Wednesday, August 28, 2024

Deadpool & Wolverine (2024, R)

*Premise spoilers—I know everything is all over the internet by now, but I’ll still avoid the major stuff in this post.*

In the run-up to this movie, I was looking forward to it but annoyed by the whole “Can Deadpool & Wolverine save the MCU?” narrative. I think that ignores excellent work that Marvel has put out in recent years, and it frames it as the MCU needing to have Straight White Guys out front in order to succeed (not that Deadpool is straight, but an irritating number of people insist on framing him that way.) But putting that baggage aside, I liked it a lot. I thought it was entertaining, the multiverse cameos were mostly well done, and it’s strongly anchored by the chemistry between Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman.

What’s It About?

Wade Wilson has hung up the guns and the katanas, and he’s trying to be content as a regular guy. But a visit from the TVA pulls him back into the superhero game. When he discovers that his universe is dying due to the loss of its “Anchor Being,” Deadpool sets out to get a replacement Variant from another universe. He snags himself a new Wolverine, but the TVA makes it clear that Variants can’t simply be swapped out for one another. He and Logan wind up stuck in the Void, with Deadpool desperate to get back and save his universe while Logan just wants to be left alone.

Who’s In It?

Any Marvel film deeply involving the multiverse is of course going to pull in some cameos. I won’t get into the specifics today, but on the whole, I thought the film struck a good balance with them. While I wouldn’t put it up there with No Way Home, the appearances here range from fun to surprising to meaningful. They pull in some I wasn’t expecting, and while I’d have liked to see a little more from the biggest characters who popped up, the movie does a decent job spreading the love.

I find Matthew Macfadyen rather fascinating as TVA Agent Paradox—his performance keeps me guessing. And I’ll admit that I haven’t seen the later seasons of The Crown or anything else that Emma Corrin has been in, so I didn’t realize they were the one playing Cassandra. However, they’re effective as the creepy, megalomaniacal mutant. Naturally, we also get some (very brief) appearances from Deadpool mainstays like Morena Baccarin, Karan Soni (Pavitr!), and Leslie Uggums.

But unsurprisingly, the headline is the interactions between Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman as Deadpool and Wolverine. I know Reynolds offers up a very particular shtick, especially as Deadpool, but it largely works for me, and I thought he was a lot of fun here. And Jackman is as good as he’s ever been as Logan. The way Reynolds and Jackman play off each other is excellent from start to finish.

What Do I Love About It?

·        The opening action sequence. There are a number of good fight scenes in the film, but this one is just deliciously Deadpool! I love the outrageousness of it, how it’s paced to the soundtrack, and of course, how Deadpool takes periodic breaks from the carnage to dance it out.

·        Of the more fanservice-y parts of the film, my favorite was probably the montage where Deadpool searches for a new Wolverine. Fast and funny, with one of the film’s best fourth-wall breaks for me.

·        The relationship between Deadpool and Logan. Plenty has been said already about these two, and I’m in agreement with those who think it’s the film’s strongest asset. I really dig the love/hate thing they have going on, with the gruff/tortured Logan grumbling about being saddled with the perpetually unserious Deadpool. And both characters are able to bring out surprising things in one another, leading to a nice payoff in the third act. Whether you ship it or not, these two are great together.

·        It’s a little thing, but I love the moment where Logan asks Deadpool if he’s been tested for ADHD. Delightful!

Warnings

Copious amounts of the old ultraviolence, tons of language, sexual references, drinking/smoking/drug references, gross-out humor, disturbing images, and thematic elements.

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