WARNING: Spoilers will fire off in your face unexpectedly
The Merc with a Mouth returns to the screen and has brought along Daddy Fork Hands for the ride.
Deadpool & Wolverine stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman reuniting the superheroes for the first time since the ever-razzed X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Directed by Shawn Levy (Free Guy, Night at the Museum and The Pink Panther), the film slots in nicely to the Deadpool suite and somewhat artfully brings raunch and filth to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
For y’all caught up, here’s a quickie of a blurb for ya:
Deadpool’s peaceful existence comes crashing down when the Time Variance Authority recruits him to help safeguard the multiverse. He soon unites with his would-be pal, Wolverine, to complete the mission and save his world from an existential threat.
WHAT DID GLASS THINK?
Now, for context, I myself have kept up with most of the MCU and have consumed the X-Men movies of olde. And I believe the depth of enjoyment of this movie is very dependent on the audience’s understanding of the history and understanding references made of this history.
That being said, I went to see this film with fellow Glass Editor Jacinta who has not seen most of the ancestral films and she still enjoyed the film. So, to all the Marvel novices out there, you too can enjoy this film.
Now onto the actual review!
The quality of the film was one of Marvel’s better ones. There was no evident AI use alla Secret Invasion and the CGI was gory and successfully explosive unlike some previous Marvel movies…. *cough* Black Widow.
Given the resources of Disney and Marvel it’s no surprise costuming and sets are up there when they care. And my feeling is that the main thing that can be reviewed of Marvel movies are the storylines and the writing.
So, here are my thoughts on how Deadpool & Wolverine played out.
The Deadpool movies (minus his debut in X-Men Origins) have always stood out from other superhero flicks with the fourth-wall-breaking, stomach-churning and exasperated-sigh-inducing humour. This film had a lot riding on it with it significant line-up and it being the first Deadpool movie under the new big bosses.
It’s been plaguing every Marvel lover’s thoughts whether Deadpool would eventually join the MCU and the Avengers since his first leading movie in 2016. And we finally see the filthy-minded merc almost share the screen with the Avengers but I was left wondering if this was such a good thing. Deadpool and Wolverine are set to return in Avengers: Secret Wars and Deadpool joining the MCU does instil a little dread. I fear in order for Deadpool to join the Avengers, we will see his character watered down and sanitised in order to match the “family-friendly” nature of the Avengers.
He’s entered the most twisted of frays as the MCU grows and gets even more complicated with multiverses and timelines tangling into a right-old mess. It is becoming so convoluted that it is making it increasingly difficult to join in on the fun or even step out for a moment. This is more a comment on the MCU at-large but this film is playing into its mess. I felt disappointed at the “self-aware” joking about ‘multiverse fatigue’, I was anticipating more of a dig at it but the film just used the same tricks after one insult.
As a fourth-wall breaker, Deadpool & Wolverine had me feeling looped in on Disney drama and knowledgable and superior as I got the references.
***It did help that Jacinta was sitting there next to me not getting a lot. Don’t get me wrong I was lost in some of the more obscure references.
The characters in the film were developed nicely as heroes and villains which was a relief.
Deadpool has obviously been developing over two previous movies and we still saw some more growth in his endeavour to join the Avengers and his journey to save the world. While our other lead Wolverine has an interesting backstory that fell victim to telling not showing, it made for awkward mind-melding and left a gaping hole in the storytelling.
I have seen some recent movies when villains fall flat but Cassandra Nova and – I guess – Mr. Paradox were satisfactorily diabolical and downright chilling in Miss Nova’s case.
These characters bounced off each other fantastically and it does make for a jumping dynamic watch.
Am I happy about the dependence on the Time Variance Authority? Not really. I wanted to see the most batshit crazy way for Deadpool to enter the MCU but Marvel has depended on a tired storyline they have used before. You have a meta being that breaks the fourth wall and you use the same method as Loki? I just wanted something a little bit different for Deadpool.
All in all, the film was enjoyable and did right a lot of wrongs done in the past… *cough* X-Men Origins.
And I may have some dread for what joining the Avengers means for Deadpool but I am still excited to see what happens.
My only big gripe is I was DYING for Deadpool and Wolverine to kiss #makedeadpoolanddaddywolvief*ck
