Wrap It Up Marvel, You’re Never Going to Be Able to Top ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’
Image via 20th Century Studios / Marvel Studios
Reports of Deadpool’s death have been greatly exaggerated since Deadpool 2 in 2018. If anything, Deadpool & Wolverine is here to deliver some much-needed mouth-to-mouth and handsy CPR to a franchise with rapidly declining vitals. In the post-Endgame era, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been trying its best to tap into its multiversal potential, with mixed success. A fact that Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) gleefully comments on in the first act of the movie, which is sure to draw a laugh from anyone still nursing the disappointment wrought by Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
While Deadpool may not have Dr. Strange’s penchant for magic, he does have the power of friendship on his side, and the electric chemistry generated by the Merc With a Mouth and his angsty fork-handed pal Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is enough to jump-start the heart of even the most “superhero fatigued” moviegoer. As your resident Marvel Cynic, I should know. Deadpool & Wolverine is viciously violent, unbelievably stupid, irreverently funny, deliciously deranged, and incredibly heartfelt.
The meta-commentary throughout the film makes it no secret that this is a film twenty years in the making, and you can feel that excitement bleeding through in Reynolds’ performance. He has fought for this character since his first introduction in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and it feels like he’s not going to stop fighting for this character until he’s ninety and the TVA haul him away. His personal affinity for the character and keen comedic timing is evident in the script that he co-wrote with director Shawn Levy and executive producer Rhett Reese. While he may be married to the idea of a multiverse filled with Deadpool variants, Reynolds is irreplaceable as Wade Wilson, just as much as Jackman is Wolverine.
‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Is So Much More Than Its Cameos
There is no shortage of cameos in Deadpool & Wolverine, but each and every one of them is deployed with a purpose. Sure, that purpose oscillates wildly between a delightful mockery of everything that died during Disney’s 20th Century Fox acquisition and a heartfelt eulogy to everything that happened and almost happened during that era. Unlike the poorly kept multiversal secrets of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Deadpool & Wolverine manages to deliver jaw-dropping reveals that are worth the price of admission twice over. The cameos are made even more fun by Wolverine’s fourth-wall-breaking commentary, often serving to give a voice to exactly what audiences are thinking or to make snide jabs at Marvel, past and present. There are even some glib remarks that are so perfectly on-the-nose and relevant, that one might speculate that Reynolds was in the ADR booth as early as last week.
It is impossible to fully discuss Deadpool & Wolverine without inadvertently spoiling major moments that should remain unspoiled, so I bid you farewell with this brief summation of two hours and seven minutes of ass-kicking, ass-slapping, and ass-kissing perfection. Deadpool & Wolverine will make audiences laugh, cry, and scream (often all at the same time) and question how the MCU could possibly proceed without whole-heartedly embracing the banal immaturity and charm that comes with Deadpool’s irreverence for everything sacred, from timelines to graves. The Age of the Avengers is over: all hail Marvel Jesus and a new era of fantastic mutant mayhem.
GRADE: A+
Deadpool & Wolverine is in theaters on July 26, 2024. Watch the trailer below.
