until he’s recruited by Mr Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) of the extra-dimensional Time Variance Authority for an important mission. Soon Wade finds himself travelling across the multiverse and meeting an equally directionless parallel version of Logan, aka the Wolverine (Hugh Jackman).
Review:
When the first Deadpool movie came out in 2016, perceived wisdom was that R-rated films couldn’t make money any more (which had led to the watering down of many other action/thriller franchises), but Deadpool became the highest grossing R-rated movie of all time. Given how long Ryan Reynolds had been fighting to bring the character to the big screen, it was a joy to see his labour of love pay off in such a big way. Two years later, in 2018, Deadpool 2 became the new highest grossing R-rated movie of all time, and what it lacked in the element of surprise in comparison to the first movie, it made up for with increased fourth-wall-breaking meta-humour and a more engaging plot.
But then everything changed. In March 2019, Disney bought 20th Century Fox, which meant that the rights to the X-Men-related characters (including Deadpool) returned to Marvel Studios. Then, in April 2019, Marvel Studios released a little film called Avengers: Endgame, which quite literally changed the face of cinema, not to mention the superhero genre. All plans for a potential third Deadpool movie were put on hold indefinitely, and for a long time, it looked like there wouldn’t be a place for the R-rated “merc with a mouth” in with decidedly family-friendly Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“…lives up to the promise of its iconic pairing…”
Meanwhile … 2017 also saw the release of Logan, which had been designed specifically to give Hugh Jackman a proper send-off from his iconic role as Wolverine, a character which (at that time) he’d been playing for 19 years across nine films. Logan was (IMHO) a masterpiece in which Hugh Jackman delivered a performance unlike anything previously seen in a ‘superhero’ film, and I awarded this bleak, visceral, character-driven drama the award for my Favourite Film of the 2010s Decade.
But you can’t keep a couple of good Canadians down for long … and so when it was announced that not only had Marvel greenlit an R-rated third Deadpool film with Ryan Reynolds returning, but that it would also be bringing Hugh Jackman out of Wolverine-retirement, my excitement levels went through the roof. But I did wonder not only whether the film could possibly live up to the hype, but also whether it would in some way tarnish the perfect send-off given to the character in Logan.
“…Ryan Reynolds’ passion for his character is evident…”
Thankfully, Deadpool & Wolverine not only lives up to the promise of its iconic pairing, but it also does so in such a way that honours the legacy of Logan and manages to give some extra character depth not only to ‘our’ version of Deadpool, but also to this new, parallel-universe-version of Wolverine. By plucking a different Wolverine from another timeline, the film doesn’t undo or undermine the events of Logan … and in fact, the events of Logan are pivotal to the plot of Deadpool & Wolverine, albeit in a typically fourth-wall-breaking and irreverent way.
Ryan Reynolds’ passion for his character is so evident whenever he’s onscreen, but so is his desire to ensure that the character never devolves into a two-dimensional parody performance. His portrayal of Wade Wilson has always used humour and wisecracks as a defence mechanism/distraction, and Deadpool & Wolverine once again allows Reynolds to let the character’s insecurities and emotional vulnerabilities shine through the cracks in the character’s humour-armour. Hugh Jackman, meanwhile, seamlessly slips back into his most iconic of roles, and this version of the character gives Jackman a chance to explore what Wolverine may have become if his relationship with the X-Men hadn’t been as solid as it was in the movies that we saw.
“…the film never feels overloaded with too many ancillary characters…”
Although this film isn’t called “Deadpool 3”, it is still very much the third film in the series, and the writers have brought back all the fan favourites from the earlier instalments – Morena Baccarin as Vanessa, Leslie Uggams as Blind Al, Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Rob Delaney as Peter, Karan Soni as Dopinder, Stefan Kapicic as Colossus and Shioli Kutsuna as Yukio. But cleverly, all of these characters only briefly appear in the film (in a social context, rather than as part of the main plot), which means that the film never feels overloaded with too many ancillary characters competing for screen time.
Alongside Matthew Macfadyen as a Time Variance Authority middle-manager, Mr Paradox, the other main new character introduced in Deadpool & Wolverine is Cassandra Nova, played by Emma Corrin. Cassandra Nova is a villain that some viewers may know from the comics, but as her backstory in the movie came as a surprise to me, I won’t give it away here. What I will say is that Emma Corrin makes a great villain, giving Cassandra a sense of playfulness that runs alongside her ruthlessness, which bounces very nicely off of Deadpool’s own impertinent sense of humour.
“…delivers on its character arcs while also providing non-stop laughs…”
And then there are the cameos… It had long been rumoured that Deadpool & Wolverine would feature some cameos from other characters in the wider fictional universe – but all I’ll say is that those rumours are true. I had a couple of the cameos spoiled for me before I saw the film, and I wish they hadn’t been – but there were still plenty of cameos that hadn’t been spoiled, and a handful of surprises that were really unexpected! So my advice is to go in knowing as little as possible about those surprises, and just enjoy the ride.
Because ultimately, Deadpool & Wolverine is a ride – it’s something to be enjoyed in the moment, not overanalysed after the event. The plot mechanics are not nearly as important as the character arcs, but the film’s real genius is its ability to deliver on those character arcs while also providing non-stop laughs. The gag rate in this movie is incredible – barely a few seconds go by without a one-liner, sight-gag, in-joke, nerd-pleasing-reference, or fourth-wall-breaking meta-gag – and then there are the action sequences themselves, which are so gloriously over-the-top and gratuitously gory that they themselves are comedic gold too. It’s all but impossible not to have a huge grin in your face for the entire movie.
“…a pure delight from beginning to end…”
To casual fans of R-rated, mis-matched buddy action-comedies, there is plenty to enjoy here – but for longtime fans of either the Deadpool films, the X-Men films, the MCU films or just the superhero genre generally, this is like all your wishes came true at once. The film is a pure delight from beginning to end (and make sure you do stay for an emotional mid-credits sequence, and a hilarious post-credit scene), and the humour means that it never alienates causal viewers while its giving the longtime fans what they want.
For Wolverine, this film gives the character a second amazing swansong, while also acting as a surprisingly moving farewell to the entire era of Fox-produced superhero movies (which arguably started the current era of comic book movies with X-Men in 2000). For Deadpool, this movie gives the character the place he deserves alongside the greats of the genre, and shows there’s plenty of life left in the MCU if it’s prepared to put character first and universe-building second.
