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Deadpool & Wolverine – Film Review

Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Aaron Stanford, Matthew Macfadyen

Director: Shawn Levy

Synopsis: After retiring as the Merc with a Mouth, Wade Wilson is recruited by the Time Variance Authority (TVA) for an important mission with everything Wade holds dear at stake…

Review: Cast your mind back to Spring 2019, the opening night of Avengers: Endgame. Audiences around the world gasped, applauded and cheered as the culmination of more than ten years of cinematic universe-building came to one almighty and epic finale. It seemed an absolute certainty, at that moment in time, that the popularity of the comic book genre was infinite and would last for generations.

Fast forward five years later, and you can’t move for talk of superhero fatigue, particularly in recent years. While there have been some undoubted misfires (and some other issues offscreen) along the way in its post-Endgame era, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been a far cry from the crisis point many would have had you believe. But now, following on from the merger between Fox and Disney, a portal of opportunity has been opened for the X-Men to enter the MCU. Enter the self-anointed “Marvel Jesus” AKA Wade Wilson.

Six years since his time travel shenanigans at the end of Deadpool 2, Wade Wilson has hung up the katanas and retired as the Merc with a Mouth. This is until the Time Variance Authority come knocking and informs Wade that the fate of his universe hangs in the balance and to save it, he must search for a particular individual who could hold the key to saving his world and everything he holds dear, who just so happens to be a certain claw-wielding mutant, albeit from a different timeline.

When it comes to X-Men characters to integrate into the MCU, the extremely hard R-rated, profanity-laden, fourth-wall-breaking Deadpool would seem on paper the most difficult as it sees the studio venturing into uncharted waters. Would the Disney/Fox merger silence Deadpool as he was in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine? Not a fucking chance. Reynolds is once again brilliant in a role he has emphatically made his own and it is hard to imagine seeing anyone else don the red spandex in the future. Talking of characters that actors have made their own, Hugh Jackman did this and more across a 17-year stint and got the perfect send-off with 2017’s Logan. So naturally, fears may have risen that Jackman’s emotional swansong in the role would be undone with his decision to don the claws once more. Fear not, because this multiverse phase of the MCU allows Jackman to return in a way which enables these two to go on an adventure together, without rendering his emotional sacrifice irrelevant. An adventure, the details of which shall not be divulged here, but suffice to say, with Deadpool’s wisecrack penchant for wisecracks and pop culture references, combined with Wolverine’s gruffness and zero tolerance for bullshit, it makes for a perfect comedy duo, though only one of them is having any sort of fun.

As great as it is to see these two share a screen together, the overall plot is a bit threadbare and the multiversal shenanigans in which they get involved get a bit messy. With five credited writers (Reynolds, Levy, Zeb Wells and returning writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese), it is a case of too many screenwriters convolute the page as multiversal shenanigans are nothing new, and this film does little to differentiate itself from that. A trend in recent MCU history has been to delve into the past to provide easter eggs in the form of cameos. Sometimes they can drive the plot forward, but on other occasions, they can be little more than nostalgia/ fan service. More the latter rather than the former in this case frustratingly as it means Cassandra Nova (Corrin), the sister to a certain Charles Xavier and the antagonist at the centre of this adventure, lacks the sufficient screentime to show what a menacing threat she could be. Corrin does their best with the material they are given, but ultimately Cassandra becomes the latest victim of the MCU villain curse.

With this being the third film he has worked on with Reynolds since 2021’s Free Guy and 2022’s The Adam Project, Levy slots right in seamlessly to the director’s chair. The action scenes are bloody and glorious to watch, with many needle drops that are sure to give these songs a resurgence in popularity. Prior to its release, the 34th film in the MCU was seen as a film to rejuvenate the universe to which audiences had seemingly grown tired and disinterested. It might not necessarily be the ultimate slam dunk many would have wanted it to be, but when the cast is clearly having this much of a hoot with the multiversal mayhem, sometimes you simply have to just suit up and enjoy the ride. Let’s. Fucking. Go.

Despite some narrative bumps along the way, Deadpool & Wolverine relies on the charisma, passion and energy with which its two leads have poured into their characters over the years, along with some glorious bloody violence which will leave you more than entertained. Maximum effort.

Deadpool 2 – Film Review

Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Morena Baccarin, Zazie Beetz, Brianna Hildebrand, Julian Dennison, TJ Miller

Director: David Leitch

Synopsis: When the menacing mutant Cable travels back in time and threatens the life of a troubled young mutant, Deadpool must bring together a team of heroes to stop him…

Review: The journey for Wade Wilson AKA Deadpool to get to the big screen for his first outing a couple of years ago was a troubled one. Yet when he finally arrived in all of his red spandex glory, it smashed all sorts of records and changed the game as far as comic books and superhero films go. However in Deadpool’s case, the hero “tag” is perhaps not one he is best suited to. Nevertheless, the fans responded and, with his katana in hand, the Merc with a Mouth cut box office records in half, and it was inevitable that a sequel would be given the thumbs up.

While the first film was your classic origins story about how the man became the Merc. This time around, we meet Wade trying to balance his Deadpool duties with his personal life with Vanessa. This is until his path crosses with Russell, a mutant with some fire abilities, and the villainous Cable, who travels back from the future with the sole goal of killing this boy. Part of what made the first film the juggernaut of the success it was its routine fourth wall breaking, pop culture references, quite excessive uses of profanity and upping the violence factor considerably. If the first film was not your thing, chances are this film will not win you over. The story does go in interesting and ballsy directions that keep things moving swiftly along in a gleefully bloody direction.

Just casually jumping out of a plane, as you do…

Every once in a while, when an actor takes on a superhero role, they are just such a perfect fit that you just cannot see anyone else stepping into their shoes, and Reynolds fits into this description with his performances, gone be the memories of the first time he stepped into the role of this character. Likewise to that other time, he took on the mantle of a different hero. Aside from the returning Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead, there are a plethora of new characters this time around. Though many are just filler, the main ones to focus on are the lucky superhero Domino (Beetz) and Josh Brolin’s Cable, clearly having not filled his villainous boots after going after those Infinity Stones as Thanos.

The film boasts considerably more action than its predecessor, and having suited up John Wick for the first time (in addition to having killed his dog), former stuntman David Leitch takes over from Tim Miller as director. Like he demonstrated with John Wick, the action scenes are slickly produced and just extremely entertaining to watch. Though the film is for the most part extremely entertaining with some excellent gags to some classic Hollywood cinema (one will stick out in your mind in particular) the plot while undoubtedly entertaining, does run out of steam in a few places, and is a little bit thin on the ground. Furthermore, you will find it difficult to look at certain plot points and think back to certain films of the past.

In any case, with the memories of the ill-fated first time he stepped into the role, it is great to see Reynolds seemingly have such an absolute blast with the role that he has completely made his own. In this era of superhero and comic book genre dominance, it is refreshing to see this type of superhero film that just honestly doesn’t give a shit and just wants to serve the audience up with a quality-sized slice of hilarious, fourth-wall breaking and crude entertainment. If that is what you’re after, then Mr Deadpool is the man to provide that, in a hilarious and extremely bloody fashion too.

As crude as its predecessor, all while delivering much bigger action set pieces and some very amusing gags, all while building depth to the Merc with a Mouth’s character. Maximum effort, maximum enjoyment.