Marvel Studios is in desperate need of revitalisation. Unlike the superheroes in Avengers Endgame, it has been unable to resurrect itself from Thanos’s snap, releasing a string of lacklustre movies that have underperformed at the box office and producing a dizzying array of TV shows. The once exciting prospect of ‘The Multiverse Saga’ has failed to ignite the excitement of audiences, with so much content being produced that the franchise has become more overstuffed than one of Wade Wilson’s chimichangas.
As a Marvel fan myself, their recent output has left me bitterly disappointed. The Disney+ shows have been a chore to get through (I haven’t even seen What If Season 2) and The Marvels was such a mess that I thought I may be done with superheroes.
Oh, how wrong I was.
Marvel has worked its own superhero powers, making me geek out with anticipation yet again for Deadpool & Wolverine. Perhaps the reason I was drawn back to see the 34th movie in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) was because of the brilliant ad campaign, which has promised more foul-mouthed language, bloody action and multiversal madness from everyone’s favourite Merc with a Mouth. Or maybe it was the rumours that the film is the swan song for the 20th Century Fox Marvel movies (due to the Disney-Fox acquisition which), full to the brim with easter eggs and cameos. If, there is anything that can get me to go and watch another film in a declining franchise, it’s a good old dose of popcorn fuelled nostalgia that transports me back to the days of my youth, away from the dreary rut of adult life. It says a lot about Kevin Feige (the head honcho of Marvel Studios), Ryan Reynolds and the enduring legacy of both Deadpool and Wolverine, that they have managed to make it one of the most anticipated movies of the year, despite Marvel’s arguable decline.
With its arrival in cinemas, it has a lot riding on it with a lot of questions that surrounding it. Can Disney really produce a mature superhero movie? Is it actually any good or just another attempt to cheaply pander to audiences with fan service? Can it bring Marvel back to life?
Well, have no fear. For those of you reluctant to see another superhero movie, I have been gullible enough to hand yet more of money over to Mickey Mouse to help answer those questions and deliver my musings on the latest Marvel outing.
In Deadpool & Wolverine, we reunite with a slightly downtrodden and rejected Wade Wilson (Reynolds), split up from his girlfriend, no longer carrying the Deadpool mantle and working as a car salesman and desperate to do something meaningful with his life to prove that he really matters. Wade is forced to don his red spandex once again, when he is recruited by Mr Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) of the Time Variance Authority to help fix the ‘Sacred Timeline’ (the timeline where the MCU takes place). Traversing the multiverse, he comes face-to-face with a Wolverine variant (Hugh Jackman), who is awash with guilt and shame. As villainous forces emerge, Deadpool and Wolverine must band together to save Wade’s timeline, and everyone he loves, from ceasing to exist.
One thing is clear as soon as the opening logo appears on screen, Feige has given Reynolds free reign to run about in Marvel’s playroom along with a huge wad of Disney cash to cause as much glorious havoc and mayhem as possible. Make no mistake, this is a Deadpool movie through and through. In fact, it might be even more gratuitously violent and explicit than the previous two instalments. Just as a Deadpool movie should be, it makes you question your morality for laughing at an excessive level of comedic violence, potty mouthed language and crude humour that constantly veers on the borderline of being too risqué.
As ever, Ryan Reynolds plays the Merc with a Mouth with gleeful abandon, cementing the character as the most iconic role of his career. As well as producing the film, Reynolds co-wrote the script. From the acerbic wit with which he delivers dialogue to every small mannerism he makes whilst wearing his suit, Deadpool is treated with a genuine sense of care and earnest, lifted right out of the comics and seamlessly transitioned into the MCU. Whilst Disney may now own Fox, it’s clear that Reynolds isn’t letting The Mouse taint the legacy of the X-rated character that fans of comic books have come to know and love, proving just how much he cares about Deadpool.
Alongside Reynolds, Hugh Jackman dons the adamantium claws once again to reprise the role of Wolverine. You would be forgiven for thinking that his performance could have been tired and half-arsed, a chance to collect an easy paycheque, given that 2017’s Logan was a poignant and perfect send off to the character. These fears are alleviated as soon as Jackman graces the screen. He makes it clear that he is Wolverine, bringing the somewhat sardonic, steely and burdened qualities of the character combined with a sense of brutality audiences haven’t previously seen. This is Wolverine truly unleashed, dressed in his resplendent comics-accurate costume that fans have been clamouring to see in live-action for years. The film jokes about how long Jackman has been and will be playing this role, but with how fantastic he is here, it seems hard to see how anyone else could ever wield those claws.
Deadpool and Wolverine bounce off each other with an eccentric and infectious vivacity, moving from enemies to friends to lovers. The two leads possess more chemistry than Reynolds had with any of his former rom com co-stars. They have known each other since Reynold’s first debuted as a sanitised Wade Wilson in the infamous X-Men Origin: Wolverine and director Shawn Levy has previously directed both stars, Jackman in Real Steel and Reynolds in The Adam Project and Free Guy. This goes to show just how important actor-director relationships can be, with the three clearly working together seamlessly to create a character dynamic that feels effortlessly natural and real, no easy feat when making a formulaic Marvel movie.
Levy is a welcome addition to the MCU whose direction has maintained the edge of previous Deadpool movies whilst injecting it with the more zany and colourful aspects of the MCU.
Reynolds and Jackman aren’t the only cast on top form. I never tire of hearing Leslie Uggams’s Blind Al swearing profusely whilst Rob Delaney’s Peter is simultaneously endearing and sexually kinky. The rest of Wade’s friends and family are as eccentrically quirky as ever, although sadly underutilised. A standout for me is Matthew Macfadyen as Mr Paradox, emulating a wickedly camp effervescence a. Whilst Cassandra Nova befalls the same fate as most Marvel villains (not managing to feel like an established presence or long-lasting threat beyond the confines of the movie’s runtime), Emma Corrin plays the character with a wonderfully sadistic streak and is given a disconcerting powerset that manages to make a Marvel villain…well…villainous. It’s a joy to see the actors have fun with their roles, especially considering that recent MCU performances have felt as though they were performed by A-listers who are counting down the number of obligated appearances left on their contract.
Whilst Deadpool & Wolverine is a refreshing change of pace this is still another paint-by-numbers Marvel movie. It moves from action scene to action scene, strung together with often forced attempts at levity, off kilter humour or brooding moments of unearned sincerity. At least it isn’t done too jarringly here. There is of course a reliance on cameos, often used to bathe the audience in a deceiving golden glow of noughties nostalgia to detract from the weaknesses of the movie. Unlike recent multiverse cameos however, they weren’t just lazy attempts to win over the audience. Each impacted the film in a meaningful way, servicing the story, providing some hilarious and moving moments.
Sadly, no matter how amazing these cameos were, they were not enough to distract from the fact that Marvel is still careening in an unknown direction. Once the end credits rolled, I realised that the studio has yet created another movie full of fan service rather than telling a story that moves the story of ‘The Multiverse Saga’ forward. I’m still not clear what will happen next or even if these characters will stick around in the future.
With Deadpool & Wolverine though, it’s hard not to forgive its flaws, especially when it acknowledges and embraces them. Its self-referentiality is its greatest strength, with Deadpool breaking the fourth wall multiple times to poke fun at Marvel and its downward streak. It’s also a joy to watch, crafted with a sense of reverence and respect for its source material and fans, beautifully recreating the panels of a comic book onto the big screen. Behind all of the corporate synergy, hyper octane action, side-splitting humour and stellar humour, lies a story with a huge sense of heart with Wolverine and Deadpool finally bought together, creating a beautiful bromance. It’s the best enemies to lovers romcom in years.
Has the film done enough to win over the Marvel and superhero movie detractors? No, of course not, it’s more of the same. But if you are a Marvel fan, who like me has grown tired of MCU in recent years, you won’t be able to walk away without an immeasurable sense of nerdish glee and a huge grin on your face.
Would I say the MCU has been bought back to life? Well…not exactly. Perhaps a more apt description is that it’s been placed on life support. Only time will tell if it wakes up from its coma.
What this movie has proven though, is that no matter inconsistent the MCU may be, I will still get sucked into the excitement, hype and see whatever they release…Every. Single. Time.
In that regard, Marvel truly is a superhero.
Deadpool & Wolverine is now playing in cinemas.
