For the first time since The Avengers (2012), we only have one MCU movie coming out in the entire calendar year of 2024, and it is this one. The pressure was on to deliver and, to an extent, prove if people are, in fact, sick and tired of comic book films or whether they just don’t like when movies that don’t do anything new. And by the massive success of Deadpool & Wolverine, it seems clear that people still care; you just need to motivate them to show up in the cinemas. The Marvel Jesus (Ryan Reynolds) did it.
I can’t lie; it’s been a while since I have had such a blast in the cinema. This movie throws everything at you and then some; the cadence is roughly 22.5739 jokes per minute, and there are various quips, quick jokes, and references to many things (mostly pop-culture related), but most landed for me. What I loved is how this movie dealt with the idea of “bringing” Wolverine back, as I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that he died in his last film and Hugh Jackman officially retired from playing him. That was until this movie, where what they did and how this movie opened was brilliant. And the laughs didn’t stop for me for pretty much the entirety of this buddy hero movie.
It’s hard to discuss specifics without going into spoilers because there are some amazing jokes, scenes, and characters who I had no idea were coming. So, before delving into spoilers, I will say that I enjoyed this movie and was on the verge of giving it 5/5 stars. The only thing that stopped me was the nagging feeling of whether some of those scenes and jokes would work as much on my second watch. But other than that, I had a good time with this film, as it’s a pretty poignant farewell to a specific comic book era where things weren’t always going great. It’s a love letter to all the “forgotten” comic book movies, characters and some that never even gotten their chance to shine. I have noticed when people discuss this movie, one of the biggest criticisms is that there is “no story”. I don’t get that at all because this movie is about many things; you just need to look beyond the vulgar humour. It’s about finding your place, fitting in and wanting to be something bigger than yourself. This movie talks about how no matter how super you are, you may never reach the heights you want to, and that’s fine. So, I don’t agree with that notion.
I will also give the movie this – the action scenes and montages were executed well. Unlike many MCU films, the action scenes in Deadpool & Wolverine seemed less edited and more fluent. And the montages, whether it’s the finale or the closing credits one, were tastefully done, and I wouldn’t be surprised if many teared up during either of those. Especially the end credit one, where we see behind-the-scenes footage from many comic book films of the past, made me want to rewatch the X-Men movies as it’s been a minute since I watched the first ones. Anyway, let’s go to spoilers so I can talk about some scenes and characters more freely.
BEWARE, SPOILERS ARE COMING!
I expected more cameos, to be honest, but I will say I am not disappointed by “only” having those we got just to clarify something from the start. I imagined, given the fourth-wall-breaking nature of Deadpool, everyone who has ever appeared in the MCU would be in here, even if in a big group scene for a second (like in Deadpool 2 (2018)). Instead, we get a more sensible approach, and the first hint of that is when Chris Evans shows up, but not as Captain America. Instead, he shows up as Johnny Storm from the Fantastic Four movies he made in the mid-2000s. One thing I don’t think people appreciate about this movie is they could have gone for the expected (especially with the subplot of Deadpool trying to join the Avengers) and made him come back as Captain America, but that wouldn’t have worked with the theme of this film. Don’t get me wrong; this movie goes for the obvious jokes when it’s funny. But as far as plot and all these cameos are concerned, they seemed to have more thought put into them than simply: “Hey, we need to bring back this person and that person, just because we can!”
Speaking of which, did I like seeing Jennifer Garner as Elektra and Dafne Keen as Laura back? Yes, I did. Did I expect to see Channing Tatum as Gambit? Absolutely not. The choices they made with his character giving him this goofy… dialect? Accent? Speech disorder? Either way, it worked, and I, yet again, ask for Channing to star in more comedies because he is a low-key underrated and brilliant comedic actor. But, who brought me so much joy and I didn’t know I needed to see back on the big screen was the man, the myth, the tax dodging legend himself, Wesley Snipes. Blade has always been one of my favourite characters ever, and to see him back, be as cool as he was back in 1998 (!) and referencing the fact there is only one Blade (can you believe they announced the Blade movie in 2019 and we still haven’t gotten it?!) just made me so giddy. As much as I loved all the cameos and Deadpool variants, Wesley Snipes coming back in that scene as Blade was something I didn’t know I needed, and it made my day.
What this movie then does with all these cameos is also underappreciated. Sure, Evans is mostly the punchline, but as far as the others are concerned, Deadpool & Wolverine gives them all one last chance to shine, to be cool. And as Gambit himself points out in the movie, it gives him the chance to even exist because his Gambit movie was stuck in pre-production hell for a decade until it got cancelled altogether. And despite making him into “a bit” of a joke, when the action time came, they give him some cool set pieces too where it acted as this glimpse of what could have been. Everyone got the chance to shine in the big battle, and I am glad they didn’t bring them back just to kill them off. Well, except for Johnny Storm, but did you see him shit talking Cassandra Nova? No wonder she did what she did to him.
Speaking of her, Emma Corrin was awesome. Emma goes by they/them, and their character was a nice spin on Charles Xavier’s character. I liked how their journey almost mirrored Deadpool’s, and they also had to live in someone else’s shadow and just wanted to be seen. This film also showcased something we had never seen before – what if Professor X was evil? This movie goes through several things, and they barely manage to stop Cassandra’s character, fully displaying just how powerful someone with those powers would be.
I can’t wait to rewatch it and see how well it plays the second time around. But as far as my cinema visit, I had a blast. I thought MCU desperately needed a hit; they got it, and hopefully, they will understand that they need to mature now. I am not saying every MCU movie from this point forward needs to have this much profanity, but the audience is ready for more mature, darker comic book movies. And if there is one thing Deadpool & Wolverine proved without a doubt, people will show up and make you money, even if the movie is R-rated. If the source material calls for it, don’t soften it; nourish what makes the characters and stories unique.
Overall, Deadpool & Wolverine surprised me with how much fun I had with it. I expected a cameo fest of all the famous people. Instead, we get a few cameos that mean something. I didn’t expect this movie to be a reflection of how far we’ve gotten (comic book-wise) while giving some characters a proper send-off. I think this also will be an amazing time capsule film. In 20/30 years, when you put this on, you will be transformed into 2024, as no matter how much or how little you liked this movie, it is a mirror to the modern pop culture and our current obsession with nostalgia, multiverses and all the other things that make studios money. And sometimes, it’s good to reflect.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
Until next time,
LUke