We get it. The Marvel Cinematic Universe isn’t what it used
to be. In fact, save for certified crowd-pleasers Spider-Man: No Way Home and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the
MCU’s output has gotten a mostly tepid response from audiences since Avengers:
Endgame in 2019. Perhaps it’s multiverse malaise or perhaps it’s that oft-cited
superhero fatigue, but there’s just something about Marvel’s heroes that hasn’t
been resonating like it used to.
Enter Deadpool: The foul-mouthed, blood-soaked Merc with a
Mouth who might have just resurrected an entire cinematic universe with his
R-rated buddy road-trip comedy, Deadpool & Wolverine.
In his third movie outing – his first under Disney – Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool (a.k.a. Wade Wilson) finds himself in desperate need of Logan to save his universe. Unfortunately, the mutant known as Wolverine has been dead and buried since 2017’s Logan, a film that was meant to be Hugh Jackman’s swan song as the cantankerous clawed Canuck. But thanks to the multiverse, there are other Logans out there, including one who actually wears the character’s signature yellow-and-blue spandex. They fight, they bleed, they curse, they might even fall in love with each other a little bit. But they stick together through it all, whether it’s encountering several Deadpool variants – including Dogpool, Babypool, Kidpool, Headpool and Ladypool – or facing a near-endless swarm of cameo appearances that would be dismissed as cheap fan service in a lesser movie. But it isn’t a lesser movie … far from it, in fact! Stars Reynolds and Jackman shine in director Shawn Levy’s scrappy-yet-grandiose love letter to the superhero genre, Marvel’s past triumphs, and 20th Century Fox’s now-dormant X-Men universe, which Jackman helped launch 24 years ago.
As fun and nostalgic as this movie is, it’s also refreshing
to see an MCU film make fun of itself as frequently as this one does. Few
things are off limits – except for one thing, which Deadpool points out – as
Deadpool and Wolverine shoot, stab and eviscerate their way through stylish set
pieces laden with rapid-fire profanity and “can they say that in a Disney movie?”
quips. This is more than just the third Deadpool flick. Deadpool &
Wolverine is dopamine in movie form.
It will be interesting to see how Deadpool & Wolverine
is perceived as the months and years wear on – we’ve already seen certain
corners of the internet change their mind about the universally loved No Way
Home – since some of the fun of this film on first watch is the feeling
that just about any character from any Marvel project can show up. Does it hold
up on repeat viewings? I’ll be sure to let you know, since I’m already planning
my next screening. Maybe next time I can actually get my hands on that Wolverine
popcorn bucket, which was already sold out at my local theater prior to the 7
p.m. opening night showing. I
wonder why …
