‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Review – The MCU Feels Relevant Again

After the events of Deadpool 2, Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) tried to join a team.  He wanted to be a part of something bigger, but he also wanted to hang on to his dwindling relationship with his girlfriend Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). But both the X-Men and The Avengers turned him away.

He now works with Peter (Rob Delaney) as a car salesman. On his birthday, he’s brought in by the Time Variance Authority. There he meets Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) who informs Wade that his universe is dying. Timelines are held together by anchor beings and can only survive for a limited amount of time after that anchor being dies. In this case, the anchor being in Wade’s universe was Logan (Hugh Jackman).

Wade’s only options are to stay with his friends and be wiped from existence or join the TVA and destroy other dying timelines. He goes with a screw-everything third option of abducting a Wolverine from another universe and trying to save his own.

There are so many comic book throwbacks in Deadpool & Wolverine. You go into it expecting references to Disney, 20th Century Fox, and the MCU, but Deadpool & Wolverine is a love letter to the source material just as much as a love letter to the fans.

As Deadpool is searching for a Wolverine to bring back to his timeline, he bounces around to several others which include nods to other versions of Wolverine (John Byrne’s brown costume, Age of Apocalypse, and Patch to name a few) and famous X-Men comic covers.

The battle at the end of the film with the Deadpool Corps is also loaded with Easter Eggs. There are the obvious ones that get the most screen time like Ladypool and Dogpool, but Deadpool 2099 is hidden in there among many others that were probably missed in a first-time viewing.

With the return of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, this third Deadpool film was never going to get around the idea of bastardizing James Mangold’s Logan. So Deadpool & Wolverine fully embraces that concept by completely violating the corpse of Logan in the opening sequence to the tune of NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye.”

Even for an MCU film, Deadpool & Wolverine has a crazy number of cameos. One of the biggest pulls is an expected switcharoo that has an incredibly gory payoff. Two other big ones have been rumored fan castings online for years.

Several characters show up from the 20th Century Fox universe. In a way, this film feels like a last hurrah for 20th Century Fox as a whole but also leaves the door open for a select few to return down the line possibly.

Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin) is such a cool villain. She has a solid backstory that relates to Logan’s past while also being the key to Wade saving his timeline. She is a powerful and nearly unstoppable telepath that uses her powers in terrifying ways. The way she sticks her fingers in and through people’s heads is insane.

As a character, Logan has more to accomplish here. This is a different version of the character, so his sendoff in 2017 is still valid. Logan and Deadpool beat the hell out of one, but he has a dark past that has never stopped haunting him. Hugh Jackman wants to prove that he not only can still have the Wolverine muscle mass but he’s also come to act his ass off.

As the third film in the Deadpool franchise, you know what to expect: spitfire dialogue loaded with long-winded vulgarities, a crap-ton of blood, fourth-wall-breaking at every opportunity, countless cameos, and endless digs at Disney. Surprisingly, there’s an emotional backbone to the relentless dick jokes and onslaught of outrageous gore.

Wade Wilson has something to prove here. He has built a family out of the friends he’s made in his first two films; he wants his universe to survive and to get Vanessa back, and he’s always wanted to team up with Logan. He feels inadequate about never making it on a team. His time with Logan, even though they nearly kill each other, means everything to him.

Logan is haunted by his past. He constantly drinks to forget and to silence the screams of yesterday. His yellow and blue suit is a bittersweet symphony and a tribute to what got him here.

The main issue the film has is the same as most of the MCU has and that is big villains never seem to last more than one film. Most villains feel disposable after one film. They are dealt with (killed or imprisoned) in their introductory film or have a meaningless cameo later on for something bigger but not always better.

Deadpool & Wolverine is the best the MCU has been since Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. It’s two hours of comic book-driven fan service and delivers entertaining surprises, nostalgic throwbacks, memorable action sequences, and worthwhile performances.