Deadpool & Wolverine: The Boys Are Back In Town (Spoilers)
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Marvel is back.
On July 26th, Deadpool & Wolverine exploded onto the big screen with a bang, a whole lot of laughs, and an unbelievable soundtrack. Filled with action, humor, surprising sentimentality, and some truly exceptional cameos, this movie marks a return to form for Marvel beyond our wildest dreams. This review contains spoilers – if you haven’t seen Deadpool & Wolverine yet, check out our spoiler-free review here.
A lot has changed since we last saw Deadpool on our screens in 2018 in Once Upon a Deadpool. Disney, the owner of Marvel Entertainment since 2009, purchased the rights to Deadpool, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four from 20th Century Fox in March 2019. This delayed the Merc with a Mouth’s much-anticipated third movie and left many fans wondering how his fourth-wall-breaking, R-rated antics would be handled by the typically family-friendly Disney. We needn’t have worried.
Deadpool is back in all his gory, foul-mouthed, irreverent glory, and he has the Wolverine with him. The movie starts with Deadpool seeking out the grave of our dearly departed Logan, believing that Mutant X couldn’t possibly have died thanks to his healing factor. Unfortunately for Wade and his entire universe, Wolverine is indeed deceased. There follows one of the best opening sequences since Starlord’s introduction in Guardians of the Galaxy to “Come And Get Your Love” by Redbone. Deadpool dances and slays to NSYNC’s iconic “Bye Bye Bye”, showing the Merc with a Mouth still has all the moves and all the gore. His inexpert use of Wolverine’s claws during the fight left more than a few audience members laughing and cringing in equal measures.
It transpires that Logan was, in fact, the anchor person for Wade’s universe. Having been rejected by the Avengers and the X-Men, Wade has been living a quietly tragic life – working as a car salesman, sharing an apartment with Blind Al, and longing for the beautiful but unobtainable Vanessa. However, Deadpool is interesting enough to the Time Variance Authority (TVA), led by Mr Paradox (a gleeful and brilliantly-cast Matthew Macfadyen). Paradox takes Wade from his world, informs him that his timeline is going to end, and offers to let him live out his days elsewhere. Shocked to think that he might lose the few people he loves in the world, Wade dons his Deadpool suit, breaks Paradox’s nose, and heads off into the multiverse to find a Wolverine to replace our beloved but very much deceased Logan.
Fans of the comics will enjoy Deadpool’s encounters with the many Wolverines. From comic-accurate Wolverine to Old Man Logan, Deadpool & Wolverine succeeds in showing its appreciation for fans in a way that is still entertaining for those unfamiliar with the Marvel comics. The Henry Cavillrine is surely an audience favorite, with the nerd to end all nerds adorned with Wolverine’s most impressive lamb chops and communicating in his most menacing growl. Once he finds his Wolverine – the worst one, of course – Deadpool heads back to the TVA triumphantly. Unfortunately, Paradox is less than pleased to see him and sends him and Logan to where all the inconvenient and irrelevant characters go – the Void.
The Void is, without a doubt, one of the best settings in the MCU. It’s also where we get our best cameos. I genuinely laughed out loud when Chris Evans, our beloved Captain America, ignited into the Human Torch, much to the awe and dismay of Wade and Logan. Poor Johnny Storm, portrayed by Evans in Fox’s 2005 Fantastic Four, is just the first of the many characters who once graced our screens and have never been heard of since. Or, like Gambit (Channing Tatum, having the time of his life), never came to be in our universe due to the cancellation of his proposed movie.
The cameos aren’t just played for laughs. Jennifer Garner’s Elektra is elegant, composed, and fierce. I would watch a whole new movie about her, given the chance. Seeing her reprise her role after nearly 20 years is amazing and emotional in equal parts. And her desire to have a proper ending – something denied to her by the cinematic gods all those years ago – hits hard but feels incredibly right. That said, her shrugged “It’s ok” in response to Deadpool’s commiserations over the death of Daredevil (played in the 2003 movie by Garner’s then-husband Ben Affleck) is perfect and had the whole theater laughing.
Wesley Snipes’ return as Blade is yet another throwback that movie addicts will rejoice in. Endlessly cool and gloriously kick-ass, Blade takes no prisoners as he slices and dices his way through the various X-Men rejects and other forgotten characters working for Cassandra. Cassandra Nova Xavier, twin sister of Charles Xavier, is an excellent villain and a worthy adversary of the combined fighting power of Deadpool and Wolverine. Her telepathic and telekinetic powers are so different from the slash-and-kill approach of our two heroes that she poses a real and credible threat throughout. Her need to physically reach into someone’s brain to access their thoughts is at once grotesque and horrifying and features some of the best special effects of the movie.
And who can forget Dogpool? Mary Puppins is by far the most important character in the movie and Deadpool won’t hear you say otherwise. The adorable pup and her hilariously inept owner, Nicepool, provide some excellent comic relief in a movie already packed with laughs.
With its action-packed plot, excellent cameos, and superb supporting characters, it would be easy for our main characters to get lost in the wonderfully organized chaos. That may have happened if Deadpool and Wolverine weren’t such iconic characters and portrayed by such incredible actors. Ryan Reynolds is in top form as the relentlessly wise-cracking, unapologetically chaotic Deadpool. As always, his physical humor is as hilarious as his glib dialogue. But what really stands out are his vulnerable moments; moments when he recalls his rejection by the world’s greatest superhero teams, his lack of purpose, and his loneliness that is only slightly relieved by his small circle of friends. Friends who will die if he doesn’t find a way to stop Paradox and his Time Ripper. The emotional stakes are the highest they’ve ever been for Wade and Ryan Reynolds delivers at every turn.
Hugh Jackman’s performance is nothing short of perfect. He is the Wolverine we know and love – surly, short-tempered, and always ready for a fight. The bitter satisfaction he gets from fighting only further highlights his self-loathing. The scene between Wolverine and Deadpool in the much-maligned Honda Odyssey, where Logan releases his barely-contained frustration in a venomous tirade against Deadpool, is a standout movement. Hugh Jackman is entrancing. It’s impossible to look away as he delivers blow after verbal blow, his every word intended to wound. In many ways, the verbal attack is more brutal than the many physical blows Deadpool and Wolverine come to throughout the movie. Jackman brings Logan’s dark, messy, violent, heartbroken nature to the forefront. After the compelling Logan in 2017, fans would be forgiven for fearing that future appearances by Wolverine wouldn’t live up to it. But Jackman knocks it out of the park and reminds us all that there is only one Wolverine – although we’d probably watch a Cavillrine movie if given the chance.
Deadpool & Wolverine achieves a delicate mix of fun, humor, action, nostalgia, and heart. The fantastic work of Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman can’t be overstated. The many cameos provide the kind of throwback that will delight fans. The movie is compelling, action-packed, and well-crafted, the bad guys are credible, and the soundtrack is phenomenal. This is a movie everyone should see, whether they’re fans of Marvel comics, fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or simply fans of good movies. Just don’t watch it with your parents.
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