Deadpool & Wolverine – Review

This is a spoiler-free review.

The complex live-action cinematic outings of Marvel Comics characters have had a long, complicated history that spans decades and studios, but there’s no denying that Wolverine, along with Australian star Hugh Jackman (Real Steel, The Greatest Showman), stands out as the clear favourite within that non-Marvel Studios legacy (it has been 10 outings across 24 years after all), so it’s only fitting that he’s teaming up with current darling, Deadpool, to close off that chapter of the saga.

And start a brand new one.

Canadian star Ryan Reynolds (The Proposal, Free Guy) returns as the fan-favourite Merc with a Mouth and after years of excuses, denials and proclamations that there will never be a proper cinematic pairing between Deadpool and Wolverine, the long-awaited buddy film is finally here, amidst the storm of corporate buy-outs, rights reversion and legal licensing, with the duo finally making their massive Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) debut at Disney.

On the surface, it seems like an obvious cash grab for the 55-year-old Jackman and 47-year-old Reynolds, who are closing the books on two popular live-action heroes and are quite unlikely to continue on in their current incarnation, but beyond that, Reynolds and Jackman have come together to celebrate the very essence of comic book shenanigans, honour the rich legacy from the previous 20th Century Fox studio and more, and make their stamp in the highly successful MCU that has seen a drop of quality since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. 

Right off the bat, Reynolds, Disney, along with director Shawn Levy (The Pink Panther, Night at the Museum), want you to know that this is the same foul-mouthed, sarcastic, violent, irreverent, nonsensical and fourth-wall-breaking character from the 2016 Fox original and 2018 sequel, and the first 10 minutes is a dummy’s guide in shooting bloody gore and violence, upping the kill count and still in keeping with tone of the previous two, non-Disney outings. Clad in his signature red and black costume, our favourite antihero gets swept up by the MCU’s Time Variance Authority (TVA), an organisation tasked with maintaining the Sacred Timeline of the main MCU, and realises that he needs Wolverine’s assistance.

Scratch that. His Wolverine died in 2017’s Logan and after trying to bring him back, or should we say, establish that this movie in no way tarnishes the much-lauded legacy left by that film, Deadpool has to seek out a new Wolverine and ends up being maimed, stabbed, kicked, punched, and blown up by a bunch of others until he ends up with a costumed variant who hates Deadpool as much as he hates himself.

In many ways, this Wolverine aka Logan is much like the one from previous movies, except that he carries a burden and wears a costume to honour the X-Men legacy. Thrust into a fight that he never asked for, both mutants have to fight through a crap ton of bad guys, variants, and villains to save the universe.

This allows the duo to do what the Deadpool series does best – mock the genre and franchise, now away from the lunacy of Fox that didn’t know what to do with it, take potshots at Disney, who has seemingly lost its way after over a decade on unrivalled success, and go out with a big bang.

Big on action and even bigger on the cameos, the film is a buffet of quips, references, and cameos that entertain, whether you’re a fan of superhero films, an ardent follower of comic books, an audience member with a casual interest, or someone who just wants to be entertained. Unlike the cameos from 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which failed to honour the legacy of its talent-filled cameos and used them instead as punchlines, Deadpool & Wolverine digs deep into the last 25 years and brings back many live-action characters, some with their original actors, others via a recast, and even a few surprises.

Yet, writers Rhett Reese (Deadpool, Zombieland: Double Tap), Paul Wernick (Deadpool 2, Spiderhead), along with comic book writer Zeb Wells (The Amazing Spider-Man, Elektra), Reynolds and Levy understand fans are not merely content with familiar faces and references, and work tirelessly to bring back the heroism and optimism of live-action comic book movies, giving many of these characters, some of whom were discarded by the studio through no fault of their own, a chance to shine.

Maybe you weren’t a fan of the many Fantastic Four films at Fox, and hated some of the disjointed narratives and character inconsistencies from the X-Men movies, but this film brings several of them back to guide our two foolhardy heroes trying to save their own realities. In some cases, this film gives certain popular live-action characters the ending they deserve, or a chance that they never had to begin with, and even offering something as simple as a closure they never received.

There’s a small part in you that thinks, there’s no way Deadpool & Wolverine can live up to the hype, but Reynolds and Jackman have put everything they have into this film, and the screams, cheers and non-stop claps in the cinema prove that they have done the impossible, of honouring the previous live-action legacy at 20th Century Fox and beyond. The adrenaline rush of hilarious quips, mind-blowing cameos, and action sequences form an amazing love letter filled with enough respect and gratitude to cure any superhero fatigue.

Does Deadpool talk too much? Yes. Does Jackman look 55? Very much so, but his performance here matches that of Logan, and while the film is about saving multiple realities, it’s doing so on a much smaller scale. Is Taylor Swift in this film? She’s not and Reynolds already told us this, but the film is filled with so many Easter Eggs and cameos that there’s enough to make most people happy, though it will never be enough to make everyone contented. 

Want that superhero landing? The inevitable fights between heroes and those with villains? The emotions of losing? That superhero suiting-up scene that sends chills and thrills up your spine? The unexpected cameo that surprises and the expected ones that still put a smile on your face? It’s all here. Sure, some elements don’t always make sense, and there’s probably one too many f-bombs but you’ll love every minute of it.

The villains of Deadpool & Wolverine, including Emma Corrin’s (The Crown) Cassandra Nova to Matthew Macfadyen’s (Succession, Pride & Prejudice) Paradox, are the only ones we can name and to know their roles, and that of the TVA means that yes, it helps if you’re a fan of the comics. With the sudden appearance of the Deadpool Corps, you’ll realise that the film is not against excessive fan service, of which it does a lot, but that’s fine because the movie gets many things right, and we appreciate Reynolds and Jackman giving fans what they want. 

For Jackman, it’s another shot at making the role his, not that he needed to but after nearly two decades of playing Wolverine without seeing him in costume, it’s definitely great to see him in several. For Reynolds, it’s a chance to remind audiences that there is a certain logic to Deadpool’s nonsense, which is a lot better than the regular nonsense in movies these days.