Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

Review: written August 2024

Rude, funny, knowing and probably pointless

The latest Deadpool movie is a cynical attempt to use two of the remaining Marvel big draws, throwing them together with the stretch goal of revitalising the flagging Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

The plot is a little redundant here, but suffice to say that Wolverine / Logan turns out to be a key ‘anchor’ for Deadpool’s universe, and without him (He died in 2017’s “Logan”), Deadpool’s timeline will wither and die, along with everyone in it (yes, it’s one of those multiverse movies we all love SO much). Deadpool therefore searches other universes to find a ‘spare’ Wolverine and bring him back to his own universe, to save it. There’s more, including a multiverse trash can of defunct characters and a rogue element of the Time Variance Authority, but none of that really matters that much. It’s really all about Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman sharing screen time, with their admittedly crackling comic chemistry, firing in-jokes about the MCU and breaking the fourth wall (talking to the audience) at every opportunity.

And yes – both are funny, Hugh Jackman has a frankly astonishing physique for a 56 year old, the gags are often clever, and the resulting cameos surely wont fail to bring a smile to your face. But it’s not enough. Even while smiling and giggling at the screen, I was finding myself losing any interest or doubt in how it would end – it’s the multiverse, after all, where anything is possible and nobody has to die. And I was sitting there listening to in-jokes about how different studios had influenced the characters and how long Hugh Jackman would have to play his signature role increasingly, distracted by a growing sadness for how cynical a cash-in this was. Deadpool himself makes some sarcastic observations about how the franchise has dipped dramatically when tackling the multiverse, before lurching off into the same trap. And it’s Deadpool who asks the audience at the start, “I suppose you are wondering how are we going to do this without dishonouring Logan’s memory? Well I’ll tell you how, we’re not.”. And boy was he spot on.

I can’t help thinking that when a movie franchise becomes a complete parody of itself – it has come to the end – the dog eating its own tail. Deadpool has always been ‘meta’ and spoken to the audience, as a diversion / addition to the plot – but this time, the comedy and knowingness IS the plot, which sucks any drama out of proceedings.

So yes, go watch it – you’ll be entertained, its funny, you’ll probably have a laugh, and enjoy some spectacular cinematography and fight scenes and enjoy some charismatic actors doing what they do well. How much you enjoy will very much depend on what you want to get out of the movie. But it IS rubbish, and it isn’t the saviour of the MCU it would like to be – more a very large if entertaining nail in its coffin.