Deadpool and Wolverine

It’s been a while, hasn’t it?

Making my triumphant return to the theaters since the COVID-19 Pandemic began in 2020, even skipping quite a few movies I’d been waiting to see, I figured if any movie were to bring me back would be Deadpool and Wolverine.

Since the character of Deadpool graced theaters with its live action depiction from Ryan Reynolds in 2016 (no, we’re not going to count the character bastardized in X-Men Origins: Wolverine), it had garnered a sequel in 2018 (not to mention an in-between short that makes light of Superman’s penchant for changing in a phone booth and a little nod to the film Logan as well as making fun of Hugh Jackman a bit) and it’s no surprise that another sequel would come to fruition.

What is a surprise is that Disney—after purchasing 20^th Century Fox and its catalog of films and characters within—is allowing the Merc with a Mouth to enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) without changing the formula.  Perhaps they saw how bad that worked when 20^th Century Fox attempted to make him family friendly with Once Upon a Deadpool, a PG-13 version with added footage to make up for all the bad language taken out.

It's still a surprise to me that Hugh Jackman decided to come back for this—his two prior standalone films The Wolverine and Logan were awesome swan songs that would've perfectly encapsulated an example where an individual should stop playing muscle-bound superheroes and pass the baton to the next actor.  Because, let’s face it, now that the X-Men franchise is now in the rightful hands of Marvel Studios, it'd make sense that they recast the part with someone else.  Jackman’s definitely showing his age (hey, I’m only one month younger than him, so I’m not trying to be ageist) and I can’t see him showing up for sequels into his 60s.

But...I just wanted to get that out of the way to clear my conscience.

Though Marvel has had quite a few misses, as well as the overabundance of television series on Disney Plus, there is no Superhero Fatigue (as coined by the likes of James Cameron) anywhere in sight as long as we’ve got a compelling story with plenty of cameos to gratify comic book fans as well as people who just want to enjoy some fun and action with the stars within.

With that said, onto Deadpool and Wolverine.

The plot of the film—without giving away any spoilers—finds Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) working as a used car salesman along with Peter (Rob Delaney), apparently giving up the hero gig as Deadpool.  His need to feel significant had been quashed, losing Vanessa as she’s moved on, but you can see he wants to matter in the world.  Soon, he gets his chance to not only be relevant, but to save his world and the world of his friends who he considers his family.

Much like the first two films under the 20^th Century Fox banner, Marvel Studios—under Disney’s watchful eye—didn’t skip a beat or try to neuter this film in any way.  Maybe the only difference I saw was that the opening credits were more in step with any other movie.  Gone are the insults to the studio, producers, stars and director, yet the film still stylizes the way they’re shown on screen.

As always, and in just about any movie he’s been in, Ryan Reynolds delivers the humor—sometimes crass, sometimes silly, but always there to make you smile or burst out laughing.  Keeping all the other films in mind, you’ll most likely be used to his jokes coming out during a serious scene, and he doesn’t disappoint in this film.

The music featured in the film seems like it wouldn’t fit the subject matter, but surprisingly, it’s suitable and feels right.

Okay, so the fan service to all the comic book geeks and everyone who’s seen just about every superhero film since 2000’s X-Men will make you laugh, tear up, eyes widen in shock, and nearly all other emotions will escape you as you see what the film has in store.  A lot of people complained that the trailers reviewed too much, but trust me when I say that the trailers had barely scratched the surface.

I wrestle with the idea that the average movie-goer may want to catch up on the previous films—Deadpool and Deadpool 2—or some of the other MCU films and series to understand what’s going on within the movie.  Even wondering if one would need to go back through all superhero films within the 20^th Century Fox catalog…even New Line Cinema…?  I’d say no.  I think most people can understand the stakes and why certain cameos show up and what certain references mean.  Overall, just go into this with having fun in mind.

Now it’s no secret that this is a team-up of Deadpool and Wolverine (not the first time they’ve been on screen together, as I’ve mentioned earlier about the much skewed version of Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but we won’t speak of that abomination here), and there is quite a bit of fighting between them—a lot of fighting—but these two actors have great chemistry together along the way.

I really don’t want to get into too many spoilers, but I’ll leave you with this (skip the next paragraph if you so desire).

It’s apparent that Deadpool’s mission to save his world needs Wolverine to help him.  But in order for
him to do this, he needs to find the right Wolverine, which takes Deadpool to the many variants throughout the Multiverse.  Some of these versions are pretty hilarious, but all of them will reference great Wolverine comic book stories.  The “Patch” version was seen in the trailer, but there are so many other variations and it was cool to see this, knowing that the writing team and the director—as well and Jackman and Reynolds—fought to give the comic book fans what they wanted.

It's a shame I didn’t see this with a bigger crowd, opting to go in the morning and at a movie theater not very frequented.  But this is a movie much in the vain of the last two Avengers movies and the recent Spider-Man: No Way Home where you’ll have the audience cheer and laugh at everything happening on screen.

My final “bit” on Deadpool and Wolverine?

The movie will keep you captivated and entertained throughout.  The plot is fairly simple, but the stars and cameos (one with a twist I didn’t see coming) get you excited for what else is to come and how the movie will end.  It’s not a hard R-rating, but the blood and gore flies as well as the expletives and sexual inferences (though they don’t come to fruition, you’ll have a few subjects you may have to explain to your kids if they ask).  Above all else, the final battle scene will make you lose your mind.  It’s not very often I say this, but this is a movie I’d gladly pay to watch again in the theater—maybe at a weekend evening show with a big crowd—it’s totally worth it.

Thanks for reading and I’ll try to keep this up.

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