Directed By Shawn Levy; Written By Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Zeb Wells, & Shawn Levy; Starring Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Aaron Stanford, and Matthew Macfadyen.
Six years after the events of Deadpool 2, Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) is retired as the mercenary Deadpool and lives a quiet life. Yet one day, the Time Variance Authority, a bureaucratic organization that exists outside of time and space and monitors the timeline, pulls him into a new mission. With his home universe facing an existential threat, Wilson reluctantly joins an even more reluctant Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) on a mission that will change the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
I’m not a big follower of the MCU. I don’t anxiously await every single new release from them. Although I in general have always enjoyed Marvel as a property. I watched some of the animated TV shows as a child, saw a good deal of the live action films over the years, and read some of the earlier comics about a decade or so ago. As this new installment introduces characters from the X-Men universe, I was intrigued to check it out.
Leading up to Deadpool & Wolverine, I did a marathon of all the X-Men films that were made by 20th Century Fox (before Disney acquired that studio in 2019). I must say that there’s quite a bit I’ve come to appreciate about each of them, including the not so good ones. Mainly that they mostly did their own thing completely separate from what the MCU has become known for within this past decade and a half. For one, they were taken a little more seriously as opposed to being these polished, action-packed movies filled with one-liners. For another, they weren’t endlessly trying to set-up future installments.
As this is the first Deadpool film released by the Mouse House, the titular Merc with a Mouth not only acknowledges that, but makes fun of it too. Under Shawn Levy’s direction, he stays true to the style established in the previous two and successfully carries it over to this one. It’s rated R and is filled with such a crude and meta sense of humor. I’m not a big fan of comedies, but experiencing this one with a crowd was a hoot. Plus, the editing by Dean Zimmerman and Shane Reid moves along at an amazing pace.
Ryan Reynolds’ performance as the title character alone has always been worth the price of admission for this series. Once again, that is the case here as he continues to look as if he’s having the time of his life. Hugh Jackman’s grand return to his signature role as Wolverine is a lot of fun to behold for two reasons. One, it’s not the same Wolverine he played in Fox’s X-Men franchise (otherwise, it’d retcon the sendoff he received in 2017’s Logan). Two, this Wolverine in particular is from an alternative universe where he was considered a failure. Reynolds and Jackman both share a dynamic that has quite a journey over the course of the film.
This has a very stacked cast. Most of whom I’m not going to mention because it'd be better for you to catch their big reveal in the movie itself. Although I will highlight two of the supporting players in particular. Emma Corrin is outstanding as the villainous mutant Cassandra Nova. Matthew Macfadyen is very memorable as Mr. Paradox, a TVA agent who basically provides a good chunk of exposition (which Deadpool of course acknowledges).
Deadpool & Wolverine succeeds in a lot of areas. It’s a hilarious buddy comedy. It’s a heartfelt story about friendship. But most of all, it’s a fitting tribute to a bygone era of superhero movies. Not to mention that this is one of the more self contained installments of the MCU. Such an effing blast! As usual, this movie does have a post-credit scene at the very end. Although there’s also a special treat for the audience during the end credits. So you’re definitely gonna want to stick around for that.
Rating: 4/5
Six years after the events of Deadpool 2, Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) is retired as the mercenary Deadpool and lives a quiet life. Yet one day, the Time Variance Authority, a bureaucratic organization that exists outside of time and space and monitors the timeline, pulls him into a new mission. With his home universe facing an existential threat, Wilson reluctantly joins an even more reluctant Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) on a mission that will change the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
I’m not a big follower of the MCU. I don’t anxiously await every single new release from them. Although I in general have always enjoyed Marvel as a property. I watched some of the animated TV shows as a child, saw a good deal of the live action films over the years, and read some of the earlier comics about a decade or so ago. As this new installment introduces characters from the X-Men universe, I was intrigued to check it out.
Leading up to Deadpool & Wolverine, I did a marathon of all the X-Men films that were made by 20th Century Fox (before Disney acquired that studio in 2019). I must say that there’s quite a bit I’ve come to appreciate about each of them, including the not so good ones. Mainly that they mostly did their own thing completely separate from what the MCU has become known for within this past decade and a half. For one, they were taken a little more seriously as opposed to being these polished, action-packed movies filled with one-liners. For another, they weren’t endlessly trying to set-up future installments.
As this is the first Deadpool film released by the Mouse House, the titular Merc with a Mouth not only acknowledges that, but makes fun of it too. Under Shawn Levy’s direction, he stays true to the style established in the previous two and successfully carries it over to this one. It’s rated R and is filled with such a crude and meta sense of humor. I’m not a big fan of comedies, but experiencing this one with a crowd was a hoot. Plus, the editing by Dean Zimmerman and Shane Reid moves along at an amazing pace.
Ryan Reynolds’ performance as the title character alone has always been worth the price of admission for this series. Once again, that is the case here as he continues to look as if he’s having the time of his life. Hugh Jackman’s grand return to his signature role as Wolverine is a lot of fun to behold for two reasons. One, it’s not the same Wolverine he played in Fox’s X-Men franchise (otherwise, it’d retcon the sendoff he received in 2017’s Logan). Two, this Wolverine in particular is from an alternative universe where he was considered a failure. Reynolds and Jackman both share a dynamic that has quite a journey over the course of the film.
This has a very stacked cast. Most of whom I’m not going to mention because it'd be better for you to catch their big reveal in the movie itself. Although I will highlight two of the supporting players in particular. Emma Corrin is outstanding as the villainous mutant Cassandra Nova. Matthew Macfadyen is very memorable as Mr. Paradox, a TVA agent who basically provides a good chunk of exposition (which Deadpool of course acknowledges).
Deadpool & Wolverine succeeds in a lot of areas. It’s a hilarious buddy comedy. It’s a heartfelt story about friendship. But most of all, it’s a fitting tribute to a bygone era of superhero movies. Not to mention that this is one of the more self contained installments of the MCU. Such an effing blast! As usual, this movie does have a post-credit scene at the very end. Although there’s also a special treat for the audience during the end credits. So you’re definitely gonna want to stick around for that.
Rating: 4/5