Deadpool & Wolverine Review

I'm just as surprised as you that I didn't see this movie, day one. I can explain that. Life stuff was happening and I couldn't find he time, so I had to wait a whole WEEK to finally see it. That is a lifetime in trying to avoid spoilers on the internet talking about the numerous amount of cameos in this movie. I finally did and let me tell you, I enjoyed it and thought it was great.*

You may be thinking, he put a * , what does that mean? I put this as a qualifier because I'm going to be real about something. My level of enjoyment was raised because of the massive amount of meta commentary that was throughout the movie. Unfortunately, a lot of that is built on whether or not you have read comic books in the last twenty years as a more than a casual fan, kept up with all the studio nonsense behind all these characters, watched the first two Deadpool movies, Logan, both seasons of the Loki series, any of the X-Men movies and some of the other Fox/Marvel movies that you forgot existed before Disney bought their whole catalog. Then there's stuff about movies that never were, jokes about comic book creators, obscure characters, actors that appeared in other movies. There is a LOT of homework that goes into fully appreciating some of this movie and I feel sorry for the normies. You basically need to have a PhD in Marvel of the last 28 years. So the target audience is nerdy 44 year olds. Oh wait, that's ME. This movie does nothing to explain any of what I just said, so you either know or you don't. Unfortunately, my brain is a factory of useless facts that serve no one except M-E. 

High level, if you liked the first two Deadpool movies, you will like this because it is more of that. With a bigger budget and more toys in the toybox to play with. You know the level of violence to expect and the kind of jokes you will see. If you aren't prepared for that, you're in for a rough ride.

Also, outside of the movie, "Logan", this is far and away the best Wolverine we've ever gotten. Look at that, it only took 24 years to get here, but we here.

Now, I'm going to take a different tact and start with things I really liked about this movie, that does not involve the cameos and the humor. What really got me in the feels as I thought about it was watching two tortured heroes that come together on two different paths. Deadpool realizes that for all his joking and antics, all he really wants is to matter. He wants to matter to his friends and he doesn't want to let them down, which is amazing given how he started out in that first movie. He's in a sad place when we find him and I think his mission is well meaning, despite how we get there.

On the other hand, we have Wolverine. He's been racked with guilt for his inability to stop what happens in his timeline and it's what turns him into a full on alcoholic wanting to live out the rest of his days. His gruff exterior is extra gruff in this movie and the more you find out, the more you see what makes him tick. I think his arc is fascinating, brought to life by Hugh Jackman who is really putting in great work here. That might be lost with all the antics happening around him, but I want you to really focus on him when you see this movie.

So you take this unstoppable force with an unmovable object and you get the kind of buddy cop film that I eat up. Wolverine is clearly playing the Murtaugh to Deadpool's Riggs. If I lost you on this reference, you might get lost on this review. I may stray into more pop culture references like this movie does. What I'm taking a long time to say is I loved their dynamic here and how they push each other to be better.

This movie moves fairly quickly and has jokes going at the rate of a Naked Gun movie. Just sight gags, quips, bits and other things to keep you distracted from what a serious movie it might actually be if they would let you sit with it instead of undercutting everything with a joke. For me, most of the jokes land and that is because the way the actors deliver them. Ryan Reynolds joking with people through out the movie makes everyone up their comedy game. 

Unlike the internet, I'm not going to spoil the cameos you see here, but there are a lot. All of them fulfilling in their own ways. It shows the magnetic pull Ryan Reynolds has behind the scenes to get all the people that he did. I enjoyed every last one of them and I so badly want to reveal them here, but I won't.

I will say, the main villains in this movie are merely a means to an end and never REALLY feel like a threat. Cassandra Nova joins a long line of Marvel villains that were mostly one note. To her credit, she just enjoys chaos and I think that's all you need to know. There is some really creepy body horror stuff that goes on when she uses her powers, that is unsettling in a good way.

I'll wrap up by saying the fight choreography is off the charts for a Marvel film. There's some quick camera work for some scenes that's very distracting, but for others, there are some close quarters fighting that shows the amount of effort they put into practicing to make it look good. Also, the Wolverine costume looks pretty good.

Would I recommend people seeing it? Yeah, but with all the caveats I listed. Most of you were already going to see it anyway, so I'm only validating your opinion. For others that are on the fence, I would recommend waiting till it comes to streaming because you might get overwhelmed with the amount of homework you will feel like you need to keep up. Better to save your money.

Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman have undeniable chemistry. I hope this is the last Deadpool movie, but I want to see them in other movies together.