Deadpool and Wolverine [credit: Marvel Studios]
It’s been six years since we last saw the fan-favorite mercenary with his mouth. After two successful films in a row, expectations for the next one will naturally be higher, especially when Ryan Reynolds announced that the film will be set in the Marvel Universe and star Hugh Jackman as the one and only King Kong. When the wolf returns! It’s Marvel’s only feature film release this year, and excitement for it is extremely high. Well, the long-awaited moment is finally here.
First of all, this movie has a lot going for it. It was an overwhelming experience, to say the least. The stakes are high, and that’s established early on. Those simply expecting a light, breezy, accessible buddy comedy will be disappointed. This movie is none of those things. Let’s start with Ryan Reynolds, the mercenary with a mouth. In addition to starring, he co-wrote and produced the series. He was definitely at the heart of all the decisions and made a lot of great choices from a business and fan satisfaction perspective. We’ll get to the business and fanservice issues later, but his performance is as insane as you’d expect. He exuded charisma, he had style, he had moves (movements and dance), and most importantly, he was, for the most part, very funny.
When it comes to the heroes most of us grew up watching, Logan/Wolverine is the brightest star in this galaxy. He is by far the best part of this movie. Many of us thought we would never see the grumpy, old, clawed crusader again. Logan (2017), but now he’s 55 and showing everyone what’s arguably the most popular comic book character of all time. His physique is terrifying and it almost feels like he never stops playing Wolverine. He’s still as fierce and angry as ever, just as brutal as he was in his fight scenes. His fight with Deadpool was really cool and well executed. Hugh does most of the emotional heavy lifting here, too.
Deadpool and Wolverine [credit: Marvel Studios]
Among the rest of the cast, Matthew Macfadyen gives a great performance, as does Emma Corrin. Rob Delaney also does a good job as Peter. There are no other standout performances. On the other hand, fan-favorite characters like Yukio, Blind Al, and Dopinder are completely wasted. They get almost no screen time and just feel unfairly marginalized in this film. Vanessa does get some screen time and the story makes sense for her, but there’s plenty of room for others. TJ Miller, another very interesting character, doesn’t even appear in the movie.
The writing was the most frustrating part of Deadpool and Wolverine. No one is expecting a memorable storyline from this show, but I do expect a decent storyline with love and emotion, especially when you have Logan. Structurally, it’s a mess, and there’s too much explanation at times, which makes it difficult to follow. Some characters also appear out of nowhere to ruin the flow of the film, just for a cheap stunt. Even with the stakes so high, the story lacks any real heart or emotion. The writers could have gone deeper into the bromance of our two leads, but they didn’t, which resulted in a limited level of chemistry between the two actors, which wasn’t bad but never lived up to its true potential.
The running time of this movie is pretty good, just over 2 hours. But its relentless pace is sometimes its worst enemy. There’s no space or time to properly cook the arc, or even time to develop and establish the characters. This is why the characters of Cassandra Nova and Mr. Paradox become interesting or threatening. This also results in under-utilizing the acting skills of two excellent actors, Emma Corrin and Matthew Macfadyen. Fans also expected a modern superhero movie to feature a villain they hated, but Cassandra Nova wasn’t quite there yet and ended up being a forgettable foe rather than a formidable one.
Deadpool and Wolverine [credit: Marvel Studios]
Although this movie is called Deadpool and Wolverineit still feels mostly like a Deadpool movie, which isn’t to say Logan doesn’t have his moments. Our conversation would be completely different if he wasn’t in it, but thankfully, he is, and he did. Another thing I’ve noticed is that all the Deadpool movies have a common problem: they start out with a bang and then fade away. I did enjoy the first half more than the second act, largely due to the weakness of the third act. The film really goes off the rails at the climax. Its main concern seems to be fan service rather than solving all the problems and wrapping the story with a warm impact.
To me, that’s Shawn Levy. I like him as a director, but he seems very conservative with his direction and doesn’t seem to dare flex his muscles at all. Yes, there’s a lot of cool action here and the visual effects are great, but he could have done more. His inexperience with R-rated content is evident here. Speaking of action, it’s mostly cool and stylish. But (minor spoiler) 90% of the fight scenes are between Logan and Wade. That’s not what I watched the movie for, we already had that in X-Men Origins. Ultimately, I think the movie struggled to cope with the pressure of entering the Marvel Universe. Not only does it have to be a good Deadpool movie, it also has to be a good Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, and that presents its own challenges. The writers tried to adapt to the new circumstances and use all the tools at their disposal, but it only made the script more confusing within the larger context.
But all that aside, the movie also promises audiences one more thing, cameos, lots and lots of them. They definitely delivered on the cameo and maybe even exceeded some people’s expectations. I can imagine people howling at some of them in the movie theater. Most of them work well in the story. They also don’t get in the way of the tone or feel of the storytelling, and are shaped to fit the Deadpool brand and R-rating. Considering this is Marvel’s first attempt, an R rating has been used extensively, but for all the violence and gore in this movie, don’t expect a lot of gore. Expect a lot of swearing and adult jokes.
Deadpool and Wolverine [credit: Marvel Studios]
Deadpool and Wolverine is a true Multiverse of Madness that offers tons of mindless fun, but is ultimately overwhelmed by the weight of joining the Marvel Universe. This trilogy delivers all the violence, vulgarity, and tit-for-tat you’d expect from a Deadpool movie. It brings fresh energy to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and pays homage to the X-Men with a fire-fighting Hugh Jackman at its core. This is indeed a relentless R-rated comedy, but its script is convoluted and lacks the warmth and emotion that make you expect more from these characters. But it still makes for a fun cinematic experience thanks to its stellar score, plenty of great cameos, and near-constant meta-commentary.
‘Deadpool’ and ‘Wolverine’ to hit theaters in July 26.
