Review: ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Punches Above Its Weight
'Deadpool & Wolverine' (2024)
In the eight years since Deadpool splattered onto our screens, the entire genre it was edging has changed. No longer are there epic final battles, characters we care about, or any continuity to help lead us through a complicated multiverse that even the creatives behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe don’t seem to understand. Where does Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds), a relatively uncomplicated character, fit into this complicated narrative?
After being rejected by the X-Men and the Avengers, Deadpool wanders through life for six years, losing his purpose and love. The TVA quickly gives the anti-hero a purpose when they want to save him for an unknown reason before his world gets pruned because a key figure, Logan (Hugh Jackman), has died. Determined to prove himself to his world, Deadpool finds a new Logan to bring to his world before it is destroyed.
Yes, Marvel’s broken multiverse finds its way into Deadpool & Wolverine.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it does come with some issues. Like the other films in the Deadpool franchise, Deadpool & Wolverine spoofs the recent trend in superhero movies but does so in a way that feels rude to the loyal MCU fans. The film is pointing at the audience, telling us we wasted our time watching anything after Avengers: Endgame, but don’t worry! This film is different. This film is worth your time and is setting up something so epic that you will feel your price of admission was worth it.
In some ways, Deadpool & Wolverine is worth it. From the endless cameos of superheroes from 20th Century Fox’s stint in foundational genre movies to its delivery of purposeful fan service moments (even some fan service that I—a cinephile and pop culture gobbler—was unaware of) were the most effective moments. Deadpool shines brightest when it leans into the Reddit-nerd energy that delivers fan-fiction moments that make grown men clap in crowded theaters or quietly say, “Hell yeah,” to themselves.
Marvel often fails to validate any fan service moments, often showing us what we always wanted to see in a moment that is killed with a weak joke plastered, breaking the illusion of greatness. The Deadpool movies essentially function with a basic, dramatic story that showcases the wants of comic book fans that Deadpool reacts to like a fan of superhero movies because, in universe, he is a secret fan girl of superheroes.
Moments like Johnny Storm (Chris Evans) being killed off because he was inflating the budget, which is reportedly $200 million, work better than Deadpool referring to Blake Lively, Reynolds’s real-life wife. When the movie stays in its superhero bubble, the film functions like a well-oiled machine.
It makes sense since the first film was a passion project of Reynolds, who wanted to redeem a character with a lot of potential after X-Men Origins: Wolverine. But how far do epic displays of fan fiction go in a movie that doesn’t have any stakes?
The glaring problem with Deadpool & Wolverine is that you can see the limitations on screen. Worse, those limitations don’t even seem to hide themselves by the end of the second act when the characters return from the Void to stop the end of their universe. For the first ten minutes of the story, Deadpool is just waiting for something to happen to him. When something does happen, everything else that takes place just happens to this rather inactive character. Even Logan, which Jackman portrays with such pathos that it tricks you into thinking there are emotional stakes in this movie, wanders through the story, fighting the ghost of his past that we are never let into. Why should we want redemption for this version of Logan? Why should we care about the big bad? These characters lack any motivation, sympathy, or purpose (even if that is to just die at the end of a blade) as the narrative is pushed forward by seemingly endless exposition dumps.
Whether these are the shortcomings of the five screenwriters (Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Zeb Wells, and Shawn Levy) who didn’t know how to navigate this new Disneyfied world or an issue within the MCU that cannot be unraveled by the most meta-character it has, Deadpool & Wolverine and its many exposition dumps don’t know how to care about the characters, navigate the muddy waters of the multiverse, or raise the stakes of the story while moving through the fan-servicing moments.
This is Marvel only film this year, setting the new standard for the MCU has Bob Iger dwindles the releases down to three a year and Kang (Jonathan Majors), the new Thanos of the franchise, floats in a doomed limbo. But what is that new standard being set with Deadpool & Wolverine? This is not a four-quadrants movie with amazing visuals that push technology forward, nor is it it interested in playing with new ideas as it pays homage to a mostly obscure superheroes from 25 years ago. The message of what this film means in the grander landscape feels lost in the Void, being toyed with an all powerful, morally corrupt being that doesn’t have an end goal in mind as it feeds the ever-consuming beast.
'Deadpool & Wolverine' (2024)
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Deadpool & Wolverine is the most comedic installment of the franchise, which is a rarity in modern-day movie watching. The raunchy comedies that have made Reynolds a notable name in Hollywood are more present in this film than in any other project he has done in the last decade. While Reynolds arguably lacks some aspects of a traditional leading man, he excels when his character makes others feel small and insignificant as he learns to find meaning in his life. Some of this dynamic has been lost as he ages and grows alongside Levy (The Adam Project, Free Guy) as his collaborator, but directors who lean into the drama can still effectively harness his performances.
However, the lack of drama or intentional storytelling through visual language makes this film feel like a "Sunday Movie"—a movie you watch on a Sunday while doing minor tasks or dozing in and out of sleep. There are no gripping moments that make this movie feel worth investing time in. While that is not what I typically want from a movie-going experience, I do see value in Deadpool & Wolverine as a fun movie-going experience. Indie films are driving the dramas currently, while big blockbuster films are taking themselves a little too seriously to have fun. But there are consequences to having too much fun with no interest in saying something. Why make movies if you have nothing of value to add to the culture?
This is a symptom Marvel and Hollywood have been dealing with for sometime, yet it is curable with the right filmmakers who can work within a studio system while following their artistic vision. Unfortunately, Levy and Reynolds are not the people to turn to for the cure.
If you are a fan of Marvel movies and understand some of the lore, history, and ongoing complications of the superhero genre, this is the movie for you. I fear that many of the fan-service moments will fall on deaf ears, but that is the risk the screenwriters were willing to take with this movie—even if it is the only risk they take.
