Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), directed by Shawn Levy, stars Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Matthew Macfadyen, Aaron Stanford, Dafne Keen, Rob Delaney, Chris Evans, Jennifer Garner, Wesley Snipes, Channing Tatum, Morena Baccarin, Leslie Uggams, and Jon Favreau. This is the third Deadpool film but the first of the series that takes place within the larger Marvel cinematic universe. The film follows Wade Wilson aka Deadpool (Reynolds) after the events of Deadpool 2 (2018) where he steals Cable’s time travel device and proceeds to save the lives of his various loved ones who died earlier in that film. Because of his time-traveling endeavor, Wade’s newfound life as a simple car salesman and family man is thrown into disarray with the arrival of the TVA (Time Variance Authority) who reveal that his reality is in danger of being wiped from existence. Realizing that he can’t be the MCU’s “Jesus” without a little help, Deadpool seeks the help of a Wolverine variant (Jackman) with a dark past – a variant who the TVA considers to be “the worst” Wolverine. Together they set out to save Deadpool’s home world as well as find a little redemption for Wolverine in the process. 

Reynolds’ performance as Deadpool is consistent with the first two films, so if you’ve gotten this far, you should know exactly what to expect. The performance that’s primarily worth a mention here is easily Hugh Jackman’s much-anticipated return to the role of Wolverine. He’s always been consistently great in the role, but there was always a bit of apprehension leading up to this film in the sense that it felt risky to bring him back after such a strong farewell to the character in Logan (2017). In other words, it felt like another film featuring the character would only hurt his legacy. Whatever a person may think of this film compared to Logan in terms of quality, they should still agree that Jackman’s portrayal here is one of his most confident and emotionally complex portrayals. The film also finds a lot of effective yet subtle ways to differentiate this Wolverine from the Wolverine that we knew previously. Although it can sometimes feel a tad pandering, the film intelligently takes this opportunity to apply certain comic-accurate details to the character that would have never made sense in the Fox universe. On top of all this, the combination of Wolverine’s hardened seriousness and Deadpool’s zany irreverence is a match made in heaven. The back and forth is often hilarious and Wolverine is able to comment on Deadpool’s craziness in a way that the previous films lacked.    

Although the stakes are easily the strongest of the three Deadpool films, it somehow still feels like the most unbalanced. This is double strange considering that this may also be the funniest of the three films. I think this imbalance is due to a script that often wants to do too much and jumps from scene to scene with some spotty transitions. The multiversal element leads to a convoluted plot that’s filled with holes if the viewer decides to think for more than two seconds. It also features Marvel’s continued problem of prioritizing soulless fan service/’member berries” over complex and surprising storytelling. Although a lot of fun, the film’s biggest joys come from its surprise characters and cameos. Once that enjoyment fades, the film is actually kind of empty when it comes to having real, lasting surprises. 

This is even more disappointing considering that Marvel heavily marketed this film as having an “extreme” impact on the MCU. Some may disagree, but I just don’t see it. The film is fun but doesn’t feel as important to the future of the MCU as Disney’s marketing team would have you believe.

Overall, this is another fun Deadpool film that I feel is about equal in quality to the previous two films. This will undeniably kick ass on first viewing for anyone who is even the slightest Marvel fan, but I’ll reiterate that I feel these joys are only skin-deep. Once the surprises fade on rewatch, it’s just typical Marvel sludge that’s saved by Deadpool’s R-rated comedic edge. It’s not groundbreaking and maybe not entirely deserving of breaking every box-office record, but it’s no doubt a great time at the movies. B