Massive Deadpool & Wolverine is a Hyperviolent, Foul-Mouthed Multiversal Mixed Bag
In a time before Rotten Tomatoes dominated the conversation, social media hadn’t become a destructively all-powerful behemoth owned by self-absorbed billionaires, and influencers started being the go-to “journalists” for press junket interviews, there was a thing known as the “critic-proof” movie. These were typically big-budget, star-driven event spectacles guaranteed to turn a tidy profit no matter the collective critical response (good, bad, whatever).
If this was still a thing, Deadpool & Wolverine would be the picture book example and no additional dictionary definition would be required. Huge stars? Absolutely. Part of a popular, long-running franchise in something of a much-needed kick in the behind? No question. Big, brash action set pieces that play to rousing cheers everywhere around the globe and don’t need subtitles to do so? You bet.
So, is it any good? That’s the million (billion?) dollar question, and I honestly do not think that answer matters. Like Deadpool and Deadpool 2, this culminating chapter in the R-rated, hyper-violent, and foul-mouthed superhero trilogy is as crude, silly, and purposefully uncouth as to be expected. Also like those previous entries in the series, some jokes land, some jokes don’t, and the balance between the hits and misses will vary from one viewer to the next. That’s all to be expected.
But Deadpool & Wolverine has an additional element that neither of the other two entries in the series had to deal with — being a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, aka the MCU. The gigantic action-comedy spectacular is connected to the same multiversal maelstrom as Avengers: Endgame, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantomania, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, and the Disney+ television series Loki. It also is tasked with putting the final nail in the coffin in the 20th Century Fox Marvel universe, notably the X-Men adventures, but that doesn’t mean things stop there.
Thus we get Deadpool/Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) and Wolverine/Logan (Hugh Jackman) in the same Marvel movie for the first time since the disastrous X-Man Origins: Wolverine. The former has to enter the multiverse to seek out a variant of the latter after Time Variance Authority (TVA) agent Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) informs him that his universe’s timeline — which includes everyone he has ever loved like his ex-girlfriend Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), roommate Blind Al (Leslie Uggams), and happy-go-lucky Peter (Rob Delaney) — is going to be erased from existence.
Reynolds is again the top dog on this project, starring, producing, and co-writing the screenplay with a cadre of familiar cohorts. He brings frequent collaborator Shawn Levy (Free Guy, The Adam Project) into direct and has been the focal point for the majority of the project’s promotional output. It’s likely Reynolds was also key to convincing the cavalcade of above-the-title superstars to cameo as part of the plot’s numerous multiverse reveals (although I imagine they were also incredibly well paid as well), a couple of these appearances legitimately surprising.
On that last note, I’m not going to say anything more other than an early bait-and-switch regarding one of the first big cameos is as perfect as they come. It was the only moment in the film where I was caught entirely unaware. It was also the only one where I enthusiastically laughed out loud. But as to the rest of the reveals, I know audiences are going to not want those spoiled if at all possible, so far be it for me to be the one to do so.
What I can speak on is the unanticipated weight of them all. While Reynolds goes out of his way to his appreciation and love for the 20th Century Fox versions of these characters as he can (sit through the credits for confirmation on that front), the sheer volume grows increasingly tiresome. Narratively, with rare exceptions they serve precious little purpose. Worse, as things progressed they became nothing short of exhausting.
As far as the rest is concerned, the volume of the stuff I liked about the sequel pales to the mountainside of debris that I didn’t care for. Jokes that don’t land. Plot points that go nowhere. The crushing self-aware nonsense, most of which I got the feeling Reynolds and company believed was far more creatively endearing than it actually was. The never-ending onslaught of juvenile homoeroticism that’s not nearly as progressive as I’m certain it was intended to be. All of that and more left me cold, almost as if Reynolds exhausted that creative well with the first two Deadpool entries and is only dredging up sloshy wet sand this time out.
But there are elements worth celebrating, not the least of which is Jackman’s performance. Sure, he can play this character in his sleep at this point (he’s been doing it since 2000, after all), but that does not mean the actor is phoning things in. He adds a layer of emotional pathos that can be oddly effective. Jackman also is in terrific harmony with Reynolds, and there are times when the pair have a combustible easy-going chemistry reminiscent of Bing Crosby and Bob Hope or Steve Martin and John Candy.
Something else I liked? Emma Corrin as the primary villain Cassandra Nova (Professor X’s maniacal twin sister). She’s suitably chilling, and I love how, much like Ricardo Montalban in The Naked Gun or Timothy Dalton in Hot Fuzz, they take being very, very bad very, very seriously. Heck, Corrin is so good it’s almost a shame she’s part of this madness, as the likelihood either she or her character will be part of anything else to come out of the MCU in the future is borderline nil.
Finally, the opening act is wonderful. The introduction with Deadpool revisiting the climactic events of Logan. His first encounter with Mr. Paradox and the folks at the TVA along with his subsequent search for a suitable Wolverine variant who could possibly help save his imperiled universe. The first big cameo, which is then quickly followed by Nova’s entry into the proceedings (and why so many sidelined 20th Century Fox Marvel heroes are both justifiably terrified of her as well as why they’re desperate to stop her by any means necessary). The two big fight sequences between Deadpool and Wolverine are outstanding.
There’s not too much more I can add without revealing any of the sequel’s biggest, most well-kept secrets. While I didn’t enjoy this capper to the trilogy as much as I did the previous two features (and even those I was undeniably mixed on), I can’t honestly begrudge anyone who feels differently. It has its moment. For me, there just aren’t enough of them.
Besides, as I’ve already stated, Deadpool & Wolverine is critic-proof. It’s going to be a gigantic worldwide box office smash no matter what the critical opinion on it ends up proving to be.
Film Rating: 2 (out of 4)
