Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

8/10

The plot of Deadpool & Wolverine is incoherent nonsense, but it doesn’t really matter. Representing the official entry of Wade Wilson/Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the film acts as both comedic sendup of the MCU and nostalgic tribute to a specific era of superhero movies: the Marvel films produced under the now-defunct 20th Century Fox, since bought by Disney. If at times it feels like the filmmakers are jingling keys at the audience with the onslaught of nostalgia bait, cameos, in-jokes and Easter eggs, for fans—particularly those of a certain age—the results are hard to resist.

In fairness, many action movies have plots that are just an excuse for action scenes and displays of movie star charisma. Deadpool & Wolverine brings in the Time Variance Authority (TVA), which I’m told was introduced in the Loki streaming series, threatening to destroy Deadpool’s universe. Our hero travels through the multiverse searching for a variant of Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), who as an “anchor being” might be able to help him save his world.

That’s the story. But let’s be honest: what this movie is really about is giving real-life pals Reynolds and Jackman an opportunity to play off each other in an Odd Couple-style buddy comedy as their iconic superhero characters. And I am totally fine with that. James Berardinelli observed that Deadpool & Wolverine at times feels more like an extended Saturday Night Live skit, which is fair but also sells the movie short; it’s a lot funnier than SNL has been in decades. In a joint interview with Reynolds on Hot Ones, Jackman describes how he realized the potential for Wolverine to star in a buddy comedy when he saw the first Deadpool:

That's when everything came flashing to me. That's where I saw 48 Hrs.—Nick Nolte, Eddie Murphy—I saw Midnight Run, I saw The Odd Couple, I saw Planes, Trains and Automobiles. I was like, “These two characters have to be together,” and I had literally announced my retirement three days before. I was like, curses, curses. Anyway, it took us six years to get there, but we got there.

One Twitter/X user referred to this as “the corporate Deadpool movie”, which in a sense is totally accurate. Obviously this is not some small arthouse film. It’s a $200-million Marvel movie produced by Disney with huge movie stars, infused with fan service and nostalgia bait, and well on its way to earning more than $1 billion at the box office. Still, Reynolds and Jackman have obvious fondness for their characters, and I think it’s worth recalling that the first Deadpool movie only emerged because of Reynolds’ dedication and willingness to go outside traditional studio channels.

The story is well known how Reynolds first appeared as a bastardized version of Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the climax of which infamously featured the “Merc With a Mouth” sans mouth. After years of development hell, Reynolds starred in test footage as a more genuine version of Deadpool, complete with fourth-wall-breaking quips and a costume taken straight from the comic page. That footage “leaked” and enthusiastic fan reaction prompted 20th Century Fox to give the green light for a film more accurately portraying the character, leading to the Deadpool trilogy and the most financially successful X-Men films.

The bottom line is Reynolds as Deadpool and Jackman as Wolverine are both examples of perfect casting. As Jackman observed, the characters have all the ingredients necessary to make for a great buddy-comedy duo: the wisecracking Merc With a Mouth and the gruff straight man. Reynolds and Jackman have terrific chemistry onscreen and off. Who wouldn’t want to see these two fuck around together in a feature-length movie starring as their most iconic characters? That’s the selling point here, and everything else is just a bonus.

Deadpool & Wolverine doesn’t disappoint in that regard. Watching the two stars interact is as entertaining as you’d expect and worth the price of admission alone. It’s a similar dynamic to Deadpool and Cable in Deadpool 2, but with all respect to Josh Brolin, let’s face it: Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine > Josh Brolin’s Cable. Once again, Jackman slides effortlessly back into his signature role. The movie manages the nifty balancing act of allowing Jackman to return as Wolverine while not undermining the impact of the character’s death in Logan.

More than that: Deadpool & Wolverine becomes an essential part of Jackman’s tenure as Wolverine by finally putting him in the character’s iconic yellow-and-blue costume. Jackman’s iconic Wolverine never wearing his costume from the comics would have been like if Christopher Reeve’s Superman had never worn the blue tights and red cape. When Jackman finally puts on the mask, nerds everywhere will rejoice.

It’s a reminder of just how long Jackman has been playing Logan, and how the superhero movie genre has evolved in that time. When Jackman first appeared as Wolverine in 2000’s X-Men, studios were still reeling from the debacle of Batman & Robin and avoided comic-accurate superhero costumes for fear they would look campy and laughable onscreen. Instead the cinematic X-Men donned black-leather outfits, reflecting contemporary fashion inspired by The Matrix. Since then, however, the success of the MCU has shown audiences will accept comics-accurate costumes.

Spoilers ahead.

The same goes for other characters and actors in Deadpool & Wolverine who show up in what have been called “cameos”, but given their screen time are really supporting roles. The degree to which viewers appreciate these references and in-jokes will depend on how familiar they are with the 20th Century Fox Marvel films. The appearance of Chris Evans as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, rather than his now more familiar role of Steve Rogers/Captain America, is a funny moment, as is his profanity-filled monologue in an end credits scene.

A lot of the “cameos” were spoiled soon after the movie came out. I knew to expect Dafne Keen as X-23, Wesley Snipes as Blade, Channing Tatum as Gambit, and Henry Cavill as a Wolverine variant, but at least managed to be surprised by the appearance of Jennifer Garner’s Elektra. It’s nice to see characters we’ve seen in past movies return, and for Tatum to finally get a chance to play Gambit—complete with Cajun accent and comics-accurate costume—after his solo Gambit film got stuck in development hell.

Some commentators have criticized the attention and screen time lavished on these roles. They bemoan the fact that such cameos, in-jokes and Easter eggs used to be a pleasant bonus for genre films, whereas now they represent one of the main attractions—the cake rather than just the icing. Again, I might be biased because I represent the target audience for Deadpool & Wolverine. I have fond nostalgic memories of these movies. I follow Hollywood news and was aware of Tatum’s casting as Gambit. I’m a comics nerd who will predictably geek out at the site of Wolverine’s comics costume in live-action, so it all worked for me. Your results may differ.

In defence of Deadpool & Wolverine, the film does have an emotional core and doesn’t shy away from dramatic beats, recognizing them as necessary to carry the rest of the movie. Jackman’s comparison to Planes, Trains and Automobiles is a good one. For Wade Wilson, it’s the desire to “matter” and to save his loved ones. For this variant of Logan, referred to as the “worst Wolverine”, it’s overcoming his guilt for failing to save his fellow X-Men. To the credit of the filmmakers—Shawn Levy directed from a script he co-wrote with Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick and Zeb Wells—they make Wolverine’s costume a vital part of his character development. When Logan finally puts on the mask, it represents the culmination of his arc.

For the most part, though, this film has the feel of a party, topped with Deadpool’s characteristic profanity and humour and a soundtrack full of iconic pop hits. It might not be great art, but it’s a lot of fun. What can I say? I enjoyed watching the opening where Deadpool dances to “Bye Bye Bye” while using the bones from Logan’s corpse to attack TVA troopers. I was amused seeing Deadpool and Wolverine—these two assholes who can’t be killed—fight each other while “You’re the One That I Want” from Grease plays on the car radio, interrupted by a few notes from Jackman’s The Greatest Showman. I laughed at the in-jokes, whether or not they end up aging well. I geeked out at seeing all the Wolverine variants.

The weakest parts of the movie are its plot and villains. Again, the plot is just whatever. It serves the purpose of a foundation for a universe-hopping multiverse adventure, which is fine. As Charles Xavier’s heretofore unmentioned sadistic twin sister Cassandra Nova, Emma Corrin actually does a very good job, though her character’s motivations and goals are patchy at best. Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) is more a plot device than an actual character.

One of the best scenes is when Deadpool and Wolverine fight off an army of Deadpool variants from other universes. Why are the Deadpools fighting them in the first place? I’m still not entirely sure. Regardless, it was a blast seeing all the different versions of Deadpool and watching Wade and Logan slice and dice their way through them—soundtracked to Madonna’s “Like a Prayer”, while the camera pans along similar to the iconic fight scene from Oldboy. It’s one of the most comic-book-like action sequences I’ve ever seen.

To use the Martin Scorsese scale, is Deadpool & Wolverine “cinema” or just a fun amusement park ride? Clearly it’s closer to the latter. But isn’t this supposed to be entertainment? Not every book has to be War and Peace, and not every movie has to be The Godfather. The goal of the filmmakers was clearly to entertain, and I was very entertained by Deadpool & Wolverine. Sometimes that’s enough.