Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) has stepped down from the role of Deadpool. That is, until he’s recruited for a mission, which sets off a chain of events involving Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), a telekinetic villain (Emma Corrin), and the very possible end of several universes.
A word of warning: If you’re a Marvel fan, you may want to arrive at Deadpool & Wolverine with several underwear changes and a responsible friend to make sure you get home okay. Maybe book an ambulance in advance. Because this strongly affects jokes and the fulfillment of desires. From cameos to background Easter eggs to encounters that longtime fans will enjoy, it’s a relentless onslaught of surprises designed to make audiences scream and throw popcorn into the air.
If you’re a current Marvel fan, don’t worry. The joyful thing about this movie – which is almost always a joy – is that it’s not just for franchise believers. In the past, the studio has been guilty of creating material “for the fans,” meaning the rest of the audience comes second. One person’s commendable moment is another person’s Google search of “who takes credit for the purple man.” But Deadpool & Wolverine do their best to bring everyone along for the ride, including those who don’t know their Professor X from X-23. And it works, because the self-referential stuff is mostly decorative. At its core is a very nice buddy movie, played almost perfectly by Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman.
Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are a dream together.
In a somewhat difficult scene, which is somewhat confusing unless you’re completely focused during Loki, Wade Wilson/Deadpool (Reynolds) is convinced that his life will never have a purpose. He finds himself in the Time Variance Authority (for brevity, let’s call it the Timeline Management Agency) and is told that his world will collapse because the loss of an “anchor object” has sparked chaotic ripples across the entire world. Deadpool believes he can save his timeline and gain some significance if he goes to a different reality and obtains an alternate version of that anchor being: Wolverine (Jackman). Things go wrong and they end up in a wasteland filled with exiled supernatural beings, under the supervision of the very bald, very bad, telekinetic Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin, in a role that doesn’t give them enough to match the presence of the two heroes).
Narratively, it’s a bumpy start, but once Reynolds and Jackman reunite, the plot calms down, becomes a quest to get home, and allows their bickering chemistry to take center stage. They are a dream together, both are very comfortable in their characters and seem willing to do anything to make the audience laugh. Reynolds delivers gags at a mile a minute, affectionately mocks everything on screen, and frequently directs, pushing both the fourth wall and Marvel’s boundaries. For Jackman, it would have been a mistake to bring back his career-defining character for a comedic cameo. After some real nasty situations, he ends his Wolverine journey with Logan, which is as effective a sign-off for superheroes as we’ve seen before. Thank God, this is a victory. Although the film is ridiculous, Jackman plays Wolverine as he always was: full of hurt and self-loathing. In a movie with a million jokes, he manages to deliver a truly poignant character, earning the greedy honor of a well-deserved second outing.
Talking too much about the details of Wolverine and Deadpool’s journey would spoil some of the fun, but suffice it to say that this plays out all over the Marvel toy box. Director Shawn Levy has an excellent grasp of tone here. There are many scenes he can enjoy, reveling in what he has managed to accomplish, but keeping it active and quickly punching holes in anything that feels like it might be too much. He nails almost all of the gags, including one that must rank as the best use of a Marvel cameo ever. Everyone, whether they’ve been on screen for seconds or hours, seems to be involved in everything.
As the film itself acknowledges (albeit jokingly), Marvel is currently “at a low point,” after a series of missteps. Deadpool & Wolverine is a solid answer to the question of whether the franchise still has life. It says confident yes, and it does so by putting character first and universe second. Deadpool & Wolverine focuses intensely on its pair of titles and everything people love about them. There is no eye on the next chapter. It doesn’t tease what’s to come. It’s all about now and making sure the audience has the best time possible.
Despite some early narrative bumps, it’s hard to imagine what more you could want from a film with this pairing. Marvel has found its mojo again.
