After essentially printing money for more than a decade and a half, the MCU has endured a rough patch. Ryan Reynolds doesn’t hesitate to point this out in Deadpool & Wolverine, which is just one of the countless in-jokes we’d expect. This third entry in the Deadpool series – the first R-rated MCU film – delivers virtually everything fans desire: meta humor, gruesome violence, cameos galore, needle drops that’ll leave you racing to buy the soundtrack, and razor-sharp chemistry between the leads. Some frown upon the idea of fan service, finding it condescending. If one character lives to service his fans, though, it’s Deadpool. Fans brought Deadpool to the screen in 2016 and Reynolds never fails to return the favor.
Reynolds again shines as the Merc with a Mouth, but as the title suggests, the film belongs just as much to Hugh Jackson as Wolverine. The first scene firmly establishes that we won’t be following the same Wolverine who died in Logan. While that film isn’t retconned, it’ll be interesting to hear what James Mangold thinks of the opening credits. Deadpool sets out to find a Wolverine variant upon learning that his universe can’t exist without one. The setup cleverly commentates on how Fox continually relied on Wolverine to anchor the X-Men franchise, despite having countless other mutants worth exploring. Deadpool eventually finds another Wolverine wearing a comic-accurate costume for a change.
The villain is typically the weakest element of any Marvel movie. Refreshingly, Deadpool and Wolverine delivers two memorable foes. Matthew Macfadyen plays Mr. Paradox, a TVA agent determined to erase Deadpool’s world from the multiverse. Like Tom from Succession, Paradox is ambitious and cunning, although not always as competent as he thinks. The true threat is Emma Corrin as Cassandra Nova, Charles Xavier’s twin sister, who rules over a Mad Max-esque wasteland of discarded characters. It’s impossible to discuss the film’s best cameos without going into spoilers (so I won’t). Let’s just say that like Andrew Garfield in No Way Home, several actors are given the closure they deserve.
The film belongs to Reynolds and Jackman, however. From Disney buying Fox to Jackman previously retiring from the role, there are a dozen reasons why this team-up shouldn’t have come to fruition. Yet, here the mismatched mutants are, swapping one-liners and punches with occasional room for a heart-to-heart. Deadpool and Wolverine is a buddy picture at its core with echoes of 48 Hrs. and Midnight Run. It’s the most unique aspect of a film that otherwise doesn’t revolutionize the superhero genre.
While the R rating is new territory for the MCU, it’s hard to call Deadpool and Wolverine a game changer. The film doesn’t have the spontaneity of the first Deadpool or the wow factor of the Spider-Verse films. That said, it’s a much more successful superhero crossover/multiverse movie than The Flash. The jokes land, the action rips, and audiences are guaranteed to applaud several times (sometimes simultaneously). The film not only grants Deadpool the keys to the MCU, but it also serves as a nice bookend to the Fox Era of X-Men. It was an era of highs (Days of Future Past) and lows (Dark Phoenix). Between Reynolds and Jackman, though, Deadpool and Wolverine reminds us that Fox did more right than wrong. It’s the end of one era, but hopefully the beginning of another for the MCU.