Disney / Buena Vista
Let me say right here up front that I’ve only ever read a handful of Deadpool comics and I had my fill of Wolverine as a character long before any of the X-Men movies came out. I did, however, see the first couple of X-Men movies as well as the two original Deadpool flicks from Fox.
That all said, let me now add that Deadpool & Wolverine, which brings the two characters into the MCU proper for the first time since Disney bought Fox, is endlessly inventive, astonishingly violent, and incredibly fun and entertaining to watch.
The picture is Ryan Reynolds’ baby as he not only stars but co-wrote, co-produced, and most likely provided cell-phones from his annoyingly advertised Mint Mobile. Reynolds’ wife, Blake Lively, and their three kids, including Ryan Reynold’s LITERAL baby, also appear!
Hugh Jackman, of course, who has now played Wolverine since 2000—longer than any other actor has ever been associated with one single Marvel character—is the other half of the picture.
It’s technically not his first appearance in a Deadpool film as he turned up in the second one, albeit in uncredited footage from X-Men films. The Deadpool character spoke of his great rivalry with Wolverine.
Which is what got us here to Deadpool & Wolverine.
There are, in fact, numerous Deadpools (including Nicepool and Cowboypool) and Wolverines (even Patch) in this flick, despite the fact that when you come down to it, there really is no specific plot. Oh, there’s some semblance of a plot about worlds getting destroyed and multiversal meanderings, but that’s all just an excuse to hang the mayhem and rivalries on.
More than anything else, Deadpool & Wolverine is the ultimate meta movie!
There are numerous jabs at 20th Century Fox and digs at Disney, along with in-joke references to the main MCU showrunner Kevin Feige and even MCU actors. There are also in-jokes to the careers of Jackman and Reynolds. There are, in fact, so many in-jokes, so fast, that I have no doubt I missed quite a few of them.
We also get a number of characters returning from the outlier Marvel movies, all played by their original actors—Blade, Elektra, Colossus, Sabretooth, X-23, The Human Torch, and the wonderfully named Negasonic Teenage Warhead. Even Gambit (Channing Tatum) finally gets his big-screen debut and he looks really cool!
And looks are what this film is all about. Visually, it’s a treat. There are nods to Mad Max, to Dr. Strange, The Avengers, and, for the first time on screen, Wolverine even wears his original yellow uniform from the comics.
As far as acting, Reynolds is his always charming self, belching out confusing and often quite vulgar and inappropriate word salads, even as he continually breaks the fourth wall. One either loves it or hates it but it’s the running style of the Deadpool franchise.
Jackman’s Wolverine plays it straighter and is even often at odds with Deadpool because of the way he acts. There really is an eventual bonding between the two, though.
Also in the cast are Leslie Uggams (returning from the first two pictures), Jon Favreau, Chris Evans, Wesley Snipes, Henry Cavill, Jennifer Garner, and the voices of Nathan Fillion and Matthew McConaughey. Nearly every one of them, along with the rest of the cast, are involved in the cartoonish over-the-top carnage that pervades all the Deadpool pictures.
In the end, of course, as so often happens in comic books, our heroes realize that in working together they can save the day, and that’s exactly what they do. The traditionally super-long closing credits are accompanied by a surprising but lovely reel of scenes from Fox’s earlier Marvel movies, both perversely and nostalgically set to the tune of Green Day’s hit “Good Riddance (The Time of Your Life).”
Extras include commentary, featurettes, gag reel, and deleted scenes.
Deadpool, with all of the blood, guts, and vulgar language that would make Samuel L. Jackson blush fully intact, is now a Disney product. Wolverine, too!
Uncle Walt is no doubt revolving in his cryogenic chamber.
Booksteve recommends.
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