Even the most loyal MCU fan would have to admit that Marvel Studio’s latest output has been somewhat disappointing. Sure, they still put out some great stuff, but for every Spiderman: No Way Home (2021) or Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 3 (2023), there has been an Eternals (2021) or Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). Their television output has been similar, with quality shows like Loki (2021) being followed by the likes of Echo (2024) and Secret Invasion (2023). I know there were probably fans of these titles I have mentioned, but personally they just left me cold.
However, as hit and miss as it has been, one film that was almost guaranteed to be a success was Shawn Levy’s Deadpool & Wolverine. Not only does it bring Ryan Reynolds’ Wade Wilson firmly into the MCU, it brings back Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine, reprising his most popular role, perhaps for the last time. Bringing these two together is reason alone for getting excited over Deadpool & Wolverine, but director Shawn Levy and his team infuse their film with so much heart and humour that they make sure this is a standout entry in the MCU.
Obviously some may see this as hyperbole, but I would challenge any Marvel fan not to be entertained by what this film has to offer. I would agree that much of the film’s entertainment is down to fan service, but when it’s delivered in such an enjoyable manner there should be no room for complaints.
Amongst the plethora of cameos, violent action scenes and toilet humour, the filmmakers still manage to wring a decent amount of emotion from the material, raising the film above a simple throwaway comedy. Unlike the recent Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), Deadpool & Wolverine perfectly straddles the line between comedy and drama, and although the comedy gets perfectly ridiculous, it doesn’t overshadow proceedings and dilute the stakes of the story being told. While I was one of the few that enjoyed the last Thor adventure, even I have to admit that the comedic aspects were overdone, lessening the impact and seriousness of the plot.
It’s been six years since we last saw the Merc with a Mouth, with him having entered into a life of boring domesticity. Whittling away his time pining for ex-girlfriend Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) and working as a used car salesman alongside his friend Peter (Rob Delaney), Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) reluctantly suits up again when captured by the Time Variance Authority (TVA). Initially thinking he has been captured due to his use of Cable’s time machine, he is instead informed by Mr Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) that he has been taken in order to have the opportunity to be part of the sacred timeline i.e. The Marvel Cinematic Universe.
As great as this sounds to Wade, it comes with a catch. For him to be part of the Sacred Timeline he is to stand aside and allow his own universe be destroyed. Mr Paradox explains how his universe is slowly dying due to the death of it’s stabilizing “anchor being”, Logan (Hugh Jackman). Wade pretends to play ball only to then turn on the TVA and travel through alternative universes in the search of a variant Logan in order to save his own timeline.
After a long search, Wade finally thinks he’s found a suitable variant only to be informed by Mr Paradox that this particular Logan is the worst ever. Before they even have time to think, both he and Logan are sent to the void, a wasteland governed by Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin), the evil twin sister of X-Men leader Charles Xavier. In order to survive the void both Wade and Logan will have to put their differences aside to survive. Lucky for them, they aren’t the only heroes trapped within the void.
Whilst Shawn Levy is pretty much known for comedy, with quite a few action comedies amongst them. His most recent films Free Guy (2021) and The Adam Project (2022) showed he had a good handle on large scale action scenes, even if they were aimed at a PG-13 audience. It’s not that Levy hasn’t tackled darker material before, having helmed several episodes of Stranger Things (2016), but Deadpool & Wolverine still stands out due to how heavily it leans into its R rating.
In line with other Deadpool movies, there is no shortage of fight scenes, gore and swearing throughout. We are hardly five minutes into the film before Reynolds is brutally taking out a team of TVA members in cruel and unusual ways. The ensuing two hours follow suit, with the action getting more elaborate as the film progresses. If I had to decide, I would have to say that David Leitch’s Deadpool 2 (2018) slightly tops it in terms of action, but even then, Levy has included some terrific set pieces.
The two fights between Wade and Logan are definite standouts, especially their second face off which hilariously takes place within the confines of a crammed Honda, where they proceed to cut each other to pieces. These fights are mostly played for laughs, but other action scenes have serious consequences, with Deadpool and company’s attack on Cassandra’s compound as well as a lengthy battle where Wade and Logan take on numerous Deadpool variants, with the odds being seriously stacked against them.
It is difficult to build suspense when your heroes can’t be killed, but smartly there are certain plot elements introduced which makes this an uncertainty. This is heightened due to the nature of Jackman’s casting, with it seeming as if he has only returned for this one off adventure.
If it’s a one off for Jackman, it’s definitely a high note to go out on. Whilst James Mangold’s Logan (2017) was a beautiful send off for the character, there’s no denying the excitement of having him return, with him finally getting a chance to go full on berserker. The addition of the classic costume just adds to the overall joy of seeing Logan back in action.
As expected, Jackman goes all in with his depiction of Logan. Not only is he back in terrific shape, but he gets multiple opportunities to show the different facets of the character. Some of this is played for laughs, especially during the scenes of Wade trying to find a suitable Logan variant, with Jackman appearing as various different versions of the character. I wasn’t expecting to see the version of the character that showed up in “Age of Apocalypse” or alter ego Patch, but they are here and accounted for, even if only briefly.
The Logan that we end up following during the film is more damaged than the one Jackman has previously portrayed, consumed with guilt and regret. With him swearing more in one sentence than he did in his entire 20th Century Fox run, this Logan isn’t prone to kind gestures, and not one to make friends easily. His team up with Deadpool is an uneasy one, with him continually exasperated at the antics of his wise cracking companion.
The emotional toil of Logan’s past is beautifully played by Jackman, with the chemistry he shares with Reynolds paying off dividends. Thankfully, those involved in the production recognizes the popularity and importance of Wolverine and doesn’t shortchange him to make way for Reynolds. Obviously this is still a Deadpool movie, but Wolverine is treated with equal importance.
The real life friendship between Reynolds and Jackman obviously plays into how well the two of them work together. Ironically, they spend a good deal of the film not liking each other, but this only adds to the buddy movie feel the film is clearly aiming for. Reynolds includes some hilarious put downs, many of them at Jackman’s expense.
Unsurprisingly, Reynolds is perfect, with him becoming synonymous with Deadpool/Wade Wilson. Looking at interviews and some of the promotional material, it is unclear where Deadpool stops and the real Ryan Reynolds comes in. Even with his face covered by a mask for long stretches of the film, Reynolds still injects so much personality into the role. He does still get to show off his face during the film, with him playing a Nicepool, a Deadpool variant who is the antithesis of the Wade we know and love.
Of course, not all of your enjoyment will be down to Reynolds and Jackman. As expected, Deadpool & Wolverine is jam packed with cameo appearances from other Marvel heroes. Now, some of these were already alluded to during the trailers, but some were smartly kept secret. Rather than just including previous characters who have already appeared within the MCU, the majority of the characters who appear are from those that appeared pre-MCU Marvel movies. In order to talk about these, there will be major SPOILERS ahead, so if you want to go in clean please stop reading now.
The film does play with the audiences expectations. One particular character’s appearance had the audience I viewed it with roaring with laughter, with Chris Evan’s showing up in all his glory. Wade is at first amazed at finally meeting his hero, only for it to quickly become apparent that this isn’t Captain America when Evans shouts “Flame On”, with Evans reprising his role as Johnny Storm from Tim Story’s Fantastic Four (2005). It is a hilarious misdirect and a wonderful cameo from Evans, with him clearly having fun in his brief screen time.
Then there’s the unexpected appearances from Jennifer Garner’s Elektra and Wesley Snipes’ Blade, the both of which are accompanied by an unexpected Channing Tatum, finally getting the chance to play Gambit. Tatum’s role is one of the film’s most welcome appearances. Now this may not be a big deal to some, but considering that Tatum has been attached to this role going all the way back to X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), but each time something has gotten in the way.
X-Men fans may remember the character appearing briefly in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) where he was played by Taylor Kitsch, but this wasn’t exactly the version of the character fans were looking for. Since then, multiple directors have been involved in attempts to bring the character to the screen, with the likes of Rupert Wyatt, Doug Liman and Gore Verbinski all having their takes on the character fall apart at the pre-production stage.
The one consistent element throughout all of these was having Tatum in the lead role, but that ultimately felt like a pipe dream when Disney finally decided to cancel the Gambit film back in 2019. His screen time here is fleeting, but it is more than enough to keep fans happy, with Tatum getting involved in some terrific action.
Regarding Elektra and Blade, both Garner and Snipes acquit themselves well. Snipes even has some fun at both his and Reynolds’ expense, with them sharing some humorous lines alluding to their rocky relationship during Blade: Trinity (2004). Snipes shows once again that he still has the skills to play Blade. No offence to Mahershala Ali, but Kevin Feige should just be asking Snipes to return to the role.
There’s other quality cameos involved, probably too many to get through. One other noteworthy appearance is from Dafne Keen, reprising her role as X-23 from Logan. Her small appearance brings with it a lot of emotion, with her reminding Logan of the hero he can be and how important he is in their fight against Cassandra.
Speaking of Cassandra, Emma Corrin brings the necessary charm to their role, but this is unfortunately one of the film’s only poor elements. Marvel has a long line of disappointing movie villains, and Cassandra Nova ultimately doesn’t fare much better. In the comics, the character is quite well developed, but here they never seem as serious a threat as they should, even when planning to destroy multiple universes. Still Corrin does add some class to the character, with some glimmers of humanity escaping during their evil exploits.
Cassandra isn’t the only villain Wade and Logan have to contend with. Like Corrin, Matthew Macfadyen brings some class to the otherwise forgettable Mr Paradox. He does inject a good deal of humour into his role, but this is in no way a top tier villain.
Series’ regulars such as Morrena Baccarin and Rob Delaney also make short appearances, but they themselves feel like cameos with how little screen time they are afforded, although it’s still nice they were included, with their characters giving Wade a reason to keep on fighting.
Deadpool & Wolverine was everything I hoped it would be and a good bit more. As a homage to previous Marvel films, it is almost perfect. It also gives the MCU a much needed kick in the arse. At this point, I’m not 100% sure where it would fit in my ratings amongst the best MCU movies, but it is definitely up there in terms of sheer enjoyment.
It’s ironic considering the difficulties Reynolds initially had back in the day in trying to get a stand alone Deadpool film into cinemas that the character seems to be one of the saving graces of the MCU. The fact that it has now broken records by having the largest R-rated global opening ever, just shows that Disney made the right decision to keep the film R rated. Here’s hoping they take this as an indication to make more R rated Marvel films. Saying that, I’m not entirely sure they are always capable of making the right decisions (Robert Downey Jr as Doctor Doom. Really?), but I’m willing to hope for the best.
Plot: 4/5
Acting: 5/5
Action: 4/5
Overall: 4.3/5
