Six long years after Deadpool 2, Ryan Reynolds returns as the merc with a mouth in Deadpool & Wolverine, which also finds Hugh Jackman reprising his role as Logan/Wolverine, who died in 2017’s Logan.
Let’s be clear up front: this movie is atrocious. Yes, there are some funny parts to it, but overall it is: a) too long, b) too desperate to be funny, c) too reliant on fan-service, and d) looks bad.
The Plot: After being rejected from The Avengers by Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), Wade Wilson / Deadpool (Reynolds) mopes around as a car salesman with his human sidekick Peter (Rob Delaney) until Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) breaks up with him. When things seem at their worse, Wade is offered the opportunity to join the “Sacred Timeline” by Time Varian Authority (TVA) agent Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) because his timeline is about to be extinguished due to the death of The Wolverine (Jackman).
In an effort to save Vanessa and his friends, Deadpool travels to innumerable timelines to find a replacement Logan and the pair begrudgingly team up to stop Paradox, as well as main villain Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin), the twin sister of Charles Xavier and the authoritarian ruler of The Void (a concept introduced, along with the TVA, in Loki).
The Good
- Reynolds and Jackman: Despite nearly everything around them failing, the two leads are very game for this return. Both actors dig into their iconic roles with gusto and Jackman, in particular, seems to delight in being able to swear to his heart’s content.
- Dogpool (Initially): Wade’s unconditional love of the exceptionally ugly mutt and his irrational hatred of the long-haired variant of Deadpool who owns her is amusing…the first time. But like most elements in Deadpool & Wolverine, it’s a joke that returns to lesser effect later in the film (and, to be clear, it’s the same joke; there’s nothing new).
- The Extended Cameos: The Void isn’t great (more on this in a bit), but it is kinda fun to see members of the Rebellion against Cassandra Nova: Jennifer Garner‘s Elektra, Channing Tatum‘s Gambit, Wesley Snipes‘ Blade, and Dafne Keen‘s X-23.
- To clarify: Does the make-up of the group make any sense? No. Do the actors get to do much other than reprise their famous roles? Not really. But at least they get each get a few lines of dialogue, unlike many of the other cameos that feel like filler.
The Bad
- The Script: Shawn Levy co-wrote the screenplay with <takes deep breath> Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Zeb Wells and it shows. There are way too many ideas – most of which don’t coalesce – and the movie lurches along from set piece to set piece without much care. This screenplay is *a mess* (and a long one at that).
- Gay Humour: There’s always been an element of playful pansexuality about Deadpool (witness: pegging jokes in the first film), but the introduction of Wolverine seemingly gave the five writers permission to activate full-on frat boy humour mode. The result is that every other joke is about how funny or gross it is put two men’s junk in close proximity. Where once Deadpool’s teasing sexuality felt progressive, it now feels like straight bros tee-heeing about gay shit.
- Bad CGI (Blood): This is an R-rated action comedy and tons of people die. And when they die, it is usually in a flurry of CGI blood, none of which looks convincing. Take the opening sequence, which finds Deadpool battling countless anonymous TVA agents in a wintery glade. It’s an interminable action sequence that carries no weight in large part because none of the action looks or feels real and the CGI blood is a big contributor to that problem.
- Bad Action and Editing: One of the main reasons to see a Deadpool film is the action, but it’s as though editors Dean Zimmerman and Shane Reid forgot that they had a job to do. Whole sequences lag and the pacing is glacial, including several of the fight sequences such as the opener and the Deadpool variant fight. It’s as though Reid and Zimmerman were reticent to cut anything for fear of losing a joke or a fan-service moment.
- Cassandra Nova: Corrin is a really exciting actor (see: A Murder at the End of the World), but this movie offers them nothing to do. Cassandra is visually distinct with her bald head and jungle explorer costume, but the script fails to flesh her out (poor Corrin can only give wild eyes and severe looks for so long). This is a colossal misfire of a MCU villain.
- Zero Stakes: The whole conceit of the film is that Wade is fighting to save his timeline, but Wolverine bounces between at least two instances when he should leave and he simply…doesn’t? Why does Cassandra arbitrarily decide she wants to end all of the timelines using a MacGuffin machine called the “Time Ripper” (ugh)? Why is Mr. Paradox so intent on making efficiencies by expediting the end of Wade’s timeline? The problem is that none of these motivations are satisfactorily unpacked, and – as a result – none of it matters. There’s zero stakes in the entire film and it never feels like anyone or anything is in actual jeopardy. It’s all just spectacle for spectacle’s sake and, as a result, it’s impossible to invest in the narrative.
- 100 Deadpools: This goes double for the sequence when a whole gang of Deadpool variants arrive to prevent Wade and Wolverine from reaching Cassandra. (Why? It’s never explained. Because: action!) It’s D&W desperately trying to create an Across The Spider-Verse moment of their own, but that film earned that jaw dropping moment. Deadpool & Wolverine simply creates an extended action sequence around it. Sure, there are a few fun moments (a tracking long take as the action moves in and out of frame), but unkillable characters battling each other doesn’t have any stakes. None of it matters, so this is just action for action’s sake (and a chance for Blake Lively to cameo).
The Ugly
- The Fan-Service: The film is stuffed with celebrity appearances and cameos to the point of bursting. These range from mildly amusing (the Henry Cavill and Chris Evans bits are good) to “oh look, they got person X’ (Tyler Mane‘s Sabretooth, Aaron Stanford’s Pyro) to “huh, they couldn’t even get the actor back?” (generic extras play X-Men villains Toad, Azazel, Juggernaut, Lady Deathstrike, and Callisto). In general it reeks of desperation: Levy and co. are hoping that audiences will be distracted identifying all of the returning players/characters and other Easter Eggs, despite the fact that they’re just window dressing that adds nothing to the actual film.
- The Void: Loki at least occasionally managed to make the Void a visually interesting location, but Deadpool & Wolverine doesn’t even bother. The sequences in the Void, which compose the vast majority of the film, look like they were shot in a gravel parking lot on the outskirts of a small town. The colour grading is gray/brown, there’s no personality, and it is visually flat. File under: ugly and uninspired, which is shocking for a $200M film. It’s worst than Quantumania if you can believe it.
So yeah, Deadpool & Wolverine is ugly, poorly scripted, full of tired jokes and endless cameos. Some folks will love the humour and the action, but if that’s a driving factor, you’re better off revisiting the first film. This is a case of depreciating returns for each successive film and this is easily the worst entry in the Deadpool franchise. 1.5/5
Deadpool & Wolverine is now playing in theaters