No spoilers, but there is one pretty inessential post-credits scene.
Well, here we are at long last, 15 years since X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the movie this site was founded to defend, with Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman finally reunited, and making their way into the MCU five years after the sale of 20th Century Fox/Studios. For a series as low-key as the Deadpool films, the third entry’s ironically become a big deal, between being the only MCU movie of 2024, having to live up to Logan‘s greatness, and bridging one Marvel multiverse to another. For the most part, it succeeds at being another funny, irreverent, and crass but poignant adventure, but franchise bloat has definitely settled in.
Picking up in real-time after 2018’s Deadpool 2, we find Wade Wilson has retired since attempting to join the Avengers, when (in what is essentially a giant metaphor for corporate mergers, and the Fox universe peaking with Logan) he learns the Time Variance Authority is pruning the rest of his reality. Unsurprisingly, it gets a bit exhausting with the bigger scope and stakes: between catching us up on what Wade’s been up to, the TVA’s entry, why Wolverine gets dragged into this, and how the void from Loki and Emma Corrin’s Cassandra Nova also get involved, it seems like an hour before the plot’s been established.
It remains engaging thanks to Reynolds’s charisma, and the sense of a deep insecurity beneath his bluster, but his sheer mouthiness does wear out its welcome: he yammers on about everything so much that I began to zone out, simply waiting for the other person’s lines in any scene. Fortunately, this is a two-hander, and for all the endless discourse about bringing back Jackman after his triumphant exit in Logan (something the film gleefully has its cake and eats it with about respecting), it was the right choice for this movie — his return reminds you that he truly was the most magnetic actor to play a superhero in the 2000s, bringing gravitas and sincerity whenever it’s required at the drop of a hat (or mask, for that matter.)
Partly as a result, the movie feels more like a swansong for the Fox Marvel films (at least until Avengers: Secret Wars, natch), than a true venture into the MCU. You probably know some of the actors returning in the movie thanks to the trades and Marvel themselves (partly because one of them wanted to attend the premiere), but they still only scratch the surface of the sheer number of cameos, extended or otherwise, here. They definitely run the gamut from excellent, to “Look, an unexpected cameo, how funny!,” to even detracting from the story. To wit: the Deadpool Corps? Were they contractually bound to appear because it’s a multiverse flick?
It’s a testament to the overegging of everything, with Matthew Macfadyen’s (admittedly amusing) TVA leader Mr. Paradox proving to be nearly as much of a big bad as Cassandra Nova. Cassandra’s screentime is consequently limited, although she’s introduced pulling a genuinely disgusting kill that left me truly fearful for the rest of her scenes. Because of that, it was hard to objectively assess Corrin’s performance, although they do absolutely pass for the sister of James McAvoy’s flamboyant version of Charles Xavier from X-Men: First Class. (Speaking of Corrin — the MCU’s first non-binary lead — this movie is the most Deadpool has felt pansexual thus far: even though it’s mostly because of him taunting men, it’s still profound that Logan doesn’t have an issue with that at all.)
Shawn Levy’s direction is generally excellent, between the strong cinematography (which is graded more like a Fox production than a Disney one) and fight choreography, including a doozy of a shot that builds on the sterling work from Shang-Chi and Levy’s own episodes of Stranger Things — with all that and the number of characters he had to balance, it’s easy to see why he was in contention for Avengers 5. The music is at its best with the licensed tracks (you’ll be walking out with Madonna and Goo Goo Dolls stuck in your head, that’s for sure), as the film is otherwise surprisingly more effective when there’s no score, which also arguably speaks to how Levy may be better at drama than comedy.
Ultimately, Deadpool & Wolverine sticks the landing for many reasons, including (like all good superhero films) reinforcing values like selflessness and forgiveness — perhaps its flaws are a reflection of how a chaotic and busy storyline still feels out-of-place in a superhero movie, where we expect a sharp sense of narrative and worldbuilding despite all the comedy they often feature. For what it’s worth, I would be content if this was the last Deadpool movie ever, as it does seem like he would better serve as an annoying sidekick in future, but I am far, far more excited about the prospect of Jackman returning for one more time in Secret Wars than I was before — he truly is the heart and soul of this film. Until then: excelsior.
PS. It would be remiss of me to not acknowledge the controversy over Roy Thomas being given credit for co-creating Wolverine on this movie. He’s listed in the credits last, after Len Wein, John Romita Sr., and Herb Trimpe: make of that what you will.
