Since his solo film in 2016, Deadpool has become one of Marvel’s most popular and successful characters due to his humor, fourth wall breaks and nonsensical behavior.
In the character’s latest film, “Deadpool & Wolverine,” everything great about Ryan Reynolds’ ‘merc with a mouth’ is combined with the brutality and grit of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine to make one of the best superhero films in recent years.
Taking full advantage of Marvel’s expansion into the multiverse, the film follows Deadpool and an alternate universe version of Wolverine as they fight, side by side and with each other, to save Deadpool’s world from destruction and find a new purpose in life.
While world-ending events are a common trope in the superhero genre, the film stays entertaining and unique through a blend of high-octane action sequences, humor and poignant emotional scenes.
The movie’s action scenes are over-the-top and silly at times, fitting in with Deadpool’s previous films. The combination of good choreography, courtesy of Ashley Beck, and great needle drops create some entertaining and memorable scenes, including the now iconic intro fight and dance to NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye.”
The film also features a handful of brief, yet emotional scenes which get much of their impact from the phenomenal acting of Hugh Jackman, who returned to the role after seven years. Jackman mixes the cheesiness and anger of Wolverine’s first movies with the emotional depth of the older version in 2017’s “Logan” to portray the character nearly identically to the character in the comics.
In between the brutal fights and compelling character development, “Deadpool & Wolverine” fits in an astonishing number of jokes from Deadpool, which are delivered perfectly by Ryan Reynolds. The film’s humor works even better when juxtaposed to Hugh Jackman’s serious and moody portrayal of Wolverine.
One of the movie’s best qualities is how much it appeals to the comic fans, both casual and diehard, and rewards their knowledge of the source material with comic references and the long-awaited appearance of Wolverine’s yellow and blue suit, complete with cowl.
The film also includes a heap of nostalgic moments for fans of early Marvel films such as “X-Men,” “Fantastic Four,” and more, but thankfully doesn’t overshadow the main characters. “Deadpool & Wolverine” honors the movies that came before it and acts as both a love letter and sendoff to that era as the characters get new iterations in Disney’s MCU.
Despite the cast being almost entirely made up of established characters, “Deadpool & Wolverine” does a fantastic job with introducing a new villain to the big screen. Cassandra Nova, the evil twin sister of Professor X with a nihilistic goal to destroy the multiverse due, is a great and powerful villain for the movie and acts as a good foil for Wolverine.
Nova is played faithfully yet uniquely by Emma Corrin, who adds a playful streak with the eerie essence of her comic counterpart to make a memorable entry in the long list of Marvel villains.
While the film does many things well, it does have flaws, particularly with pacing at certain points. A few scenes and jokes drag a bit, especially towards the end, and the over two hours of runtime could be shaved down a few minutes without negatively impacting the story.
“Deadpool & Wolverine” also leans heavily on concepts from the “Loki” television series, which, although explained well enough for the audience to understand, acts as a convenient shortcut for Deadpool to jump into the MCU.
Despite its imperfections, “Deadpool & Wolverine” stands out as a bombastic and hilarious superhero movie that outshines many of its peers in the genre.