By Lucas Castillo ’25
It’s Deadpool and Wolverine, what more do I have to say? The long-awaited, R-rated return of Marvel’s own merc with a mouth, the return of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, after a seven-year retirement from the character, its firm setting in playground of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and the fact that it’s actually a really good movie make this film absolutely worthwhile.
The second they announced that there would be a Deadpool 3, after the Fox-Disney merger, people would have still showed up in droves to see it in theaters. Then, they got Hugh Jackman back as Wolverine for the film, and success was all but guaranteed. With that being said, there was still some room to fumble the movie, particularly in the story department, and with the potential of another cameo fest mess in the same vein as Multiverse of Madness. But oh boy, did they wipe away all of those worries right on release! All of the over-the-top, multiversal shenanigans fit way better with the manic energy of a Deadpool movie, than with any of the other films. The multiversal characters were handled with more reverence, and, ironically, more respect than we’ve seen previously in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Along with that, I liked the grander theme of trying to find your larger purpose in the world than just your own ego or well being. I thought it fit very well with the multiversal elements present and Wade’s own notoriously self-serving and self-absorbed personality. I also liked that the movie made the point that you don’t need to be an Avenger to save the world, or to even just be someone who matters. The things that you do that matter are the things that you do for other people and are the things that you do to help those around you become better as well.
For the majority of the film, our protagonists are stuck in the void, the eternal trash dump where the TVA tosses all of the dangerous or unwanted materials from the timeline – everything that either doesn’t have a purpose or is inherently detrimental to that universe. Both of the leads in the film had pretty good arcs respectively, with Wade’s story falling more in line with the premise and greater themes of the film, as I have previously stated. Logan’s story arc was still more compelling, though. I really liked how they tied his suit into his story and to his sense of duty and what differentiates him from Wade – it’s just great. Speaking of Wolverine, Hugh Jackman was also the standout with his performance as well. He bounced off of Ryan Ronalds so well, and their dynamic carried the film from beginning to end. Ryan Renalds was also excellent as always, although his performance as one of Deadpool’s variants did just feel like he was just playing Blue Shirt Guy from Free Guy. I mean, both movies have the same director, so that may explain it. Anyway, the lighting for this MCU entry is a bit flat, which is what we have come to expect from Marvel movies of late. I think that this was more born out of the industry standard, rather than out of necessity, given that both of our main characters, and most characters in the film, have warmer toned suits, red and predominantly yellow, but I still don’t know why they wouldn’t have sprung for a more vibrant, reddish wasteland, instead of the white and gray one that was presented. It may have been one to many similarities to Mad Max, but I don’t know.
This film is littered with more licensed music than Guardians of the Galaxy. Some of the songs work, and really enhance the action and suspense of their scene, and some were a bit much and honestly drowned out some of the film’s contents. All of the songs were good and served their purposes well enough though, and were surprisingly not obnoxious at any point. Now, the question that you’re all asking is whether Deadpool and Wolverine completely saved the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) from ruin, despair, and financial and creative bankruptcy. The answer is that it simply did not. It took a massive step in the right direction, but it’s gonna take more than one film to set the MCU straight after an era of fumbles. This film was going to be a slam dunk no matter what, but it’s the films that are coming next year and the year after that will truly test whether the MCU can regain the faith it lost from its fans after Endgame.
Overall, in my personal, and all but factual opinion, I would give Deadpool & Wolverine an 8.7 out of 10 – go see it now, if you haven’t already!