While it has its flaws, this is easily the most must-see MCU project in a long time.
The journey of Wade Wilson aka Deadpool on the big screen has been fascinating.
Ryan Reynolds first appeared as a bastardised and much-criticised version of the character in Hugh Jackman’s much-forgotten first solo superhero movie X-Men Origins: Wolverine. This then led to Reynolds basically campaigning to reprise the role in a more faithful stand-alone film.
Made on a modest (for a blockbuster at least) reported budget of $58 million, the 2016 Deadpool movie far exceeded expectations. It grossed just over $780 million, subsequently spawning a bigger and similarly successful sequel two years later.
Since 2018, though, a lot has changed. 20th Century Fox, which distributed the first two Deadpool films, was taken over by Disney – meaning that the character could now appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) alongside The Avengers.
This also sparked fears, however, that Deadpool – known for his foul-mouthed fourth-wall breaking quips and the ultra-violence he inflicts – would become overly sanitised to fit into the 12A mould of Disney’s other Marvel flicks.
Maybe because of this, as well as Disney acquiring 20th Century Fox, a Deadpool 3 was put on hold. All the while during this same time, Disney has found itself struggling post-Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: No Way Home to recapture the commercial and critical success of the MCU at its peak.
Now that he’s been paired once again and in a much-bigger capacity with Jackman’s Wolverine – in the conversation for the best superhero ever put onscreen – suddenly there is a lot riding on Ryan Reynolds’ once niche Deadpool to get a multi-billion dollar superhero franchise out of a bit of a rut. Does Deadpool & Wolverine manage this?
We’d say for the most part, yes – with some caveats.
Given the hype surrounding the blockbuster, we will go light on the plot. The basic set-up is that Wade Wilson has retired from being a superhero after his application to be an Avenger was denied and after his girlfriend Vanessa (a sadly underused Morena Baccarin) broke up with him.
The merc with a mouth’s quiet life is disrupted when he is approached by the Time Variance Authority, an organisation dedicated to protecting the Multiverse (represented here by Succession’s Matthew Macfadyen in a fun baddie turn). He learns from the group that Wolverine’s death at the end of Logan was so seismic that it has made the universe in which Deadpool lives unsustainable and doomed for destruction.
While Macfadyen’s character Mr Paradox warns Deadpool that this is inevitable, the masked hero escapes the TVA and starts travelling to other universes looking for replacement Wolverines in a bid to fix matters.
Finding one that let down his universe, the pair reluctantly team-up. However, they find themselves trapped by the TVA in The Void, a hellish purgatory under the control of Alioth – a massive cloud-like creature that devours anything in its path – and Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin, also fun) – a tyrannical extremely powerful mutant with truly scary finger powers (you’ll know what I mean when you see them) and a connection to Wolverine.
Right off the bat, if you were worried that Deadpool being part of the MCU would dampen his trademark rude tude – fret not. From the movie’s wickedly fun introductory action scene, which truly pushes the boundaries of good taste, to the non-stop barrage of meta and sweary jokes, this is without a doubt the Deadpool audiences have come to love – played with typical exuberant confidence by Reynolds.
While Deadpool & Wolverine is definitely more the Ryan Reynolds show, Hugh Jackman provides a nice counter to him – growling and slashing his way through the picture while occasionally adding a dash of pathos. One scene in particular where a furious Wolverine completely verbally dismantles Deadpool’s whole persona in a car reminds viewers why Jackman is so iconic in the role.
It must be said though that the real reason for superhero lovers to check out the movie is the cameos sprinkled throughout, which are sure to rekindle many viewers’ passion for Marvel’s shared universe storytelling.
We won’t reveal any in particular for the time being, but we will just say that many of the secret appearances are ingeniously deployed and two in particular provoked audible reactions in my press screening.
These cameos, the non-stop jokes – several of which reference Disney’s acquisition of Fox and the MCU’s current state – and the memorable action scenes – another great one takes place towards the climax and is rendered in an impressive one-take – are enough to recommend Deadpool & Wolverine to fans of the franchise.
That said, on less sure footing is the story – which is cobbled together from left-over parts from the previous two Deadpool entries, Logan, some of the other X-Men films, the Loki TV show and a host of other pre-MCU Marvel movies.
Amidst Deadpool’s trademark sarky humour and all this IP management, this latest superhero blockbuster struggles to sincerely connect emotionally with viewers – something which is less of a problem when various villainous goons are being slaughtered in inventively bloody ways but more so, when the film often slows down to let its lead characters talk about their feelings.
While the Wolverine-focused section is more successful in this regard thanks to Jackman’s natural gravitas, there is a fair bit of tonal whiplash when it comes to Deadpool, with the script not giving these emotive moments adequate time to breathe before it deflates them with self-referential jokes.
As well as this, there’s also a couple of loose plot threads, which feel almost like fragments from earlier drafts of the script.
For these reasons, we’d say that Deadpool & Wolverine is more for the fans than any new converts. But those fans are in for a treat and will no doubt be staying for the two post-credit scenes – the first of which is the most emotional the blockbuster actually becomes and the second of which is deeply silly and rude.
Maybe that’s enough, as the movie easily earns the distinction of being the most must-see MCU project in a long time.
Deadpool & Wolverine is out in cinemas on Thursday, 25 July.
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