‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ REVIEW: Marvel brings mutant mayhem in meta sequel
‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ REVIEW: Marvel brings mutant mayhem in meta sequel
It’s the end of the Fox Marvel Universe as we know it. Six years after the events of Deadpool 2, Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds), now retired as Deadpool, encounters the Time Variance Authority (TVA), a bureaucratic organization overseeing timelines, who brings him on a mission. Deadpool breaks a couple of bones out of retirement when his friends, family, and world are in danger. But he recruits a version of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), setting the stage for an inevitable mutant team-up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
Wade Wilson’s (Ryan Reynolds) friends are in a circle before he blows his birthday candles; pictured are Blind Al (Leslie Uggams), Buck (Randal Reeder), Peter (Rob Delaney), Shatterstar (Lewis Tan), and Dopinder (Karan Soni) | Taken from IMDb
Superhero movie fatigue will always be up for debate depending on who you ask. For the last couple of years post-Endgame, Marvel hasn’t been the cinematic juggernaut it once was. For years, MCU films have been spared from total critical annihilation. But as of late since 2020, Marvel’s outputs for film and television haven’t been garnering complete success from fans and critics alike.
Safe to say, the people have become smarter in not taking in all of what Disney is churning out. Apart from this, the yearly outputs have been nothing but oversaturated content. What was missing was experiencing something from the MCU as an event and something to feel excited about. Although not every film should be a multiversal spectacle like Spider-Man: No Way Homes, they should at least make us feel that these films are worth spending on.
Before I dive in with what I enjoyed the heck out of Deadpool & Wolverine and the things I was kinda hoping to see from the film — they’re just some nitpicks here and there — allow me to revel in the nostalgia and hark back to my affinity for the X-Men characters on film.
I didn’t get the chance to see the original X-Men trilogy on the big screen, having only been nine months old when the first X-Men film was released. However, I was exposed to comics and DVDs when I spent my summers at my cousin’s place. I remember watching X2 as that annoying family member who never stopped asking questions about the movie. I was all in for the action, never the conversations and dull moments.
But as a kid, seeing these characters fight each other and use their mutant abilities is all that I wanted to see. X-Men: The Last Stand had a fun third act but even as a kid, I wasn’t a fan of how they treated Scott Summers poorly.
2009 came along and that’s when X-Men Origins: Wolverine came out. I watched it with my mom, my go-to movie buddy, on a weekend and I remember feeling giddy by all the action and explosions. Looking back and having rewatched the film recently, my cinephile eyes have seen better days. But that did not invalidate my experience at the time. I used to own a plethora of K-Zone magazines and the issue on X-Men Origins: Wolverine had a cool cover of Wolverine’s claws slashing through and only revealing parts of the actual cover.
As the years went on, X-Men: Days of Future Past has remained an amazing entry, merging the original cast with the new breed. Unfortunately, what came after, X-Men: Apocalypse and X-Men: Dark Phoenix, brought a sad demise to our favorite family of mutants on screen. Well, aside from Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox, of course.
The first Deadpool film came out when I was in Grade 9. I remember seeing it with my classmates on a school day. Two years later, 2018’s Deadpool 2 arrived during the summer before I entered college. Now, as I’m already working, Deadpool & Wolverine —the first under the Marvel Studios banner, takes me back to the feeling of why I enjoy superhero films in the first place. Boy, what a journey it’s been: going through the COVID-19 pandemic, the Disney/Fox merger, and directorial changes.
Deadpool prepares to get a piece of Wolverine in a broken-down Honda Odyssey | Taken from IMDb
That’s why going into this, I was eagerly excited to see the Merc with the Mouth have at it under the House of Mouse. Deadpool & Wolverine is pure fan service, on par with Spider-Man: No Way Home, or if not, greater. The film is a culmination of honoring and, well, mostly respecting the legacy of the Marvel characters brought to life under the 20th Century Fox banner, acting as the final tribute.
It’s not even subtle, so having the third Deadpool film act as a meta-sequel and commentary toward the film industry and movie studios is just perfect. You have Deadpool criticizing how Marvel has been taking L’s as of late with no shame, bringing the character into the MCU with no fuss. Yes, it can grow tiresome for most audiences, and this type of crude humor isn’t really for everyone and I get that. I just love how Reynolds gets to be more of himself and goes beyond what is expected of him when playing this character.
There was some fear of Deadpool not feeling welcomed with the Marvel Studios touch. It feels like a perfect fit, a warm glove if you ask me. Maybe it’s just me being excited to have Deadpool back on the big screen and to have him team up with “The X-Man” Wolverine. The film is this buddy cop-type action film that leans on the comedic and star-power prowess of Reynolds and Jackman, which in itself is already the film’s selling point. On the other hand, director Shawn Levy continues what made the gore and adrenaline-pumping action in the Deadpool films work with a side of a sorta unhinged R-rated Wolverine that we were treated to in 2017’s Logan from director James Mangold.
Furthermore, the cameos are what the audience also came to see. I didn’t have huge expectations on who’d show up, which is why these cameos worked for me. Sure, there are some blink-and-you’ll-miss-it types of cameos here and there. These are downright purely for fan service and they work.
In terms of crowd-pleasing cameo appearances from multiversal heroes, this film is what people wanted Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to be. Even the quick multiversal cameos showcase the impact and necessity of finding a version of Wolverine in the Deadpool recruitment montage with Huey Lewis and the News’ “The Power of Love” in the background, going back to the film’s core story.
Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) shows off his sweet adamantium claws | Taken from IMDb
SPOILER ALERT, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! I didn’t expect to see Henry Cavill as a Wolverine variant. Coming from a DC fan, it still pains me that Warner Bros. and DC took this man for granted. But even if it’s all just for this little cameo that’s straight out of comic book movie fan casts, it was amazing. Not only that, we saw comic book creator John Byrne’s classic brown costume, a homage to The Incredible Hulk #340 cover, the Age of Apocalypse Wolverine variant, and the hilarious reveal of the short-statured comic-accurate Logan.
But the crème de la crème is the Resistance group of multiversal heroes such as Wesley Snipes’ Blade from the original Blade trilogy, Jennifer Garner’s Elektra from 2003’s Daredevil, and the 2005 spin-off, Dafne Keen’s all-grown-up version of Laura/X-23 from Logan, and Channing Tatum’s Gambit from the planned solo film that never was. Oh, and we also had Chris Evans’ surprising return as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch from the Tim Story-directed Fantastic Four films, albeit for comedic purposes, to have Evans back at his first go as a superhero still feels surreal.
Granted, these cameos are for the fans, and may not have some gravity towards the casual moviegoer, but it’s all the fitting closure for the Fox Marvel Universe. You even have Deadpool request for the Resistance heroes to have them sent back to their respective universes before the film closes. This feeling of seeing these characters, even if I didn’t have that much affinity for them in one way or another, still made me geek out. Because before the MCU took off, we had these characters grace the big screen under the Fox banner.
Wolverine and Deadpool prepare for battle in the film’s third act | Taken from IMDb
Deadpool & Wolverine can be judged by being just a cameo-filled movie, which is quite true, to a certain degree. But, there’s still a heart at the very center of it, of Wade Wilson wanting to find his purpose, to mean something for a change. After learning that his universe is about to be extinguished, he vows to protect and save the people he cares about. This can be contrasted to the version of Wolverine that Jackman plays in the film, a Logan that lets the X-Men down, failing to be the best there is at what he does. The film needed that feeling of rising from the ashes and having a Wolverine who’s at his lowest point.
Eventually, when he gets to his senses and finally wears the iconic Wolverine mask that people all so love, the needle drop of Madonna’s “Like A Prayer” hits like a motherfucker. Deadpool and Wolverine facing off against the Deadpool Corps is a crowd-pleasing moment; it feels earned, having gone through this character-centric journey with the multiversal concept floating around in the background. However, the scene, which reminded me of that hallway scene from Oldboy, features very noticeable CGI all around. Again, not surprising considering the MCU and other blockbuster films’ problems with overusing CGI and the lack of time for VFX artists to work on making these cinematic worlds feel real.
Maybe it’s just me nitpicking, but I wished we had James Marsden’s Cyclops get a redemption of sorts. We got an amazing iteration of the character from the first season of X-Men ‘97, and it would’ve been nice to have Marsden return alongside Famke Janssen’s Jean Grey and Halle Berry’s Storm.
Meanwhile, Emma Corrin’s Cassandra Nova provides an interesting take on the mutant villain. We may not have gotten Patrick Stewart’s Professor X or even Ian McKellen’s Magneto for that matter, but having a powerful telepath as the film’s main adversary is the way to go. But again, the character still suffers from the MCU villain problem, of being somewhat forgettable after the credits roll. Given that the film isn’t sold as a big Cassandra Nova-centric story, we’re not surprised that she was only there to have DP and Wolvy fight a much bigger threat than the TVA.
Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin) holds her tea with her menacing glare | Taken from IMDb
Moreover, you might expect to be overwhelmed with references from the overarching MCU, but in truth, it’s not that type of MCU film, surprisingly. It truly feels like a send-off to the Fox Marvel Universe, leaving room for mystery about what’s to come in the next phases of the MCU. It’s all up in the air, floating around like a Galactus cloud of abomination.
Ultimately, did Reynolds’ Deadpool, the self-proclaimed “Marvel Jesus” return the MCU to its former glory? Well, it tries to undo some of the MCU’s past mistakes of not making every output feel important and only setting up the feature. Deadpool & Wolverine hints what’s to come but it’s still a Deadpool story, with a side of Wolverine’s redemption arc. We, the audience, can enjoy cinematic multiverse shenanigans and a buddy cop comedy at the same time.
Deadpool & Wolverine is now showing in Philippine cinemas.
