Directed by Shawn Levy
Written by Ryan Reynolds & Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick & Zeb Wells & Shawn Levy
The business of movies has been a wild ride basically since Iron Man came out in 2008. The release of the first Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, starring a then questionable, now extremely bankable Robert Downey Jr., launched the world of movies into an entirely IP driven medium, even more so than it already was. The comic book era, in my opinion, essentially ended after the release of Avengers: Endgame. It was the crowning achievement of the MCU, but also the beginning of an entirely new journey that involved streaming services and underserved comic characters making their big screen debut. The likes of Eternals and Quantumania were not well received and the new concept of the Multiverse has generally not been received well. So enter Deadpool & Wolverine, the only Marvel film to release in 2024, and the presumed savior of the franchise. So, was it good?
Well, we’ll get to that in a moment, but first the setup, which might take a second to explain. Wade Wilson/Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) is once again back in the saddle, but after failing to court both the Avengers and X-Men to let him join their ranks, he finds himself selling used cars instead, no longer inspired to be a superhero. But when the TVA and Mr. Paradox (Matthew MacFayden) recruits him to join the Sacred Timeline, he finds out his world, full of his friends and family is soon to be gone, as it’s lost its anchor being, Wolverine/Logan (Hugh Jackson). In an attempt to save the ones he loves, Deadpool journeys the multi-verse to find a Wolverine replacement to stabilize his timeline. After finding the only Logan willing to join, and arguably the worst variant, the two are relegated to the Void by Paradox, who is found out as working independently. In the Void, Deadpool and Wolverine must traverse discarded Fox properties, including the villainous leader Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin), to make their way out of the void, and back to Wade’s timeline to save it.
And honestly, there’s so much more bullshit that happens in this movie too that I just couldn’t get to without the entire review turning into a plot description. It’s convoluted as heck, and is throwing EVERYTHING at the wall to see what sticks. And honestly, some of it does, but overall this movie is a complete mess, and a clear indication to me that it’s over. I don’t want to be required to do homework, to have seen 15 previous movies and 5 streaming shows to understand your movie. And I definitely don’t want your movie to think it’s good just because it makes reference to a zillion other things I liked or maybe didn’t even really like but might just remember kind of fondly from before. Or laugh at itself for how bad some of the older properties were, or the lack of success of recent Marvel.
The ultra-violence and raunchy, self-referential comedy of Deadpool is the signature, and the main thing people love about this character and franchise, it’s why I liked the first two films of the franchise too, and it fits perfectly with who Ryan Reynolds is as a performer, but I can’t help but feel that the violence felt a little more gratuitous and the references just a little more winky than before. It felt forced. And look, the performances are spot on, Reynolds and Jackman especially are game for this movie, and game for this duo dynamic. Emma Corrin is good as one of the villains too. The hardest thing to really wrap my head around was how bad the script is, and seeing a titles card with five credited writers on the project is never a good sign. This was chewed up and spit out so many times it reeks of overproduction. I don’t know where the franchise goes from here. I will be tuned in, for better or worse, but if this lasts much longer I may be tuned out pretty quick.
The ride of the MCU at the top of the movie food chain is utterly and completely over, with a few specific caveats. Deadpool & Wolverine is a mile-a-minute reference fest, including some stale cameos from long forgotten and honestly never beloved superheroes (I won’t spoil), and requires massive homework to have been completed beforehand to understand everything. It’s one long, massive wink at the audience and if you’re in on it, great, but if you’re not, I’m not sure how much fun there really is to be had. And I mean look, diehard fans will eat this shit up, no doubt, but that is the audience for the MCU going forward, not the massive pop appeal that the first decade was. And yes, the success of the MCU has created LOTS of new fans who are now primed to be comic book superhero fans for life, but the success of these movies is now capped by the baggage they bring with them, and personally as a casual fan, I find it a little off-putting. I am sure I will come in and out in the future, but something like Deadpool & Wolverine felt more exhausting to me than entertaining, which is a big problem.
Corndog Chats 