The charm of Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool persona wore thin for me around the time of Deadpool 2. The actor/producer/writer had made his own public image almost indistinguishable from the foul-mouthed quip factory and I got tired of it. As a result, I didn’t really enjoy the second film as much as I would otherwise. Even riding the X-Men-high of this past year, and the promise of Logan’s return, I wasn’t sure Deadpool & Wolverine would do much for me. I sit here corrected. I loved this movie so much.
As a function of spending my entire professional career covering different superhero media, I have certainly felt the so-called “fatigue.” In truth, the last several MCU outings have elicited little more than a consternated shrug. Plus, the mess of Sony’s Spider-Man universe, the demise of the DCEU, and the absorption of the Fox Marvel continuity is kind of exhausting. With all of this in mind, Deadpool & Wolverine was a much-needed release. It’s a roast of all of this nonsense, while still getting to the heart of these characters.
Part of the joy of the movie is discovering its many (many, many) surprises, so I’ll only indulge in the briefest of plot summaries. Wade Wilson (Reynolds) has hit some personal troubles and hangs up his Deadpool costume. Now he sports a stapled-on hairpiece and has a job selling cars. To break up this humdrummery, the TVA and specifically Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) appear and present Wade with a choice. He can either watch his world die or he can try to save it. But in order to do that, he’ll need a Wolverine. Too bad his universe’s died in Logan.
Wade eventually finds a Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) who has nothing left to lose and everything to gain. The two embark on what amounts to a hyper-violent, expletive-filled road movie through the Void. Anyone worried the two immortals won’t fight enough, fear not. They eventually cross paths with Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin), Professor Xavier’s twin who died in-utero (it’s a comics thing) and her evil ways. Snikt snikt, stab stab, quip quip, etc. (Hard to describe this movie without plot stuff.)
Deadpool & Wolverine is less about specific characters within a specific universe and more about what happens to the characters when a cinematic universe goes away. It gets very Theatre of the Absurd. As Deadpool can break the fourth wall, that has always been an excuse to comment on the artifice of the movies and comics. Here, though resting within a narrative with surprisingly resonant emotions, it’s a meta narrative on the transience of franchises from the perspective of characters whose franchises ceased to exist. And somehow it’s not annoying. Deadpool himself is annoying, but that’s his whole raison d’etre.
Reynolds has the unique ability to play up the pathos within Wade Wilson amid a litany of swear words so foul they’d make Sam Kinison blush. I honestly think Ryan Reynolds says the F word with as much musicality as Samuel L. Jackson in the ’90s. Jackman proves what a great actor he is and what a perfect Wolverine he makes. He conveys all the pain and anguish of this particular Logan variant while still getting the tone of the movie. It’s easy to be the boring one opposite Deadpool, but his journey is the heart of the story. It isn’t just who this Wolverine is to his own universe, but who Wolverine is to fans of these movies.
Macfadyen and Corrin are superb as well with what are at times fairly thankless expository roles. They are astonishingly good actors who never wink or overplay the potential silliness of the movie. While certainly the MCU (and really every superhero movie) continues to have a problem with creating compelling villains, Cassandra Nova works much better than most. Maybe it’s just a character I like, and Corrin’s performance helps a lot, but Nova at least felt like she was in the same movie. The same could not be said for villains in other comedic superhero fare. Thor movies specifically.
Reynolds and director Shawn Levy co-wrote the script with returning Deadpool writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, and comic writer Zeb Wells. They had a Herculean task of balancing the meta jokes, myriad cameos, exceedingly bloody violence, filthy dialogue, comic book plotting, and resonant character journeys. In that respect, I think this is the most successful of all the Deadpool films. Deadpool 2 went deep into comic book stuff and it felt dissonant; here it’s part and parcel. It’s 25 years next May since the release of the first X-Men movie and they managed a heartfelt tribute to that wonderful mess while taking every ounce of piss out if it, and a gross of other films besides.
I’m sure people will find fault in some of the convenient plot moments or unclear time/universe mechanics. Ultimately, none of that matters. Deadpool & Wolverine is an unbridled joy. If this be the final time any of these characters appear (and honestly who the hell knows at this point), it’s a worthy, hilariously profane farewell.
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.