Ryan Reynolds, left, and Hugh Jackman in “Deadpool & Wolverine.” Photo Credit: (Jay Maidment/20th Century Studios and Marvel Studios/TNS
At its core, “Deadpool & Wolverine” is representative of Deadpool’s perfectly imperfect character.
The superhero comedy’s plot is chopped into little pieces without a shred of continuity. It hemorrhages gratuitous cameos and sacrifices the grittier, more adult tone of the previous films — 2016’s “Deadpool and 2018’s “Deadpool 2” — in order to resurrect the character within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or MCU.
But this is all trivial, because when the credits have rolled, Deadpool is still played by Ryan Reynolds and Wolverine is still played by Hugh Jackman, and let’s be honest, that’s all that really matters.
The actors’ real-life friendship bleeds into the buddy-flick-style team-up of Deadpool and Wolverine, whose individual charismas mixed with undeniable chemistry carry the plot through a half-baked story where the characters are trapped in purgatory for forgotten heroes from various Marvel universes.
“Deadpool & Wolverine” is nothing if not self-aware, using this plot to poke fun at the growing trend of Marvel films relying on cameo appearances to draw in crowds, as well as to acknowledge the overall lack of quality of MCU projects following 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame.”
Ironically, cramming all these cameos into “Deadpool & Wolverine” likely requires its audience to have the most overall knowledge of the cinematic universe heading into any Marvel movie since “Endgame” to fully understand all its witty remarks and significant allusions.
For all its fourth-wall, self-aware humor, “Deadpool & Wolverine” becomes the very film it’s making fun of in the first place — though maybe that’s part of its overall meta style.
To its credit, however, most of the surprise appearances in “Deadpool & Wolverine” do serve genuine purposes to the plot and development of its leads, unlike other Marvel projects in which characters seem to be ripped from existing projects and then snapped back to dust just as quickly.
For all its knocks, “Deadpool & Wolverine” heals itself quickly thanks to some truly funny sketches, quips and back-and-forths from Deadpool and Reynolds himself, who have fittingly crossed the fourth wall themselves to become synonymous with each other.
Reynolds excellently plays off of Jackman’s Wolverine, and the film is at its best when it feels less like a script from a studio and more just like two iconic characters beating the living crap out of each other and those around them while simply having fun in the process.
On the whole, “Deadpool & Wolverine” feels more MCU-ized, and not just in the brighter colors and fancier costumes than what is usually expected from a “Deadpool” film.
Most of the side characters from the previous two “Deadpool” films take a backseat, and while the MCU proudly proclaimed this film as its first R-rated installment, much of the violence inflicted is on masked henchmen who seem far from realistic. It’s certainly less raunchy, and it seems as though the “R” rating was earned mostly through the explicit language used throughout the movie.
Maybe the faults of “Deadpool & Wolverine” will become more apparent as the honeymoon phase wears off and the cameos don’t hold as much weight upon re-watch, similar to 2021’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”
Still, walking out of the screening room, “Deadpool & Wolverine” certainly feels like the most fun that will be had in a theater all year.
Rating: 3.5/5
