Review: Deadpool and Wolverine

A love letter to studio IP that mostly works

A quick note: I am trying my absolute best to avoid spoilers in this review for Deadpool and Wolverine. I will not spoil the identities of any cameos or reveal Easter eggs to the best of my ability. That said, it’s very difficult to discuss this movie without tipping a hand about what might be in store. Tread lightly. 

When Disney purchased 20th Century Fox in 2019, the big question on the minds of many movie geeks – other than whether this monopolization would be a death knell for creativity and originality – was how the Marvel Cinematic Universe, at that time the biggest force in movies, would incorporate or reinvent the studio’s long-running superhero franchises. Could someone really replace Hugh Jackman as Wolverine? Would two decades’ worth of X-Men movies be wiped from existence? What was family friendly Disney going to do about the very R-rated Deadpool? But those expecting to see how Ryan Reynolds’ Merc with a Mouth fits into the MCU might be surprised to see that Deadpool and Wolverine is less the start of something new and more a feature-length, foul-mouthed eulogy to a previous era of comic book cinema. 

Picking up a few years after Deadpool 2, Reynolds’ Wade Wilson is in a bit of a bad spot. His request to join a certain team of mighty heroes was denied, and he’s now weathering a bit of a midlife crisis, wearing a toupee and selling used cars alongside buddy Peter (Rob Delaney). He and Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) have broken up but are still friendly – she’s just waiting for Wade to show some passion and initiative in life. 

A birthday party for Wade is interrupted by a knock on the door, which he answers to find a group of agents for the Time Variance Authority (TVA)¹, which monitors the multiverse and protects the Sacred Timeline – known to us as the one where Thor, Iron Man and Captain America live. Wade lives in a different timeline, which a prideful bureaucrat known as Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfayden) informs him is about to be destroyed because its “anchor being,” Wolverine, has died².  But there’s good news: Deadpool is given the opportunity to join the Sacred Timeline, in which he’ll be able to become an Avenger and be a true hero. But Wade doesn’t want to sacrifice everyone he loves, so he embarks on a multiversal dash to grab a Wolverine from another universe before the two of them are “pruned” and sent to The Void – a nowhere-verse for people and things deleted from existence. There, they encounter a psychotic clairvoyant named Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin) who commands an army of mutants, and try to return to – and save – their respective worlds. 

In just two paragraphs, I’ve probably said too much, although I’d argue it’s nothing that can’t be gleaned from the film’s trailers. As Wade notes in the film's media res opening, you already know from the title that Wolverine is showing up, and those who have been paying attention to Marvel’s Multiverse Saga probably assumed that the TVA would play a role. It’s also worth noting that the entire setup I just described takes up about 20 minutes of a two-hour movie; I’ll be mum on specific spoilers from here on out. 

The appeal of the Deadpool movies is centered just as much on Ryan Reynold’s unflagging snark as it is on the character’s heart. And fans invested in Wade’s relationship with Vanessa or his friendship with Peter, Blind Al, Dopinder, Colossus or Negasonic Teenage Warhead might be disappointed to find those characters brought in early on only to disappear for the majority of the film. But those characters still serve as Deadpool’s emotional anchor, and Wade’s determination to not let the people he loves disappear in order to serve the bigger timeline is in line with the movie’s meta themes (we’ll get there). 

The move to Disney hasn’t softened Deadpool; if anything, the first R-rated film from Marvel Studios might put the previous Deadpool films to shame in terms of language and violence. I normally can only take Reynolds’ smartass shtick in small doses, but there’s a glee to his juvenalia as Deadpool that I really enjoy. It helps that much of the sarcasm cloaks Wade’s insecurity and anger, giving the character a core that other films might neglect. And I’m an easy sell for the R-rated Bugs Bunny antics, which brought much-needed levity to the overly dour X-Men franchise. Director Shawn Levy has worked several times with Reynolds – he also worked with Jackman in the underrated Real Steel – and seems content to let his buddy do his thing. There are the requisite sex jokes and gratuitous cussing – which I usually don’t find funny except for the fact that the movie keeps reminding us it’s a Disney film – as well as the usual meta comments and snarky fourth-wall breaks. I say this not just to reassure those worried that the character might be restrained now that the Mouse House is in charge, but also to advise people who, understandably, chafe at Reynolds’ brand of humor that they might want to steer clear. This won’t lose Deadpool fans, but I doubt it will win many over (this is also a PSA to parents wanting to take their kids to the new Marvel movie – you might want to go see Despicable Me 4 again). 

The multiverse shenanigans open up a whole new field for Deadpool and his antics. And, sure, the jokes about the MCU’s bigger budget and Disney’s pearl-clutching might grow old after a bit for many. But it also allows Reynolds to have fun when Deadpool reacts to certain cameos or events, or for the film to really go crazy imagining the variants that might exist in the multiverse (minor spoilers: Nicepool and Dogpool are highlights). Not to pick on Quantumania again – but, yeah, maybe a little – Ant-Man felt lost in his own movie, where the more sprawling universe just presents more opportunities for a character like Deadpool. And while the MCU is much lighter than the X-Men franchise that spawned him, the recent years of bloat and self-importance make the jabs in the ribs (including several acknowledging the studio’s recent struggles) more welcome. 

I was curious how I would feel about Jackman returning to play Wolverine. The character had begun to feel tired after several films, but Logan was the rare superhero movie to feel raw and grown-up, and it served as an emotional farewell. Deadpool and Wolverine goes to great lengths to reassure us that Wolverine’s death in that film mattered and is not being undone – the film literally begins with Deadpool digging up Logan’s corpse (before desecrating it to kill bad guys). Jackman aged into Wolverine well over the years and, as with Logan, he seems to have finally fit into the role and all its nuances. As with any depiction, the character is a regretful, open wound. But the nature of this story allows Jackman to play the role with a bit more energy and humor, and it’s fun to imagine a world in which he was able to play an R-rated Wolverine who enjoyed putting on the blue-and-yellow suit and kicking butt. He’s fun to watch but also never cheapens the character; there’s a real emotional core to this Logan. There’s also a fun montage early on that gives Jackman some time to try out some other variations on the character, and features two of the film’s best sight gags. 

Deadpool was name-checking Jackman and Wolverine since his first outing, which allows this team-up to feel organic. And Jackman and Reynolds have a lot of fun bantering together, as well as fighting one another in two protracted sequences. Deadpool and Wolverine has some of the best action in the MCU, and Levy has fun staging the violent, bloody brawls. The director also understands the importance of iconography, whether that’s slowing the film down to give the heroes classic poses or knowing just when to deploy classic costumes and other elements from the comic books. It’s also worth noting that the film has two of the most enjoyable main villains in the recent MCU, with Macfayden hamming it up as a slimy TVA manager with evil intentions and Corrin giving Cassandra Nova a playful sadism (her power of being able to reach into people’s brains is one of the movie’s most memorable and squeam-inducing visuals). 

Alright, let’s talk about the Easter eggs. 

Deadpool and Wolverine is fun on its own, but it’s also a deeply nerdy movie, made not just for comic book fans but for movie nerds who read Ain’t It Cool News in the late ‘90s and early aughts. It’s not so much the start of a new era of the MCU – which is largely ignored after one early cameo and some fleeting references – so much as a closure to more than 25 years of pre-MCU Marvel filmmaking. It’s a feature-length parade of cameos and Easter eggs, but it’s never quite who you expect and, even if it is, they might not be playing who you think. The movie is sometimes literally a comedy about the impact of the Disney/Fox merger and what it means for the intellectual properties that once competed with the MCU. 

That could be unbearable – and, on paper, I can see how describing the movie as a celebration of IP is nauseating. But Marvel head honcho Kevin Fiege got his start working on the Fox X-Men movies, and there’s a great deal of affection in giving some characters a better big-screen farewell than they received³. In the confines of a Deadpool movie, the cameos work as jokes, but there’s also a sincere streak that allows one cinematic universe to close a bit more successfully than a studio merger usually allows – or based on the movies that were made, a better ending than they deserved. And while it leaves the door open for some of these characters to return it, it also provides a fitting place for Marvel to close the book and begin retelling these stories. 

Much is made that by joining the Sacred Timeline (aka, the MCU), Deadpool can finally matter and make a difference. Maybe the biggest joke of Deadpool and Wolverine is that not much of what happens here really makes any difference on the MCU. The movie bounces around in the multiverse and has fun with some what-ifs, but in the end, Deadpool largely ends up right back where he began the film. While it’s often very fun, it ultimately ends up feeling a bit weightless and extraneous. But maybe after all these years of telling us “it’s all connected” and asking us to do our homework, it’s worth letting some air out of that balloon and just enjoying a fun trifle of a movie. Deadpool and Wolverine succeeds not because it changes everything but because it says it doesn’t have to change anything. As a result, it’s one of the most enjoyable post-Endgame entries from the MCU.  

1. see Loki, season 1

2. see Logan; and no, I don’t know how his death in that – which is supposedly in the future – impacts Wilson’s world. 

3. The film’s mid-credits sequence — usually a place for Easter eggs and teasers about future films — is a surprisingly sweet collection of behind the scenes footage from the 20th Century Fox Marvel films.