Photo by 20th Century Studios/Marvel Stud/Courtesy of 20th Century Studio – © 2024 20th Century Studios / © and ™ 2024 MARVEL.
Let’s get straight to the point: the entrance of the ‘Merc with a Mouth’ in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – which means Disney, let’s not forget it – didn’t change the character. At all. Since the very last sequence of Deadpool & Wolverine, the audience can experience once again the loud, vulgar, flamboyant adventures of the superhero with the same verve and rhythm of the two previous movies realized at the times of the departed 20th Century Fox. Whoever was worried that Deadpool could have been “sanitized” by Kevin Feige & Co., can now stop holding their breath.
There is a lot of blood, profanities, meta-cinematic jokes, obscene comments, and whatever in Deadpool & Wolverine, and once again it works perfectly to create something different from the usual, standardized entertainment offered by Marvel in the last few years.
That said, we now need to address that the switch didn’t make Deadpool a better character either. This new movie is the same shallow rollercoaster which is likely so much fun to watch and at the same time quick to forget. As too often happens in this kind of production, the need for entertainment takes over and kills the storytelling: Deadpool & Wolverine is based on a screenplay that assembles a huge amount of spectacular, surprising, thrilling scenes without really developing a real story, let alone any characters that are worth to be remembered. And here comes the movie’s bigger problem, meaning Wolverine.
Photo by 20th Century Studios/Marvel Stud/Courtesy of 20th Century Studio – © 2024 20th Century Studios / © and ™ 2024 MARVEL
It is quite clear that the chemistry between Jackman and Ryan Reynolds is well developed and the two stars had a lot of fun shooting this cinecomic, but nonetheless, Wolverine has become a distant, dusty, and not particularly smart cousin of the antihero we saw dying in the forest seven years ago. Even the real villain Cassandra Nova, played by the always interesting Emma Corrin, has no depth, with the consequence of being a weak antagonist to the two superheroes. But that’s the Marvel Cinematic Universe: take it or leave it!
Trying to summarize what we think of Deadpool & Wolverine: is it then worth spending money to watch this new roller coaster? The answer is: yes. Because a Deadpool movie has established some rules that in the end guarantee more fun and some kind of shallow originality to the cinecomic universe, that’s undeniable. No one can argue that all those stupid, over-the-top, irreverent jokes and situations are not funny.
Photo by 20th Century Studios/Marvel Stud/Courtesy of 20th Century Studio – © 2024 20th Century Studios / © and ™ 2024 MARVEL.
Does all of this make Deadpool & Wolverine a good movie, or at least a decent story to follow? Not really. But at least, compared to what the Major has produced in the last few years, this one is not boring, especially thanks to its endemic silliness. In the end, it’s just a raunchy buddy movie with a lot of blood, action, and F/X. So what? I have the chilling suspicion that Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau would have probably enjoyed this movie. And I would never question The Odd Couple…
Rate: C+
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Here is the trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine: