Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

I loved Deadpool and liked Deadpool 2.  There was only a two-year gap between the two and it seemed that, although they were made by two different directors, there was consistency in the humor.  The second didn't surprise like the first did, but it was still willing to play around with superhero tropes and, like its predecessor, was allowed to be as raunchy as possible.

The next gap was six years.  During that time 20th Century Fox was bought by Disney and all the Marvel franchises that studio had reverted to Marvel Studios.  For the most part their new owner proceeded to do nothing with them, promising that maybe the characters would come back at some point, using the current multiverse concept in order to do so.  Thus, after a span of time, Deadpool is back, and so is Wolverine, along with a number of other Marvel heroes that came before the MCU. 

Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) is brought in by the TVA to meet with a man called Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfayden).  It turns out that the events in Logan affected the X-Men timeline in a negative way, meaning that it will peter out in a few thousand years.  Mr. Paradox doesn't want to wait that long, preferring the old methods of the TVA to the kinder, gentler version, and has deployed a time ripper to destroy Deadpool's universe.  In order to save it Deadpool sets out to find another Logan (Hugh Jackman), pulling one from a universe where Wolverine is loathed.  For his efforts both Deadpool and Wolverine are sent to the Void. 

The Void is now ruled by Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin), the sister of Professor Xavier, who was banished as a child to prevent her from doing damage to her own timeline.  She is quite psychotic, often killing those that cross her or feeding them to Alioth, who still prowls that territory.  With the help of a variant named Nicepool, Deadpool and Wolverine attempt to round up the remnants of a rebellion against Cassandra and get back to destroy the time ripper.  However, Cassandra soon figures out what is going on and decides to use the device for herself.

The one thing that is the same with this movie is the fourth-wall breaking and the meta humor, constantly reminding everyone that Wade Wilson is quite aware that he is in a movie.  This allows him to take digs at the demise of 20th Century Fox and his new place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as at the recent string of Marvel flops.  Deadpool & Wolverine was not one of those, being one of the few big-budget films in 2024 to make a profit.  There is definitely still a lot of love for the Merc with a Mouth, as well as for Wolverine.  This is also the first R-rated film directly from Disney and not a subordinate, which is nice since it allows character traits for both to continue from their last films.

This also allows for a number of cameos, something Deadpool warns about in the beginning.  Some, like Sabretooth (Taylor Mane), are pretty much used for one joke.  Others, like Channing Tatum's take on Gambit, outdo the original appearance of the character.  If a decent script would come along - something rare these days for the MCU - it would be great to see a Gambit film, something fans have been wanting for years.  We also get a return of Blade (Wesley Snipes), Elektra (Jennifer Garner) and Johnny Storm (Chris Evans), among many others. 

This is also one of the few movies that doesn't have an issue I complain about all the time with Marvel.  Cassandra is not a boring villain that doesn't affect much.  I still would like to have seen more of her, and at first I thought we were going to see an evil version of the Ancient One, with Tilda Swinton returning.  She should have been introduced earlier as Mr. Paradox isn't that great of an initial antagonist.

Despite all the good this movie is undone by what made the other two fun.  Deadpool is a great character to have, and the more over the top the better, but it seems like Reynolds and co-writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick are trying too hard this time around.  They even admitted they were about to give up on a third movie until Jackman called them up asking to appear as Wolverine, giving the movie a reason to exist.  Reynolds and Jackman work well together and it is great to see Deadpool officially getting embraced into the X-Men universe, but too much of the movie is fight scenes set to annoying pop songs.  For every time things get creative or even funny the next bit of jokes fall flat.  As a collection of memes and skits this is pretty good, but as an actual movie it doesn't hold together.  It doesn't go on for three hours, but it also doesn't have much of a reason to exist other than to set up the possible return of characters that we know, deep down, will never happen. 

The Marvel Cinematic Universe needed a financial win, and they got it with Deadpool & Wolverine, but the whole idea of a multiverse still remains stuck in the mud.  With Kang gone and the latest Captain America movie undergoing massive reshoots it is obvious that Marvel is still as lost as before on where to go next.  Without Reynolds, Jackman and Emma Corrin this movie would have little reason to exist and, if anything, retreads a lot of ground from Loki.  

Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

Time: 128 minutes

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Matthew Macfayden

Director: Shawn Levy