We have all waited a long time for this team up.
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We have all waited a long time for this team up and boy, was it worth it! For the first time since the Disney/Fox merger comes Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)’s first R-rated film, Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine.
With a rating like that, you bet your ass you’ll be in for a whole load of foul-mouthed banter and bloody vicious fight sequences. Just imagine the unlimited violence possible between mutants with regenerative powers!
This sequel sees the return of Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman reprising their roles as the titular characters alongside returning cast from the Deadpool franchise (Morena Baccarin, Karan Soni, Rob Delaney, Brianna Hildebrand, Leslie Uggams, Shioli Kutsuna, and Lewis Tan) and new characters played by Succession’s Matthew Macfadyen and The Crown’s Emma Corrin. The film is directed by Reynolds’ frequent collaborator Shawn Levy (Free Guy, The Adam Project), based on a screenplay from Reynolds, Levy, Zeb Wells, and Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, both of whom wrote for the first two Deadpool films.
The familiar tone of violence and comedy is established in its opening credits (a.k.a one of the best fight sequences of 2024 cinema) when we see Deadpool desecrating a sacred corpse in the process of single-handedly fending off an army, set to N’sync’s “Bye Bye Bye” complete with dance choreography. *cue every 90s/early 2000s kids shaking in their seats*
Six years after Deadpool 2 (2018), a now retired Wade Wilson gets pulled back into the nitty gritty by the Time Variance Authority (TVA), informing him of his universe’s impending end due to the impact of the events in Logan (2017). Instead of abandoning his loved ones, Wade/Deadpool sets his sights on a mission to set right the course of his timeline by finding a replacement Wolverine. This thwarts TVA agent Paradox (Macfadyen)’s plans to speed up the death of Deadpool’s universe, forcing him to send both Deadpool and Wolverine to the Void (a.k.a the end of time).
There, they encounter Cassandra Nova (Corrin) – a mutant with telekinetic and telepathic powers and the twin sister of the X-Men’s Charles Xavier – ruling over the Void and sacrificing those who cross her to Alioth (an entity capable of consuming time and space).
Corrin’s villianous character proves a formidable MCU foe but she faces the unfortunate fate of being almost hidden under the huge looming shadow of both Deadpool and Wolverine’s screen presence. With the focus being elsewhere, it’s admirable to see both her and Macfadyen hold their own by having delicious fun playing the villains in this story with the limited time they have.
The titular heroes learn of others who oppose Cassandra and plans a team up to escape the Void. A lot of surprises have been dropped by this point and they don’t seem to be stopping. We’ll try our best to not give anything away but will say this: It truly is easter eggs and fan-servicing galore with this vehicle except it’s way more fun to digest when the audience gets treated like they’re in on the joke and nothing feels gratuitous.
If you enjoyed seeing John Krasinski pop up as Reed Richards in Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, you’ll love what the studio has in store for you here. From popular fancasting to callbacks to superhero films of old studio’s past and those that never were, this film has got it all and more. Think "the excitement you got from seeing Spider-Man: No Way Home" times a tenfold.
Having said that, this is the Deadpool and Wolverine show after all, and they do not let you forget it. Reynolds is as sharp as ever as the Merc with a Mouth, cementing his stake as the best candidate to don the red and black, but even he takes a backseat when compared with Jackman, who by now has played Wolverine for over two decades. You’d think the latter had given his all as the hero in 2017’s Logan but the Australian actor has proven he’s still got it in him to keep going for as long as he’s asked.
With its equal balance of action, comedy, and everything else in between (knowledgable use of comic book characters and a library of superhero films at its disposal, to name a few), Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine is not only easily one of the best MCU films to date, but also one of the best superhero films cinema has been blessed with, and that is not a statement we make lightly.
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