Deadpool & Wolverine
No 2 on my Most Anticipated
Director: Shawn Levy
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin & Matthew MacFayden
Runtime: 2 hours 7 mins
Genre: Comic Book
It's been six years since Ryan Reynolds has played Deadpool. Since then he's co-bought a football club (Wrexham FC) owned a stake in a gin company (Aviation) and had a 25% share in a mobile phone network (Mint Mobile). He has since sold Aviation and Mint.
One of the reason's he invested so much in business ventures is he genuinely never thought he would get the chance to play Deadpool again. With the family friendly mouse house having taken over 20th Century Fox in 2019, the 47-year old Canadian actor thought his days of chimi-changas were well and truly over.
That was until Hugh Jackman decided he wanted to play Wolverine one last time and finally accepted Reynolds long standing pitch for him to claw-up for a final send off to the much beloved character (even though that happened in Logan). Anywhoo, Feige subsequently green lit the project and with that sealing Deadpool's entry into a much beleaguered MCU.
Time for Maximum Effort.
Let's break it down..
Story and Plot
It's been a few years since the events of Deadpool 2, Wade Wilson (now with a glorious head of implanted hair!) is living his life in what you could call the Fox Universe of the MCU. With his mercenary days behind him, he's settled into domestic bliss with Vanessa (Baccarin) having swapped his katanas for cookery knives. Then the TVA (Time Variance Authority) show up at his door to take him to Mr Paradox (MacFayden) who shows Wade the most glorious place in the world - the sacred timeline. Tasked with having to save the MCU (in more ways than one), Deadpool crosses paths with a variant of an old clawed-friend and from there all hell breaks loose.
My overall thoughts...
Normally at this point that I would breakdown the movie in a non-spoiler sense, but not for this movie. I don't want to risk spoiling anything so I will keep to general impressions only.
My biggest worry going into Deadpool & Wolverine (the sole entry in the MCU movie canon this year and the MCU's first R rated movie) is that it would equate to nothing more than an endless tirade of rapid snarky jokes & gags, relentless general humour, making it border almost on a straight up comedy (Thor: Love and Thunder I'm looking at you) Easter eggs, a constant onslaught of cameos and the movie becoming so meta it left audiences bewildered.
I needn't have worried, Deadpool & Wolverine (which is my 2nd most anticipated movie of the year) is an absolute blast in all the right ways. Levy has directed the hell out of this buddy comedy action comic book adventure and will have franchises galore knocking his door. It also acts a fantastic third entry in the Deadpool franchise and is not just another MCU entry. It's tone consistent with the previous two movies.
Hilarious, profane and packed with thrilling action set pieces and fights, the movie which starts with a very meta opening is a movie that definitely demands to be seen more than once. I can see hundreds if not thousands of YouTube videos breaking down each minute of the movie in the coming months.
The chemistry between Reynolds and Jackman is very strong, their relationship is the heart of movie. Their performances bring a new dynamic and freshness to a stale MCU. The movie also has a lot of heart, so parking the snarky meta humour to the side for a moment there is actual meat on the bone here.
Whilst I thought the movie's humour would just be nothing but a constant barrage of snarky quips, it is actually very self-depreciating and genuine. Also despite this being under the Disney banner, the movie thankfully retains the vulgar and violent nature of previous Deadpool entries. Crude & rude - yep, Bloody violence - yep, swearing, lots of swearing - yep. This is one Disney movie not to bring young kids to.
The movie also hopefully (depending on what the MCU have planned next) will be seen as a potential reset for the MCU, bringing a fresh and energetic approach to a universe that has essentially felt stuck-in-the-mud since Avenger's Endgame.
My only pushbacks would be that at just north of 2 hours, Levy and Reynolds cram in a hell of a lot of stuff, so time any bathroom breaks wisely! As you will probably miss a crap tonne of cameos whilst actually taking a crap! Secondly the movie drags a tad during the middle but soon picks up pace into the third act.
Finally stay right to the end of the credits, it's Deadpool - you know the score!
Cast
It's no secret to learn that Reynolds and Jackman are very close friends and have been ever since the ill-fated X-Men Origins: Wolverine and as mentioned above their chemistry is as strong on screen as it is off.
Ryan Reynolds is back to being on top form, he is Deadpool/Wade Wilson from the original movie, I felt he was trying a little hard in the sequel. It has been said more than once that he was born to play this role, and this movie firmly cements that notion. He is hilarious (that's a given) but this time we see there is much more heart to Deadpool/Wade Wilson than previous entries as so much is at stake for him personally.
Hugh Jackman again resumes his role as Wolverine, but make no mistake this is not the Wolverine from the X-Men movies and Logan - this is the variant who comes from the MCU. It gave Jackman a chance to change his approach to his most iconic character and in doing so get decked out in the legendary comic book faithful blue-and-yellow costume. It also served as the second time under director Levy, with the first being 2011's Real Steel (which is a great movie btw).
He is superb in this movie, looking nothing like his 55 years of age. He is as ripped as ever and looks fantastic in the suit. It is my favourite turn of his as Wolverine, sitting just behind Logan. It's also finally liberating to see Wolverine drop F- bombs left, right and centre.
This pairing has been a long time coming and certainly pays off on screen.
Emma Corrin play's the movie's villain Cassandra Nova who in comic book lore is Charles Xavier's twin sister. This is my first film for the 28 year old British actor, she is very good in the role, which is great as I was worried that the movie could have been potentially let down by a weak villain.
Matthew MacFayden as the TVA's Mr Paradox is perfectly cast, he is excellent. The agent, who serves as a liaison between Deadpool and the MCU. His relationship with Deadpool is akin to Loki and Mobius in the Disney+ series Loki.
Wade Wilson's usual crew all return with the likes of Morena Baccarin (Vanessa), Rob Delaney (Peter), Karan Sino (Dupinder), Brianna Hildebrand (Negasonic) Stefan Kapicic (Colossus) and Leslie Uggams (Blind Al) all reprising their respective roles.
As for the cameos, well as the director Shaun Levy himself said "It's an Easter egg farm, this movie". I will neither spoil nor divulge any of them, for this one - you're on you're own, suffice to say you won't be disappointed and each have their time to shine.
On screen Action
Whilst I won't give away any specifics, I will say that the movie features a wide array of very well directed and shot action set-pieces. The fights are bloody, gritty and organic and feel akin to the original Deadpool. The fights between Deadpool and Wolverine are a particular highlight. The set pieces build up nicely, from the opener all the way to the finale. The main thing is as well is because I genuinely cared about the characters, the action came about because of the story developing not for just for shits and giggles. Action and character are interlaced.
Cinematography & Effects
Seasoned DP George Richmond (Free Guy and Kingsman: The Secret Service) lensed the movie. It looks universally superb, Richmond going a long to re-create the gritty feel of the original, lensed by Ken Seng. He also uses a wide array of cuts and shots to keep things fresh throughout the movie. Like the Spider-Verse movies as well, this movie really feels like a comic book come to life with vibrant colours and it's credit to both Levy and Richmond for having achieved this.
Music, Score & Sound
This franchise has had a different composer for each movie. This time round LA based musician Rob Simonsen picks up the baton. I enjoyed the score but as you would expect for this franchise, this movie veers more towards a wealth of varied needle drops (no less than 18 songs are listed on the soundtrack) including The Lady in Red by Chris De Burgh, Angel of the Morning by Merilee Rush & the Turnabouts, and even The Greatest Show by Hugh Jackman himself from The Greatest Showman get's a look in.
Deadpool & Wolverine delivers the goods! It's an absolute blast. Hilarious, fast paced, stonking action set-pieces, a tonne of cameos and as meta as Facebook. Despite Disney's ownership, it's rude, sexy and as sweary & bloody as they come but at the same time has real heart. It's time to deep fry those Chimichangas - Let's Fucking Go!
Verdict - MATCHED EXPECTATIONS
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