Was there any doubt about what movie I would see this week? Technically, I saw it late last weekend, but that was after my Twister review was already out, so I had to sit on this for a week. I’m not going to lie, it was tough not to talk about this, but at least we are here now and I’m going to let it all out. But, like most Marvel films, this one is filled with secrets and cameos, so if you don’t want to hear about any of that yet, then you really shouldn’t be here yet. Check out some other reviews here, then watch the movie and come back to read my thoughts. In the meantime, if everyone else is ready to move on, then LFG!!!
So, Deadpool & Wolverine is the third movie in the Deadpool franchise, and the first one directed by Shawn Levy, who has also directed both Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman in Free Guy and Reel Steal, respectively. The big news of course is that this is the first Deadpool movie to take place under the umbrella of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe, for the 1% of the population that doesn’t know that). Like most Marvel films, this is filled with absolute joy, cameos of other Marvel characters, fight scenes, and plenty of humor.
Speaking of humor, I can easily say that this is by far the funniest of the three Deadpool films. There was barely a moment that went by when I wasn’t laughing about something, and it was great. Reynolds as Deadpool has always been the perfect casting choice and Jackman as Wolverine wasn’t far behind, so putting them together finally was the perfect marriage.
So, this time around, when we meet Deadpool aka Wade Wilson, he’s living somewhat of a normal life as a car salesman alongside his buddy Peter (Rob Delaney). But he and Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) have grown apart as he tries to figure out his place in the world. This is when the first of the cameos happen. Jon Favreau shows up as Happy Hogan when Deadpool applies to be an Avenger. I wasn’t expecting that, and it was neat to see all the Avengers goodies scattered throughout his office. Later, during his birthday party, he receives a knock on his door from the TVA. If you’ve seen Loki and know anything about the multi-verse, we are good here, if not then you have a lot of catching up to do before you understand what’s going on here.
So, Wilson finds out that his world is dying because his version of Wolverine has died, and Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) wants his help to make it go away faster. He disagrees, steals one of the datapads, and makes a run for it across various universes in search of a new Wolverine to assist. When he returns, he is informed that he can’t just bring any Wolverine to replace him, and both are sent to The Void (Like Loki did in the Loki Disney+ show).
This is where things start to move fast, and Marvel fans get lots of fan service thrown their way. The next cameo was not only surprising but also very well written. Chris Evans’ appearance as Jonny Storm has to be one of the greatest character inserts in Marvel movie history… just above John Krasinski’s take on Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic) in “Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness” They led us to believe it was Captain America, then rip the rug out from underneath us and it was amazing the whole time. Eventually, the two main protagonists along with Storm get taken to Cassandra Nova.
Nova (played by Emma Corrin) was a great villain and one I hope we can see again… not sure how, but with the multiverse, you never know. She has gathered an army of villains (a lot of them are classics from the old X-Men films) including Pyro, Toad, and Sabretooth. After another great fight scene (this film is littered with them) and Jonny Storm’s death, our heroes escape and are taken in by a group of surviving superheroes. More surprises here as we see Elektra (Jennifer Garner), Blade (Wesley Snipes), Gambit (Channing Tatum), and X-23 aka Laura (Dafne Keen) all come out. It’s hard to put into words how cool it is to see these characters back on screen after all these years.
They decide to work together to try and take down Nova (whom they learn is the sister of Prof. X). So, they all roll up and we get another pretty amazing battle as Deadpool and Wolverine eventually get the better of her and convince her to let them go home so they can save Deadpool’s world. Like most supervillains, she double-crosses them and sends an army of Deadpools after them which makes for another battle, but this one is also filled with humor. After Peter saves them, they go after Mr. Paradox and Nova. It takes them both as they work together to stop her, save Deadpool’s world, and Paradox gets taken by the TVA.
One final cameo by B-15 from the TVA (Wunmi Mosaku) and we are whisked away to a happy ending where Wade is with all the people he loves (most of the main characters from the first two films) along with Wolverine and Dogpool whom he wanted the entire time anyway. This was a sensational ride. Not just the 2-hour arc of this Deadpool film, but the entire MCU/Deadpool/Fox’s X-Men coming together in one glorious 2-hour motion picture! I don’t think you have to be 100% caught up on all things MCU and the history of Fox’s superhero movies to enjoy this, but it will intensify the enjoyment you will experience while watching it.
Overall, I don’t have any complaints about this. It was an amazing 2 hours and I loved every minute of it. My only concern was how easily Nova let them go home, but it had to happen to end the movie properly, so I take that for what it’s worth. This is easily a 9 or 9.5 out of 10 with the only thing missing was a few more ties to some other MCU properties to put it over the top.
So, there you have it for this week’s movie. Hopefully, you’ve seen it before you read this. If you have seen it, what are your thoughts? Did you enjoy it as much as I did?
As a final treat, if you also check out my post here about this article, you can see a picture of me from when I “met” Wolverine a few weeks ago. Thanks and see you next week for another mindless movie review of some sort.
