Deadpool & Wolverine - Review: Knife-Hands & Butthead Do The MCU

 

Sometimes, to take on all of the crazy in a world as all-encompassing as the MCU, you need to be a little crazy yourself. Which is why someone like Deadpool might just be the perfect hero to come in and stir things up in this, the 34th film in the overall Marvel Cinematic Universe. There’s been a lot of stories before now and there’ll be a lot after this, so can the merc with the mouth make the kind of impact on the world that only he could? 

The film follows the titular, red-suited buffoon, played again by writer/producer Ryan Reynolds (“The Proposal,” “Van Wilder”), as he floats listlessly through middle-age in a state of arrested development. One day, he’s yanked from his universe by Mr. Paradox, played by Matthew Macfadyen (“Succession,” “Pride & Prejudice (2005)”), and the Time Variance Authority who inform him that his universe is dying due to the lack of a Wolverine since his death at the end of 2017’s “Logan.” So, Deadpool decides to hop from universe to universe to find a Wolverine, played again by Hugh Jackman (“The Prestige,” “The Greatest Showman”), to fix his world, all the while drawing the ire of Paradox, the TVA, and the antagonistic Cassandra Nova, played by Emma Corrin (“The Crown,” “My Policeman”). 

It’s a jam-packed film with a jam-packed script, written by Reynolds, Rhett Reese (“Zombieland,” “Deadpool”), Paul Wernick (“Zombieland,” “Deadpool”), Zeb Wells (“Robot Chicken,” “SuperMansion”), and co-written/directed by Shawn Levy (“Free Guy,” “Night at the Museum”). There’s a lot going on, but it doesn’t feel overstuffed by the end of things. It’s helped by Levy’s brisk pacing, but it’s also mostly because the film lacks a strict “plot” for most of the runtime. It keeps moving, but the events feel more loosely connected before the third act kicks things back into action. The middle section is entertaining, and things certainly are happening, but it lacks a real sense of motivation, feeling more like a series of extended gags and excuses to have Reynolds and Pool play in the MCU sandbox. 

Reynolds is certainly having a blast, and his performance as Pool is as entertaining and winning as it's ever been. Jackman also somehow manages to show us a side to Wolverine that we haven’t seen yet, and when the pair are bantering back and forth, the screen lights up with their charisma. Corrin is also excellent as the menacing antagonist, and they manage to bring a real straight-man bravado to the events. Macfadyen, while utilized less so, also delivers on the exacerbated nature of his character’s role opposite the merc with the mouth. There are also a number of winning supporting roles that won’t be spoiled here, but the entire cast is game for the wild and weird adventure Reynolds takes them on. 

Levy and crew manage to craft a fun looking and feeling adventure in this universe. While a good chunk takes place in the “Void” as seen in the “Loki” television series, there’s still enough visual variety to prevent things from getting stale. The action is fun and well-choreographed as well, playing into the strengths of the characters’ regenerative abilities. There's a general sense of poking fun at everything in sight, from product placement bits to gratuitous cameos to even the MCU’s quality itself. Clearly anything is game for Pool’s mockery and Reynolds and crew take full advantage of the MCU’s larger budget and playground. Even the musical score from Rob Simonsen (“Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” “The Whale”) has a more playful tone than before, even incorporating kitty meows into some tracks. 

While it is fun to see Reynolds and crew run around in the money vault that is the Disney-Marvel world, there is a sense of diminishing returns as the film goes on. It’s not that it’s the third Deadpool film, as the moments focusing on the merc are the best ones. Rather, the film seems to be settling for the most obvious version of this tale, meaning that while the humor can be quite surprising in the gags it goes for, the plot is not. It's the most typical way this plot could play out, leading to a feeling of an adventure that lacks the complete spark that Reynolds’s first two outings had. 

That doesn’t mean that spending the day with “Deadpool & Wolverine” isn’t a ton of fun. Because it is, and the signature brand of crass, fourth wall breaking silliness fits delightfully into this universe. It’s a fun and frenetic film that can’t quite reach the highs of its first two, settling for an adventure that has its fun and sits in the realm of a good adventure with two pals that just want to tear into each other. 3.5/5