Movies

Deadpool & Wolverine, starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, directed by Shawn Levy
Trailer: Marvel Studios

Deadpool & Wolverine
Directed by Shawn Levy
Rated R
Split 26 July 2024
#Deadpool  •  #Wolverine  •  #DeadpoolAndWolverine

Deadpool & Wolverine is a nerdgasm that gloriously redefines over-the-top filmmaking.

Educated Wish

Well, movie fans, here we are, stuck in the middle of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 5. Ever since Endgame, it’s been a long slog chock full of new characters, narrative thuds and CGI crud.

Stand strong. We can get through this and – as unlikely as it might seem – Deadpool’s the guy to lead the way. He’s got a mission bigger than carrying the world on his shoulders. It’s even bigger than getting his hot girlfriend to stick around.

It’s a mission to redeem the narrative fabric of the MCU itself and it's the most consequential episode in the MCU since Endgame.

This is not business as usual for the MCU, not by a long shot. That was to be expected when it was announced Deadpool would actually be joining the (once) revered mega-series of franchise-crossing narratives and character interplay. Deadpool would no longer be a standalone character, no longer shunned by the A-listers like Captain America and Iron Man. If not a formal member of the Avengers, at least Deadpool was finally blasting his way onto the main stage, joining the major leagues of superhero action.

For most moviegoers, there’s probably no real significance to Deadpool joining the MCU. The fact his movies are rated "R" by the U.S. rating standard (a very hard "R") likely leaves many unfazed. What it means for Marvel – and, by extension – Disney is it’s time to finally take the kid-gloves off and open up the world of possibilities for the MCU. But, if the significance of the "R" rating is to be taken to heart, it also locks out a significant portion of the audience, those under the age of 17. For them, the ongoing, interconnected narrative of the previous 33 movies will be broken going into 35.

Deadpool’s known as the "merc with a mouth." Wisecracking, foul-mouthed, explicit and gratuitously violent. Most certainly none of those changes here.

But, while the first two movies were a little on the grating side, this one finally lives up to the hype of being a different kind of comic book movie. Even what could still be described as a climactic "boss battle" is quite satisfyingly different this time around.

The end result of all this is astounding. It’s certainly the boldest of all sequels, at least those sequels in which the lead character doesn’t brandish a fedora and a bullwhip.

God’s Perfect Idiot

Nothing is sacred in Deadpool & Wolverine. That includes both Deadpool and Wolverine. Of course, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are well at ease poking fun at themselves (and each other) and their work, whether it’s Van Wilder or Music Man.

Also in their crosshairs: DC and its own missteps.

But 20th Century Fox (Deadpool's original home) is the subject of some major, in-your-face digs.

And Disney.

And Marvel.

And – brace yourself – even MCU mastermind Kevin Feige.

Consider the magnitude of this. While Disney has made millions upon millions of people smile and laugh for decades with characters like Mickey Mouse and Goofy, Disney as a corporation has never really had much of a sense of humor about itself. "Self-effacing" isn’t foreign to Marvel over the years, but it’s certainly not a suitable Disney descriptor. The boardroom and the legal eagles have made sure of that. And, in his second coming as Disney CEO, Bob Iger has revealed himself as a tone-deaf fumbler while heaping praises on misguided junk like Lightyear (and insulting audiences by saying they didn’t understand it) and then apologizing for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (clearly a movie Iger didn’t understand).

It’s nigh impossible to think of any other movie that goes where Deadpool & Wolverine goes. It willingly and forcefully brings up some of the biggest Marvel movie mistakes and duds – some dating back before the MCU even started. It brings them up. It makes fun of them. And then it gives them a big ol’ (semi-profane) bear hug. To put the magnitude of this in a spoiler-free perspective, Deadpool and Wolverine are thrust into a dead zone of sorts, a wasteland of abandoned ideas and projects, of failed franchises and assimilated studios. There, in the desert, half-buried under the sand like the Statue of Liberty at the end of the original Planet of the Apes, is the 20th Century Fox floodlights logo.

For the longest time, narrative spoilers and surprise cameos were a hallmark of the MCU experience, but even those audience-grabbing moments hit the skids in the most recent movies.

Deadpool & Wolverine – thankfully – is front- (and rear-) loaded with all kinds of spoiler material. Narrative twists. Cameos.

Wowza! Those cameos.

It’s a breath of fresh air after the MCU started to grind itself down while trying to ramp up the next super villain to replace Thanos. That was supposed to be Kang the Conqueror, but Jonathan Majors’ real-world legal woes have seemingly scotched those plans, leaving the MCU scrambling for a new path forward.

So, let’s just say it’s not a spoiler – but a really ingenious move – to introduce Deadpool to the MCU and let him mess it all up in a way only Deadpool can.

Avengers Adjacent

Tippy toeing around the narrative landmines of D&W, it’s fair to start by acknowledging Wolverine was killed off in James Mangold’s non-MCU Logan back in 2017. So, what gives? How come he’s back? That’s addressed in D&W’s utterly irreverent opening minutes. And it’s a storyline that leans heavily into the streaming series arm of the MCU. That’s something Feige said wouldn’t happen; but it’s most certainly helpful to have watched at least the first season of Loki (released back in 2021). There’s a connection to the Time Variance Authority that helps shake everything down to the core.

Loki was also something fresh amid the rapid churn of new series and new movies that has wisely been slowed to allow for a creative breather. Both Loki and D&W dive into a colorful world with so many ideas bouncing around, not unlike Inside Out 2. Does 2024 mark a renaissance for Disney and all its flagship brands, such as Pixar and Marvel? (Maybe not so much for Star Wars, even with Episode X now on the horizon, that one's in need of a wholly new hope, preferably without J.J. Abrams.)

Going into D&W, there wasn’t much reason to be all that excited, despite the ubiquitous hype. One of the heartburn-inducing concerns was the choice of director, Shawn Levy. It’s a little unusual. He’s primarily been stuck on the B-list, with a catalog that includes stinkers like Steve Martin’s The Pink Panther and Tina Fey’s Date Night alongside more popular entries, such as the Night at the Museum series. Entering the MCU is, in theory, next level. But, then again, he’s already directed both the mega-stars, Ryan Reynolds in Free Guy and Hugh Jackman in Real Steel. So, the ol’ adage is true: it helps to know people.

The pre-existing familiarity of those three by way of that mutual connection no doubt led to a freewheeling set.

Coexist

Amid the movie’s eye-popping (and smart) boldness, there’s also a nice amount of heart. There’s no reason to expect this level of heart in a movie featuring a mercenary and a drunk loner sporting adamantium claws.

But there it is, coming from both sides.

Wade Wilson (aka Deadpool) desperately wants to become an Avenger and save his small world of nine friends, but he’s being knocked down, kicked to the curb. He’s being told he simply doesn’t matter at all. That cuts deeper than Wolverine’s middle finger. He’s even told, "You’re aiming too high. Aim for the middle and you’ll never miss."

James Howlett (aka Logan or Wolverine) has already messed it all up for his whole world. Amid all the talk of diverted timelines, can he go back and make things right?

Well, hold on now, movie freaks.

D&W’s five scribes (Reynolds, returning writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, along with Levy and Robot Chicken’s Zeb Wells) have something better in mind. It’s an observation. It’s a thought. It’s something – while perhaps not at the level of "With great power comes great responsibility" still resonates and cuts through the chaos.

What Logan endured in the past – and all those mistakes he made – have led him to be the person he is now. Don’t mess up what’s actually a good thing by trying to right those past wrongs. What’s done is done.

And with that, maybe (however unlikely, in all honesty), but just maybe, the MCU’s worst mistakes are also done. Maybe the MCU will start to matter again.

Let’s hope for the best as Phase 5 rolls along and the MCU contends with its own issues with the Time Variance Authority as the next episodes have become targets of shifting timelines, delayed release dates and narrative redirection.

’nuff said, True Believers.

Excelsior!

• Originally published at MovieHabit.com.

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