Deadpool has always stood out in the crowded superhero field thanks to his wildly inappropriate, 4th wall breaking, R-rated antics. The first two Deadpool movies were hilarious breaths of fresh air in the 2010s when superhero cinema dominated theaters, but now that the Merc with a Mouth (as well as the rest of the 20th Century Fox X-Men) has been brought into the Marvel-owning Walt Disney Company, will the fan-favorite antihero still be allowed to fill the screen with F-bombs and various bodily fluids? Or will the House of Mouse put a family-friendly leash on the Marvel Universe’s most unhinged character?
The good news is that this third Deadpool - the first in six years and the first made under the Disney banner - hasn’t toned things down one bit. If anything, it’s upped the number of sexual jokes and depictions of violent dismemberment that fans expect to see from the character, so rest easy if you thought we were about to have to suffer through a PG-13 Deadpool movie just because he’s under new management.
The even better news is that Ryan Reynolds has brought along Hugh Jackman for a(nother) final ride, and the result is both the kind of long overdue, action-packed superhero team up that comic book nerds have long dreamed for, and a surprisingly emotional farewell tribute to the 20th Century Fox era of the X-Men. It’s also funny as hell, and hopefully the start of a newer, freer era for Marvel as well.
Deadpool & Wolverine sees Wade Wilson (Reynolds) trying to live a quiet and peaceful life, now separated from his girlfriend Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) and retired from masked mercenary mayhem. But Wade is feeling pretty unfulfilled as a regular civilian and still yearns for a chance at real heroism. He finally gets his chance when the Time Variance Authority brings him the news that his particular timeline is set for cancellation - erasing everything and everyone.
You see, with the passing of Logan AKA The Wolverine (Jackman), Wade’s timeline is slowly collapsing due to a lack of box office starpower. The age of Fox may be over, but it’s definitely not going quietly, as Wade goes on a mission with a Logan variant (along with a few other heroes from canceled timelines) to take on the TVA and save his world.
Wade and Logan are a true match made in hell, and thanks to neither of them exactly being easy to kill, their clashing personalities turn every argument into ludicrously bloody slugfests without end. Director Shawn Levy (Stranger Things, Free Guy) really lets loose with the film’s numerous brawls between its two leading men, making it hard to wipe the grin off your face as the pair go at it in the middle of a wasteland, in the confines of a cramped car, in a dingy bar, or anywhere else where Logan’s patience happens to run out.
As one can expect, there are plenty of in-jokes and surprise cameos from characters across the Marvel universe that show up in ways big and small, and while none of them will probably mean anything to more casual audiences, those who have invested themselves in these movies and their legacies will find themselves very much rewarded and catered to with Deadpool & Wolverine. It’s self-indulgent to the point of over-specificity, to be sure, but Deadpool kinda gets a pass for that stuff, and thankfully the meta movie doesn’t go overboard with it anyway.
There’s definitely something to be said about not letting any superhero or the actor that plays them actually retire - “You’ll be stuck doing this ‘til you’re 90” Reynolds tells Jackman at one point - but the movie makes a case for at least one more victory lap as a way to signal the end of an era. An entire generation was raised on the 20th Century Fox take on the X-Men franchise and Hugh Jackman’s portrayal of Wolverine, and Deadpool & Wolverine serves as a much more fitting farewell to it all than something like Dark Phoenix.
This isn’t a movie that’s going to stand the test of time since it doesn’t really work without several layers of cultural context, but it’s not exactly trying to, either. This feels like a palette cleanser of sorts, a way to wipe the slate clean and hopefully usher in a fresh age for superheroes. Like his first two outings, Deadpool’s third adventure is a fun and funny romp through the multiverse with a surprising amount of heart as well, and a clear sweet spot for the very things it's poking fun at.
‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ is now playing in theaters.
