I’ve always enjoyed superhero media more around the fringes, going for the heavier, more thoughtful stuff like LOGAN, THE DARK KNIGHT, and LOKI. Checking out DEADPOOL on a lark, I was surprised by how much I loved it. DEADPOOL 2 was just as good if not better, with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. So when DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE hit the theaters, I was ready to watch, finally catching it when it hit streaming on Disney Plus.
I was severely disappointed.
In this movie, the Time Variance Authority (TVA) recruits Deadpool to save his universe from destruction because Wolverine died in his timeline. (This makes zero sense, but just go with it.) To accomplish this, he sets out to find a Wolverine variant willing to help, leading to a team-up adventure against a villain living in the End who wants to destroy all reality.
The setup promises to be fun as the ultimate unlikely buddy movie, Deadpool’s freakiness versus Wolverine’s moody earnestness, and they work in plenty of surprising cameos and crazy set pieces like Deadpool fighting an army of himself, but despite the potential of all these great elements the whole is just a hot mess. Confusing character development, a non-stop stream of F-bombs and meta jokes covering up a bad script, and no real stakes, no reason to care.
The highlight was Hugh Jackman as WOLVERINE, who did have something of a story arc. Even here, you can see why he’s one of Marvel’s most beloved characters.
So, I didn’t hate it, but instead of DEADPOOL standing out from the usual Marvel fare, it joined the club. I know it’s “mindless entertainment, just go with it and have fun,” and that’s fine, but it just wasn’t nearly as fun for me as the first two movies. If there’s another DEADPOOL I’ll watch it, but I’m hoping it gets back to its clever roots.
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