I haven’t said very much about Deadpool on The ‘Bib.
It wasn’t intentional. Sometimes, without meaning to, I allow a film or film series to fall between the cracks and never end up sharing my opinion on them (for example, Life of Pi and The Nice Guys are two of my favorite films ever made, and I have never written a review for either of them). When it comes to Deadpool and Deadpool 2, I would describe myself as positive with an asterisk. I was excited when I went to theaters to see them, I am a fan of the character, and I was mostly satisfied with what I got out of each film. I wouldn’t describe them as great films, however. I wouldn’t even describe them as upper tier Marvel movies, to be honest with you. They mostly fulfill what is asked of them and struggle to do anything beyond that.
Deadpool & Wolverine is a film I was excited for. I was so interested in it that instead of going to the closest theater (which is still over half an hour out of my way), I went two hours out to treat myself to the best viewing experience I possibly could.
As far as Marvel is concerned, like many of you (and like this film, for that matter), I can feel the winds of change blowing in a new direction. The air has been let out from the balloon and the Marvel Cinematic Universe isn’t what it once was. I still enjoy them. I thoroughly enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Spider-Man: No Way Home, for example. However, the sense of devout commitment is no longer what it was. I had seen every film leading up to Avengers: Endgame, but, as of now, the ratio has dramatically shifted.
Deadpool & Wolverine is a celebration of a bygone era. If you have seen the trailers, you have certainly seen the wrecked 20th Century Fox statue in the background. It is the strongest indication the trailers ultimately gives you for what this film is about. It is a celebration of what came before. It is a celebration of the Marvel movies that Fox created – which includes X-Men movies and the Fantastic Four. Thus, more of your enjoyment of this film will hinge on your appreciation of those movies and Fox’s Marvel than it will any movie from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
I will keep my summary of the story brief, along with the cast list, as, if you haven’t seen this film, I would imagine you wouldn’t want me to shed too much light on either of them. In the film, Deadpool is yanked out from his quiet life by the Time Variance Authority and must partner with a reluctant Wolverine in hopes of trying to save his universe.
In a lot of ways, Deadpool & Wolverine feels very, very different from the prior Deadpool movies. The setting is wholly different from either of them, and the characters featured in the previous films aren’t as prevalent. This isn’t to say it feels like more like a Marvel Cinematic Universe film, because that isn’t exactly it either. If you are familiar enough, I would say that Deadpool & Wolverine feels like a Deadpool sequel multiplied by the Disney Plus series Loki.
This, of course, shouldn’t surprise you, given that they both see their protagonists pitted against the TVA.
If you haven’t seen Loki, I can assure you that you won’t be required to do any MCU homework ahead of watching Deadpool & Wolverine. Yes, seeing Loki will better help you contextualize the concept of the TVA, but it doesn’t get too complicated. All you need to know is that there is a Sacred Timeline, which is basically the timeline for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and a whole, whole lot of other timelines. Deadpool and Wolverine both exist on a timeline other than the Sacred Timeline and Deadpool needs Wolverine’s help to keep his timeline from ending. As for the TVA, they are basically the morally ambiguous policeman tasked with regulating everything.
Some homework you might wish you had done will come with understanding some of the jokes that are made in the film. It is a criticism I have heard levied against this film once or twice already, and I think it is a valid one. Deadpool & Wolverine’s humor is filled to the brim with references to earlier X-Men movies. I don’t mind that. In fact, I would have been a little disappointed if this film didn’t have more than a couple deep cuts to find. As a celebration of the Fox Marvel movies, it is not unreasonable to have a film that has more than a handful of nods to them. That in mind, certain jokes are less references to earlier films and more insider baseball. Imagine if this were a DC movie and Nicholas Cage appeared as Superman in the film as a joke. We’d still laugh, because it is Nicholas Cage as Superman, but the joke largely benefits from knowing that Nicholas Cage was originally meant to play Superman in a canceled Tim Burton film. In other words, it isn’t a deal breaker to not have it, but certain things might fly over a person’s head even if they have seen literally every other Marvel movie.
Something else you might worry about heading into this film is that Deadpool and his sense of humor may not have the same jagged edge it once did underneath Fox’s umbrella now that he resides at the House of Mouse – thankfully, that isn’t the case. The humor is, for all intents and purposes, the same as it was in Deadpool and its sequel.
The comedy is fun and as over-the-top as you can ask for, offering the brisk escapism from the sometimes too stoic and bleak dramatization that can be found in superhero fare you’d expect. The action is fun, even if it doesn’t offer a whole lot of memorable moments I will find myself thinking back to. By now, most of us are accustomed to the hyper-edited, paint-by-the-numbers action scenes from Marvel (Disney, or otherwise). The inclusion of a more parodic based foundation helps inadvertently elevate it (since they are tasked with incorporating physical comedy into the scenes), but it feels only like a sweeter version of an established recipe and not a new dish. In other words, if you’ve enjoyed it so far, you still will, but, understand this isn’t exactly Raid: Redemption, where a lot of careful, thoughtful attention was put in to the choreography department.
The story is okay. I say it is okay to keep myself from using the word “fun,” over and over again. Wolverine is back, but there isn’t much meat to the reason why he is back. It’s okay, but, after witnessing the character’s tragic end with Logan, all I want for the character is buddy-comedy shenanigans. When we get that, it works. When they try to do any type of serious moment with him or serious character development, I can’t escape the belief that it is retreading ground that has been done once before far better. In other words, I’m happy to see Hugh Jackman back is Wolverine and it is fun to see him, but if you are looking for a reason why he is back beyond just because, the answer given is pretty weak.
In fact, any type of emotional weight has always been a struggle for the Deadpool series. There is a natural cognitive dissonance that comes with the territory. Deadpool breaks the fourth wall and when a character plays so fast and loose with the rules, it can, in turn, be difficult for the films to have any semblance of stakes. In the original Deadpool, I can remember being so damn bored every time the Deadpool mask came off and they tried to ground the character. It was a little better in Deadpool 2, but the formula still wasn’t perfected. In Deadpool & Wolverine, I fear that the mixture is a step backwards.
The villain is, at best, interesting, and, at worst, generic and half baked. There is some interesting imagery to the character and I think that might be enough for some people, but, ultimately, I found that there simply wasn’t very much to them. The story progression is repetitive as well. I feel like the concept of Deadpool & Wolverine is a great concept for a film, and that the setting gives way to have an almost pseudo-superhero Mad Max style story (almost comparable to DC’s Elseworld stories), but it is too unpolished and undisciplined to reach its full potential. A lot of the time, it can feel like the story is progressed less by circumstance and more by the necessity of moving forward to the next fight sequence or gag.
I wouldn’t mention this or any other type of movie I review on The ‘Bib, but I will do it here – I didn’t enjoy the Multiverse characters as much as I would have liked. Mostly, the Multiverse is a giant dispenser for fan service. In Spider-Man: No Way Home, I feel that it was the perfect marriage of that concept. Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man was allowed to have a bookend for his story arc (the parallel between him being able to save Mary Jane when he had failed to save Gwen Stacy), Willem Dafoe was allowed to kill it one last time as the Green Goblin, and it all worked without cannibalizing the central character’s journey. That, to me, was a perfect marriage of fan-service and movie. The Flash is another film that brought something meaningful from the dispenser (even if a lot of people don’t like Flash), where Michael Keaton’s Batman was allowed to deliver fun action scenes and portray an actual character. The Multiverse “Cameos” in Deadpool & Wolverine were less like Spider-Man: No Way Home and more like Doctor Strange 2, where they were cool to see, but they added nothing to the legacy of those characters (I also admittedly had a bit of a “Where’s everybody at?” reaction).
Deadpool & Wolverine is a decent superhero film. As much as I feel like I harped on it, I do want you to take away that I had a good time with it the same way I had fun with Deadpool and Deadpool 2. I laughed, I enjoyed it, and I would show up for a fourth outing if one should come to fruition. At the same time, I only considered Deadpool and Deadpool 2 as average films at best, and I consider Deadpool & Wolverine to be behind Deadpool 2. It is a fun celebration of the X-Men movies and a great night out at the cinema, and, for that, you won’t be disappointed!
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings