Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) Review: A Gleefully Violent and Nostalgia-Heavy Superhero Action-Comedy
It’s do or die for Deadpool & Wolverine, the first and only MCU movie this year after the less-than-enthusiastic responses of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels in 2023. It was heavily promoted as the “summer movie event” that may or may not save the flagging MCU, especially with the mixed results of Phase Four and Five of The Multiverse Saga being churned out so far.
Deadpool & Wolverine also marks the long-awaited return of Ryan Reynolds’ iconic Merc with a Mouth character in the post-Fox era, six years since 2018’s Deadpool 2. And he finally gets Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, supposedly long dead after we last saw his character in Logan to join him in the (mis)adventure.
The story? Wade Wilson (Reynolds) has been living a normal life ever since he hung up his red-and-black superhero suit and his alter-ego Deadpool. He works as a used car salesman with Peter (Rob Delaney) while his relationship with Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) is over. Then one day, the Time Variance Authority (TVA) agents from the Loki series show up at his front door during his birthday party. There’s a TVA agent-in-charge, Mr Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) who wants Wade to complete a mission that offers him a chance to save the world as Deadpool. The downside? He’s not doing it alone because he needs to locate Wolverine and even team up together for the mission.
It has been a long time coming for Deadpool to finally and officially enter the ever-growing MCU. And since Deadpool & Wolverine takes place within the Multiverse Saga, the sequel sees the two mismatched partners encountering multiple cameos and variants, and fighting against a new enemy, the telekinetic-powered Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin of TV’s The Crown fame).
Seeing Deadpool and Wolverine teaming up together that best described as a buddy comedy sounds like a whole lot of fun. But there’s one thing that bugs me the most: Shawn Levy, the director of the third Deadpool movie. Levy may have been no stranger to mainstream successes including the Night at the Museum trilogy and others like Cheaper by the Dozen remake, Real Steel and Free Guy. Having him onboard for Deadpool & Wolverine seems like the studio prefers to play safe with their choice, despite the movie carrying a restrictive rating. This leads to an all-important question: Does the movie live up to its massive hype after months of anticipation?
Right from the get-go, Deadpool & Wolverine isn’t kidding about the R-rating as Levy goes all out with the graphic violence in every imaginable way possible. It’s like a free flow of blood, gore and carnage as Deadpool gleefully dispatches the TVA agents with his double katanas. The elaborate fight choreography is top-notch, showcasing Levy’s fluid camerawork and technical proficiency in staging propulsive comic-book action. It was a relief that Disney’s MCU doesn’t end up cannibalising or toning down the Deadpool character and gives us what we (especially fans) want.
Ryan Reynolds’ signature acid-tongued motormouth is on full display here as Wade Wilson/Deadpool. From breaking the fourth wall to having a field day mocking and trading quips with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, the profanity-laden dialogue comes thick, fast and colourful. I mean, colourful with a capital “C”. Levy, who also co-written the screenplay alongside Reynolds himself, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick and Zeb Wells, fills the comedy to the brim, resulting in some of the funniest moments ever seen in the MCU.
Deadpool & Wolverine is also packed with cameos which would be a bonus if you are familiar enough with the Fox-era Marvel superhero movies at the time. Not everyone made the cut but it’s plentiful enough and I’m glad Levy doesn’t just feature them just for the sake of it. In other words, these cameos have their moments and surprises are in store too. Levy equally deserves praise for his eclectic selection of needle drops from The Platters’ “Only You (And You Alone)” to NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye” and a spot-on homage to Back to the Future using Huey Lewis & The News’ “The Power of Love”. Personally, I like how Levy drops Madonna’s rousing anthem “Like a Prayer” during one of the movie’s crucial moments.
The buddy-comedy angle between Deadpool and Wolverine underscores the movie, which draws inspiration from the ’80s era, notably 48 Hrs. (1982) and Midnight Run (1988). The kind of mismatched partners where they hate each other’s guts but end up reluctantly working together. Like 48 Hrs. between Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy, you can expect Deadpool and Wolverine going toe to toe. It’s fun seeing them together disagreeing with many things throughout their journey. Reynolds and Jackman play off each other well with their onscreen chemistry among the main reasons that made Deadpool & Wolverine such an entertaining romp.
Beyond its barrage of humour and violence, Levy also takes a step back to inject his movie with a few emotional moments in Deadpool and Wolverine’s respective character arcs. It works but only to a certain extent since the problem here is that past movies like Logan have already accomplished the heartfelt parts perfectly. Still, it was undeniably nostalgic to see Jackman return to his signature character, complete with a comic-accurate suit and a mask. Like Reynolds, he’s fully committed to his role and even at times, steals the show in this movie.
The introduction of Cassandra Nova benefits from Emma Corrin’s wickedly pitch-perfect antagonist turn. Levy doesn’t tone down on what her character can do with her superpower and the way she proves to be a formidable villain in the MCU. Besides, it’s no secret that the MCU often stumbles with mediocre-to-weak villains in their movies but Deadpool & Wolverine thankfully one of them breaks the curse with Corrin’s overall dedicated performance.
Not everything works in Deadpool & Wolverine, though. As much as I enjoy the comedy aspect of this movie, some of them tend to be repetitive or try too hard to be funny. The 127-minute running time may have been economical by the MCU standard and yet, it’s hard to deny the movie does lag with some uneven moments in between. Then, there’s the other side of the story. The story regarding the future of MCU that I was waiting to see where Deadpool & Wolverine would go from here. Make no mistake, Levy does a good job of delivering a no-holds-barred, violent action-comedy of a superhero genre that defines a Deadpool movie. But it seems to me Levy isn’t so interested in balancing his nostalgia-heavy story with the anticipation of the MCU’s interconnected universe, even though it features the TVA.
Deadpool & Wolverine is far from a game-changer unless you want to count the MCU’s first foray into the R-rated territory. Putting that aside, it remains a bloody good time for a communal experience with the crowds in the cinema. Likewise, don’t forget to stick around for a post-credits scene.
