Marvel Studios
After two hit movies under his belt, it seemed a sure thing that Deadpool would return in a third venture. And then … 20th Century Fox went on the block. Who would buy the studio? What would happen to their Marvel properties that weren’t already owned by Disney or Sony? We all breathed a collective sigh of relief when Disney, home of Marvel Studios, ponied up the funds to buy Fox and bring Deadpool (and the X-Men and the Fantastic Four) back into the Marvel fold, allowing them to finally become a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But … would Disney allow Deadpool to retain all of his R-rated glory? Kevin Feige and Disney execs assured us Deadpool would not be neutered for the House of Mouse, but we were all still a bit collectively worried.
And then word leaked out that there would indeed be a third Deadpool movie but … it would not be Deadpool 3. Nope, even better, it would be Deadpool & Wolverine with Hugh Jackman reprising the role of the most popular of the X-Men mutants. And the first trailers reassured us that the new movie would be gleefully profane and bloody. But the biggest question remained — how on earth were they going to bring back Wolverine after he died in his last solo film? Well, luckily Marvel has a little thing called the ‘multiverse’ at its disposal. So what is Deadpool & Wolverine about?
The story begins on the Earth Prime timeline but quickly shifts to Earth 10005. Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) has given up the life of Deadpool and now works as a used car salesman. He’s still surrounded by his friends, including Blind Al (Leslie Uggams), Dopinder (Karan Soni), Colossus (Stefan Kapicic), Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) and Peter (Rob Delaney), but he is estranged from Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), who is in a new relationship but still has time for Wade. Before he knows it, Wade is dragged to the TVA by Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) because Deadpool has been violating too many timeline rules. And now his own timeline is slowly fading away because its anchor hero has died. Wade is confused because Deadpool didn’t die, which Paradox finds hilarious that Wade would think he was important enough to be the anchor hero. No, it’s Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) who was the anchor hero. But they need Deadpool for another mission and get him all suited up in a nice new outfit, but before Paradox can do anything else Deadpool grabs the little device that will send him through the multiverse to find a new Wolverine (actually, you can’t just replace an anchor hero with a similar version from another universe) because, as Deadpool learns, his Wolverine is really very truly dead. The search for a proper Wolverine is hilarious and entertaining and features a jawdropper of a cameo, but Deadpool finally finds a down-on-his-luck Logan who has basically given up because the X-Men are dead and his world hates him. It takes some convincing but this Logan finally, reluctantly joins Deadpool in his quest to restore his timeline except …
Their antics end them up in a world called The Void, a Mad Max-like wasteland (and, oh yes, there are direct references to that film franchise) called The Void — the place the TVA sends its ‘trash’ — where they meet a well-known superhero who is of little help to them, and are introduced to the queen, Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin) who, it turns out, is the heretofore unknown twin sister of Charles Xavier, minus the empathy. She loves ruling The Void and she has no intention of helping Deadpool and Wolverine return to their world because she just wants them to all be snuffed out. Like her brother she can also read minds … but with a more hands-on approach. Like she literally shoves her hand into someone’s brain to read their thoughts (and there’s some uncomfortable imagery for you). Deadpool and Wolverine manage to escape her lair and encounter another group of ‘forgotten’ Marvel cinematic heroes (and one that almost but never was), and they finally join forces to take down Cassandra. Or they try because she has another little trick up her sleeve, something she got from a certain magician that opens a portal back to Deadpool’s world … and unleashes a horde of Deadpools, including Lady Deadpool (apparently Blake Lively though we never see her face), and the realization that Paradox himself has created a device that will tear all the timelines apart. And Cassandra is very interested in getting her hands on that. Can Deadpool and Wolverine work together to save the multiverse or is this Marvel’s clever way to wipe out everything and start fresh (and, yes, there are a few jabs at Marvel’s recent failures with its multiverse stories)?
That’s the basics of the story. Nothing really spoilery there but certainly enough to whet your appetite to see this movie before all the cats are out of the bag (seriously, do not look at the movie’s IMDb page, which has thankfully removed one of the bigger actor spoilers). No, really, log off your social media, avoid any entertainment news, because this is an experience you want to go into blind, like Blind Al! Our preview audience was screaming and cheering and clapping for each new appearance of characters we thought we’d never see again or ever see. It will melt your brain, in a good way.
Marvel Studios
Pairing Reynolds and Jackman was a stroke of genius and hopefully, as Deadpool quips, since Disney brought Jackman back he’ll be doing this until he’s 90 (although that bombshell Logan replacement cameo would certainly be one to fill his shoes). The two actually work so well together with Jackman’s more serious — and often exasperated — performance balancing well with Reynolds’ ‘Merc with the Mouth’ persona, firing off one-liners and fourth-wall-breaking asides that allow Jackman to roll his eyes at the nonsense. This movie goes a long way in making up for what they did to Wade Wilson in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine. This is the pairing we always knew we needed and it delivers in spades. Corrin, although her role is relatively small considering she’s the movie’s ‘Big Bad’, is really, really good and it would be nice to see her return at some point. It’s great to also see the many actors who turned out for this, and they each have some wonderful dialogue. The script is very well done and the comedy nonsense comes fast and furious, but Reynolds and Jackman do get some moments to really flesh out their characters … before they start beating the shit out of each other again. This really is the Deadpool movie we’ve wanted.
Of course any Marvel fan knows you have to sit through the credits, and these credits are very special. While the names roll by, we’re treated to a lovely montage of the 20th Century Fox Marvel universe of films (and New Line Cinema) looking back at those films with behind-the-scenes footage and the OG Fox logo closing it out. It put a little tear in my eye because it felt more like an In Memoriam segment, saying goodbye to particular characters and actors (of course we know a new Fantastic Four is in the works, and a new X-Men is on the way but … is this truly a goodbye to Deadpool and Wolverine as we currently know them?). And, yes, there is a final post-credits scene, nothing that sets up anything for the future but addresses a key moment in the film. It’s very, very funny.
I wish I could say more about this movie because I’m ready to burst, but let this be enough to entice you to run — don’t walk — to see the movie ASAP before the world ruins it for it. And it will certainly bear repeat viewings so you can catch all the little details that are almost certainly missed in the initial viewing. So what are you waiting for?
Let’s fucking go!
Deadpool & Wolverine has a run time of 2 hours 7 minutes, and is rated R for strong bloody violence and language throughout, gore and sexual references.
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