I had measured expectations when preparing to watch yet another summer superhero blockbuster, which turned out to be a summer dumpster fire. As a long-time “Deadpool” franchise fan, I was eager to give the movie a fair shake. Unfortunately, by the film’s end, I couldn’t be bothered to sit for its end credit scene.
Entertainment news outlet Collider calls “Deadpool & Wolverine,” directed by Shawn Levy, the “widely successful” box office buster of 2024. Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman suit up to reprise their roles as, you guessed it, Deadpool and Wolverine. With a worldwide gross of over 1.2 billion dollars, Deadpool and Wolverine has quickly become the highest-grossing R-rated film ever.
In this third installment, The Walt Disney Company brings back our raunchy but lovable antihero, Wade Wilson, Deadpool, played by Ryan Reynolds, on a soul quest for a deeper meaning in life after a universe hop and break up. He craves a life outside of mercenary work. Enter Logan, Wolverine, played by Hugh Jackman, a character we presumably said goodbye to in 2017, who gets pulled into Deadpool’s universe-saving chaos.
After “Deadpool 2”, Wade jumps to a new universe where his girlfriend is alive, and he has a chance at a new destiny.
I must commend Deadpool and Wolverine as it is Disney’s maiden voyage into the R-rated movie genre. However, while polished, Shawn Levy’s direction lacks the raunchy edge that made the earlier Deadpool films stand out. The Disneyfication is evident in the film’s production quality, and yet the film’s overall messaging felt messy. The boldness of Deadpool’s original script writing gets watered down in favor of multiverse monologuing, a narrative technique where the characters explain the universe’s logic. The pacing feels often rushed, with long fight scenes, and dense due to hurried exposition.
While I am eternally grateful for Welsey Snipes’ and Jennifer Garner’s reprisal of roles I once loved in childhood, I was less than impressed by Channing Tatum’s jump scare. I am torn between the comforting nostalgia these cameos bring and the messy, unending feeling that made me stop watching the Loki TV show. Whenever a cameo arises, I ask myself, “Are you getting your moment, or is this a setup for a Disney+ spinoff?
The familiar faces are fun to see, yet they often come at the expense of the film’s emotional core, leaving me more distracted than entertained. At one point, I realized the multiverse-ness of it all distracted me from the story’s overarching theme: “You are worthy enough.”
By the end, the movie feels like it’s tripping over itself; as Disney expands its on-screen and real-life studio multiverse, I think “Deadpool & Wolverine” is less focused on telling a new story than setting itself up for the subsequent five or ten films. I appreciate it when a superhero film can stand alone and not isolate new audiences while properly feeding returning audiences. Ultimately, it is worth a ticket for diehard Marvel fans, but if you’re looking for a fresh superhero flick, “Deadpool & Wolverine” might leave you with a mild case of multiverse motion sickness.
Final Verdict: 2 out of 5 popcorn buckets.
