Review: ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Is A Foul-Mouthed Love Letter To A Bygone Age

Deadpool & Wolverine is a lot of what you might expect and whole lot you haven’t even considered yet.

As the only Marvel Studios film of the year, you might expect to make some sort of statement on the nature of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — and it does to a hilarious degree. But, shockingly, star Ryan Reynolds, director Shawn Levy, and a phalanx of screenwriters (including Reynolds and Levy) have constructed a love letter to the 20th Century Fox era of Marvel movies. It might be written in blood and profanity, to be sure, but it is nonetheless an affectionate ode to what is now a bygone age of superhero films even as it pokes fun at the current state of the genre.

The ending of the age is very much on Wade Wilson’s (Reynolds) mind as the film begins. For reasons best kept for the viewer to discover, he is recruited by the Time Variance Authority for a special purpose. Investigating that purpose, Wade gets into costume and begins searching the Multiverse for a Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) who can assist him. Soon, the two end up in a realm from which escape is seemingly impossible and controlled by Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin), a powerful telekinetic mutant with reasons of her own to be dismayed with the pair, the TVA, and the nature of Marvel reality.

That’s really just the bare bones of the plot, though, as one of the film’s great assets is the discovery the viewer will make while watching it. Deadpool’s mile-a-minute mouth is on display and most of what he says is hilarious and often overflowing in meta-commentary. Topics skewered include various actors’ personal lives, the Disney purchase of 20th Century Fox, a certain star’s love of musical theater, and something so stunning, we can’t believe Deadpool addresses it in a Marvel Studios picture.

But again, surprise is of the essence here.

Now, it might seem that the film would be slight if its based around so much referential humor. Instead, though, it takes the time to examine some of its topics with more depth — none more than Deadpool and Wolverine themselves. Wade is confronted by a sense of inadequacy he normally suppresses with his wit and guns. It offers a shade to the character not seen since the first Deadpool and, in fact, makes smart of use of moments from that film to underscore the character as a character. Wolverine also gets some scrutiny by being a new version we’ve never met before. As teased in the trailers, he made a huge mistake sometime in his past and it sets him apart from the character Jackman played from 2000’s X-Men to 2017’s Logan. Sure, that Logan also made mistakes, but a particular choice definitely sets this Weapon X on a different trajectory. The contrast is stark and Jackman once again proves his chops by leaning into how those different mistakes change Wolverine.

It’s a more rounded treatment than you might expect from a movie also giddy to use as many euphemisms for cocaine as it can find.

Corrin, meanwhile, does an exemplary job with Cassandra. Sure, the character’s time and motivation in the film is as slight as villains in other recent Marvel films, but they bring such life to their few scenes. Cassandra is genuinely quirky, mad without being loud, and unexpected in her reactions. It’s such a good debut, it is something of a shame the Mutliverse Saga wasn’t built around her ambitions. Corrin, the actor, definitely has what it takes to be a major Marvel menace. We hope to see them again.

Other performance are also good, but many of them come from surprise appearances we cannot spoil here. Like Deadpool and Wolverine themselves, they get a good amount of jokes and even some character depth, if even for just one quick scene.

All of it is contained in Levy’s steady direction. It is surprising he makes the anarchic feel of the film work as well as it does. Action scenes have bite, Deadpool’s meta-commentary lands correctly almost all the time, and — as mentioned — the actors are giving their characters the fairest of shakes. It doesn’t feel like anyone is sleepwalking in any aspect of the production. We will say the film is a little slow to start in the laughs department, but that might be down to many of the early jokes appearing in publicity material. Once genuinely fresh jokes explode across the screen, though, it secures a place as one of the funniest Marvel Studios pictures to date.

And, it should be said, the humor and anarchy are welcome respites from the feeling of seriousness surrounding Marvel Studios in the last few years. Sure, The Marvels featured plenty of funny moments and a sense of joy, but it was caught up in the maelstrom of dour efforts like Secret Invasion and an overall sense of audience resentment and fatigue. This film is an antidote to all of that. It still loves its source material — oh boy, does it! — but the irreverence of Deadpool brings a welcome liveliness to it all. It feels lighter and snappier than it has since, potentially, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings or even perhaps as far back as Ant-Man and the Wasp. And though some critics find that lightness to be Marvel’s greatest sin, it’s the absolutely right tone for these characters in this situation.

Deadpool & Wolverine is the exact dopey adventure we needed right now. It also, somehow, treats the 20th Century Fox era of Marvel with respect. It’s a curious capstone to those times even as the characters make their way to the MCU Multiverse. It acknowledges something was lost in the transitions while also having a lot of fun with every Marvel idea it can grab. On initial watch, it’s a gem and worthy of being the only Marvel Studios movie of 2024..

Deadpool & Wolverine is in theaters now.