Review: Deadpool & Wolverine

Image courtesy of Walt Disney Studios.

The latest in the Marvel cannon - the very R-rated "Deadpool & Wolverine" - is a cross-franchise attempt to rake in a lot of cash (and it will probably be successful in doing so) as well as a swan song for several Marvel properties that never met their full potential (more on that later). As such, there's some amusement to be had here, but it's not nearly as subversive or witty as it appears to think it is.

One of the first big groans to be had here is that the film follows the traditional Marvel trajectory of involving the over-utilized multiverse theme - whilst also cracking jokes at its expense - and featuring yet another plotline in which the entire world faces a global threat. I could seriously go for a blockbuster one day in which just one city - or hell, even just a city block - is in danger.

Rather than explain the numerous backstories and multiverse crossover explanations and all that, suffice it to say that Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds, whose amusing banter makes some of the film's creakier elements less sufferable) must prove himself to gain the attention of the Avengers (an interview with Jon Favreau's character doesn't go the way he'd hoped) and, as I'd mentioned, prevent some supervillains - first, a bureaucrat and, later, Cassandra Nova (Emma Corwin), the evil sister of Charles Xavier - from destroying the world.

Deadpool decides that the only person who can help him save the universe is Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), who was killed off in the film "Logan," but since there's now a multiverse available to throw away any and all rules, Deadpool finds a version of Wolverine in another timeline and gets him to tag along. But first, there are numerous bloody fights between the two characters, which have no stakes because both characters are invincible.

The film is a not-safe-for-work version of a Marvel movie. As such, there's a lot of risque language and most of it isn't as subversive as the film's creative team seems to think it is, although there was one joke about a Boy Scout master that resulted in some outraged laughter in the theater where I saw this. On the one hand, it's commendable that the film pokes fun at the various tropes we've come to expect of Marvel - and Reynolds often not only pokes fun at the comic book company, but also various movie studios that produce the films, and even the creative choices of actors in those movies. 

At the same time, his poking fun at the tired tropes we've come to associate with Marvel and other comic book movies actually masks the fact that "Deadpool & Wolverine" is pretty much overloaded with them. Deadpool may wisecrack about the ridiculous elements of Marvel fandom, but ultimately his character just wants to be needed by the Avengers. 

Likewise, there's a joke in the film involving Chris Evans, but there's also Deadpool's reverence toward the Captain America character. This film wants to poke fun at all that is Marvel, but have its cake and eat it too. And most of the jokes aren't as rebellious as the filmmakers seem to think. Consider the jokes in last summer's "Barbie" film, which were significantly more pointed at the toy company that produces the famous doll.

There's a moderately amusing subplot in this film involving cast-aside Marvel characters of old, and some actors who portrayed them return to do so once again. Most notable are the returns of Jennifer Garner as Elektra and Wesley Snipes as Blade, although I'm not sure the latter was exactly cast aside, considering there's a reboot on the way. More amusing is Channing Tatum's presence as Gambit, whose movie was canceled after languishing in development hell for years, and the actor's Cajun patois that no one can seemingly understand.

So, yes, I'm sure "Deadpool & Wolverine" will make a killing and people will feel as if they've seen something risky and a little naughty. For a movie in a genre aimed at kids, there are a lot of f-bombs and X-rated jokes on display here as well as some incredibly gory fight scenes. The film is amusing enough, mostly due to its leads, but never quite as clever as it seems to think it is. Ultimately, it relies heavily on cliches, even if it spends much of its time poking fun at them as well.