It wasn’t long ago that Marvel superhero movies became critically acclaimed, Oscar-nominated, big-money pop-culture blockbusters. We were spoiled in the ’00s with the likes of Black Panther and Guardians of the Galaxy. Even before that, comic book fans were hooked on Blade, the X-Men series, and Daredevil, whose tormented, leather-clad do-gooders experienced influential highs and serious lows.
It’s that time of year again, when Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman lovingly pay homage to each other as the titular rivals, donning colorful costumes and inflicting endless stabbing wounds with sharp objects (★★★½, rated R, in theaters Friday). Thanks to an off-screen business deal (satirized in a belly-laugh story), Reynolds’ Deadpool and Jackman’s Wolverine—staple ’00s characters who made a spectacular last-minute return at the expense of 2017’s Logan—are finally catapulted into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“Can you imagine the fun? The chaos of it all, the residue of it all?” Reynolds says of Merc with a Mouth, a delightfully meta and proudly gonzo buddy comedy team-up that is brutally violent, often funny, occasionally moving and always fun.
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The MCU’s best film since Avengers: Endgame pays homage to 20th Century Fox’s Marvel movies and the rest of the franchise that kept superhero passions burning until Iron Man and the Avengers came along, with a similar spectacle about life and legacy that focuses on the past rather than the future.
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Deadpool could be one of Earth’s mightiest heroes. When audiences catch up with Wade Wilson, he’s hanging up his red-and-black suit after a failed interview to become an Avenger — “They’re the best of the best, and they do things that matter,” he says — and working as a used-car salesman.
But he wants to be more than just a one-trick horse who swears, breaks the fourth wall, and causes reckless mayhem. Deadpool does just that, but… Really Well. One night, while celebrating his birthday with an ex-girlfriend (Morena Baccarin) and her friends, agents from the Time Variation Authority capture Wade and bring him into contact with Mister Paradox (Succession alum Matthew Macfadyen). Stirring up his god complex and reeking of middle-management sleaze, Paradox offers Wade the chance to become a hero in the MCU’s “divine timeline” (or, as Wade puts it, “Marvel’s Jesus”) – the only condition: his current world and all his loved ones will soon be wiped from existence.
To save his world, he needs to find Wolverine, and he reaches for Logan, whom Paradox considers “the worst,” because this version of the clawed X-Men betrayed his world most miserably. Deadpool and Wolverine sulk, and Paradox sends them to the Void, a “trash heap” of purgatory like “Mad Max,” home to characters fanboys and fangirls have seen and probably never thought they’d see again (and a few they probably never imagined).
Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin) is the ruthless and powerful twin sister of Professor X from the X-Men, and the boss of the Void, who can probe other people’s minds with her fingers. She and her minions are a dangerous bunch, so Deadpool and Wolverine travel in their Honda Odyssey (Deadpool) to return home and fix both worlds. dislike) and embark on a road trip full of attitude and catharsis.
Both heroes have the ability to bounce back from even the most horrible wounds, allowing them to unleash Looney Tunes-level cartoon carnage on each other and their enemies alike. Performance-wise, the leads look past their characters’ superficial qualities — Deadpool’s politically incorrect sarcasm, Wolverine’s dour, brooding personality — to delve into their weaknesses. Jackman, in particular, rides the emotional waves as the trauma-ridden, rampaging Logan. No matter how much you’re paid in cash or themed popcorn buckets, it’s never enough.
Miraculously, the film’s heartfelt moments aren’t buried by a preoccupation with nonstop shenanigans and giddy self-awareness. Director Shawn Levy is accustomed to juggling characters and cultural references in films like “Night at the Museum,” “Free Guy” and “Stranger Things,” but this is next level.
Like a Mel Brooks Marvel event movie, Deadpool & Wolverine is a nonstop stream of meta jokes that blur the line between fiction and reality, cleverly poking fun at everything from the LA Rams to Gossip Girl to Jackman and Reynolds’ other roles and the MCU itself — not to mention Easter eggs that comic book fans will enjoy, like a montage of Deadpool doing the “Bye Bye Bye” dance by ‘N Sync and flying through the multiverse to Huey Lewis’ “The Power of Love.”
Anyway, most of the ridiculous parts work, and the parts that don’t are total chaos — which is to be expected with Deadpool around. Surprisingly, the crux of the matter is that it’s a loving conclusion to a Fox film series, and a reminder of just how dominant an unleashed Jackman was, and still is.
