Deadpool & Wolverine Takes Fans On An Obnoxiously Meta Ride

The Marvel Cinematic Universe released its 34th installment, Deadpool & Wolverine, on July 26. 

Since the legendary Avengers: Endgame, the MCU has yet to gain the same acclaim in their newer films (with the exception of films centering on Spider-Man). However, with the crossover of Deadpool and Wolverine, two of Marvel’s most iconic antiheroes, they have broken their bad luck streak. 

In the third installment of the Deadpool movie franchise, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman reprise their roles as Wade Wilson and Logan, known as Deadpool and Wolverine, respectively. 

It follows the duo as they team up after the Time Variance Authority recruits Deadpool, who recruits Wolverine to help save the multiverse. As they embark on their quest, the two face off against foes old and new.

The heart of the movie is the electric chemistry between Reynolds and Jackman. Despite the tonal differences between Deadpool and Wolverine, the two play off each other in a shockingly seamless fusion, meshing Deadpool’s quippy comedy and Wolverine’s grittiness.

However, in an unlisted YouTube video titled Disclaimers, Ryan Reynolds warns fans that the plot of this film is “paper-thin” and to “sit back, relax [and] let [them] lower your IQ.” It’s safe to say they delivered on that.

The film provides R-rated, borderline juvenile humor that is typical of Deadpool and tears into the MCU’s and Fox’s speciality of breaking the fourth wall. It even makes a joke regarding the MCU’s current low point and, at another point, cracks a quip about Gossip Girl, referencing Blake Lively, Reynolds’ wife.

That said, the film’s overly comedic script undercuts its ability to truly delve into the more severe and emotional themes that it had the potential to explore with a character with a past as painful as Wolverine.

But the movie’s self-awareness of its characters and their past means it successfully avoided compromising Wolverine’s ending. It still acknowledged the character’s past while staying true to being a “Deadpool” movie. 

The film does not hesitate to deliver on being a gore-filled, action-packed mess that you’d expect from a “Deadpool” movie. For example, one fight scene takes place entirely in a car, and despite the grandeur associated with the MCU, it’s the best fight scene in the film. 

More than anything, it relies on nostalgia and the adoration of die-hard Marvel fans. The movie is jam-packed with cameos and references to characters from the last twenty years of Marvel movies, over 20th Century Fox’s X-Men, and the rest of Disney’s MCU characters.

Despite the movie’s dependence on fan service, it delivered what it promised: pure entertainment. This might not be the MCU’s saving grace, but it is definitely a fun watch.