Deadpool and Wolverine | Review

2024 | R | 127 mins. | Directed by Shawn Levy 

Deadpool and Wolverine sees Marvel finally bringing both characters into the MCU. With Phase 4 and 5 both regarded as being hit or miss, Marvel has needed a smash hit and something that will make the fans run out to the theater. Teaming up two of their best characters and banking on nostalgia seems like a sure thing. After all, Spider-Man: No Way Home has been the biggest movie for Marvel since Avengers Endgame and that movie brought out all the nostalgia. So, does the movie live up to the hype or does it fall short of such high expectations?

For me, the movie more than lives up to the hype. Right out of the gate this movie lets you know exactly what you're in store for. A huge fight sequence including Deadpool killing many different people in very comical ways and spraying mass amounts of blood sets the tone for what's to come. From there on the movie keeps up with the violence and action as well as being consistently hilarious throughout. Sure, not every single joke works but for the number of jokes that are being thrown around, most of them do land. The story here works better than one would have expected. It does get a tad convoluted with all the multiverse shenanigans, but it ends up having some depth to it and a good amount of heart to keep things grounded.

It is hard to talk about much with this movie without any spoilers. Without spoiling anything, audiences will find themselves with an abundance of cameos throughout. Surprisingly, the larger cameos get worked into the story quite well and aren't just there for a quick, "Hey, look it's that character!" kind of appearance. There are so many references to other movies in the universe and the movie plays up plenty of meta moments and fourth wall breaking. By the end, some of the references do get a little tiresome but for the most part they do work.

The biggest shortcoming of the movie is with the villain. Here the main villain is Cassandra Nova and while Emma Corrin does do a great job in the role, the character itself isn't fleshed out enough. With so much going on and packing in so many characters the story just forgets to give her more motivation for her actions and ultimately, she doesn't amount to as much as she should. On the other side, both Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are in top form here. Both guys have played these characters so well in the past and they are able to fall right back into these roles perfectly. Reynolds is hilarious as usual but can play the part well when there are dramatic moments. Jackman has always played Wolverine fantastically and here is no different. He embodies this character with such charisma and aggression, you can easily see why he was chosen for this character twenty-four years ago.

There is a good chance that this will be the biggest movie of the year and as well it should be. Deadpool and Wolverine is what summer blockbusters should be. Great action sequences, hilarious comedic moments mixed with some of the best cameos in any MCU movie to date. The chemistry between Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman is top notch and everyone in the cast is doing their part.

Grade: B+

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