Deadpool & Wolverine

Deadpool & Wolverine

My relationship with Deadpool as a comic book character is at best thorny, at worst unbearable. What I do admire is actor Ryan Reynolds realizing that the shtick of Deadpool can be endlessly utilized because that strain of sarcasm comes naturally enough to the actor, hiding away his own limitations as he would play innumerable versions of his Deadpool shtick in almost all movies starring him.

I have found that this brand of smug comedy—sarcastically breaking the fourth wall and commenting on backstage stuff that every comic book fan now knows—can be made bearable and even enjoyable if there is something against it to play it off with. In the first Deadpool movie, there was a legitimate emotional crux—his relationship with Vanessa. Deadpool II was essentially a Cable movie with Deadpool and X-Force shoehorned in, and its emotional crux had been hackneyed.

Deadpool and Wolverine have Wolverine to play off against, and the only reason why this five-screenwriter-written script filled with vicious, dirty, off-beat, but not necessarily clever humor works is because of the iteration of Wolverine in his world-weariness and experience commenting harshly against all of the jibes and the shtick of Deadpool, leading to an emotional barrage when Logan finally voices out his issues against the motormouth of Deadpool. But that would be sidelining what is also a fascinating aspect of this movie—a streak of self-awareness within Deadpool that doesn't necessarily translate to the fourth wall break. As a result, yes, the chemistry between Jackman and Reynolds truly shines and is one of the highlights of this movie. It also brings this trilogy full circle by actually bringing in the partner that Deadpool, aka Reynolds, had wanted ever since the movie's inception. Jackman is so good as Wolverine that his return after the fantastic send-off that had been Logan doesn't sting as much (not as much as the opening sequence of this movie, which while understandably meant to be fun, feels unnecessarily mean spirited).

Because if one were to ask about the plot and how that integrates into the MCU, some parts of the trailer have already revealed that, and the integration works in a logical way in accordance with the rules of the Marvel Multiverse. That also allows for the insane cameos to actually exist within the movie (and yes, the cameos are great, but there are some comic book references that are legitimately insane). But it's all done in the service of a plot that is simple but also devoid of stakes. And it doesn't help that the plot grinds to a halt every couple of minutes to show a standoff or a fight between two comic book characters—their appearances have already given you a high.

It further doesn't help that Shawn Levy, as a director in this space, is decent at best. There are choices made, both in the design of the action sequences as well as the introduction of characters to create a sense of heroism, that feel curiously bland. Or, more importantly, they feel in service of the joke that Deadpool would be uttering at that very second.

It does beg the question: if everything becomes a service of a joke delivered in an obnoxious smug tone with a knowing wink, signifying that the multiverse saga of Marvel has failed and Marvel should take the L, does the joke actually work? 

It should, if the movie chosen as the response to the criticisms is actually fantastic on its own. It is fantastic as a fan-service delivery system. As a movie, jokes on them because the multiverse saga is given a decent movie at best. 

As a goodbye to the Marvel movies of old and a love letter to Fox Films, it does work. As the sole Marvel film of this year it is enjoyable, but in no way indicates a return to quality for the brand, or an indication of where it will go next.

Block or Report

Amartya liked this review