Pretty much from the minute Ryan Reynolds’s first Deadpool movie started, there was a demand for a team-up with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. Granted, the movies themselves kept somewhat teasing that team-up even as Jackman himself retired the role after Logan, perhaps the most fitting ending possible for Jackman’s take on the classic X-Men character. Whether Jackman’s decision to return to the role for a third Deadpool was a surprise to fans or not, I think it is safe to say that fans were ecstatic to hear about it at the very least. People wanted to see that, that much is certain.
I mean, my girlfriend had never seen a Deadpool movie or most of the X-Men film series, but she caught up on Deadpool as prep before we went to see it yesterday.
Wade “Deadpool” Wilson (Reynolds) is in a depressed place. He had somehow applied for a position with the Avengers (don’t ask how he got that far as it is not important), but after getting turned down, Wade takes a sales job with buddy Peter (Rob Delaney) as love interest Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) moves on without him. However, he’s soon kidnapped by Time Variance Authority agents and taken to TVA manager Paradox (a drolly amusing Matthew Macfadyen) and learns that his universe (basically the Fox X-Men universe) is slated to disappear as it no longer as its Anchor Being, a Being of great renown that, when he dies, his universe will gradually die without him. And yes, the Anchor Being for Wade’s universe is Logan (Jackman), dead since the events of Logan. Wade, however, has been given the option to move over to the MCU, but all his friends and loved ones will die when his universe dies without a Wolverine.
That’s unacceptable to Deadpool, so he does some time skipping to bring back Wolverine. Any Wolverine. He eventually finds one and brings it back only to learn he’s brought back the worst Wolverine in the multiverse. Before he can get much further, Wade and Logan both find themselves in limbo, the timeless realm where the TVA dumps leftovers. There, the pair are soon captured by agents for Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin), a powerful telepath who seems to control the denizens of limbo, refugees from various Fox Marvel movies, most notably Aaron Standfield’s Pyro. Wade only has so much time to get back and stop the destruction of his universe, and the seemingly insane Cassandra is his one obstacle. Can he save the world and get a depressed and hostile Wolverine to help him?
I don’t want to say too much about Deadpool & Wolverine‘s plot in large part because this is really a movie that, if you are a fan of Deadpool, Wolverine, or both of them, that the less you know, the more fun the movie will be. I went in basically knowing nothing whereas my girlfriend read up on cameo spoilers so she would catch the references. That was the right move for both of us: we both had a great time. This is a Deadpool movie that treats Wolverine seriously, and Wolverine’s clear hatred for Deadpool. The two get into multiple fights where the fact both characters can heal quickly means it can get really violent while also often being outright hilarious. This movie may have some of the best fight choreography for the Deadpool franchise, and quite frankly, it does look like the entire cast was having a good time making the movie, always a good sign for a movie like this.
If I had a criticism, it’s a minor one: I don’t think this movie will work for people unfamiliar with the Fox Marvel movies in many places. Deadpool as a character makes many references to things about Jackman (not Wolverine), but also there are just so many callbacks to other movies that Disney now has acquired the rights to, and many of these jokes will probably work better with people familiar with these movies. Now me, I am familiar with these movies, and while my girlfriend was not, she also really loved the movie, probably more than I did. I will hold the first Deadpool as the superior movie, one that essentially set up the two sequels in style and content. They’re fun, often hilarious movies, movies that take full advantage of their R-ratings, and my God, was it great seeing an MCU movie this good and a Deadpool movie that maintained the quality and standard of the franchise. Wolverine may not be back, but I have a hard time believing Wade Wilson won’t be.
Grade: A-
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