When it comes to my feelings on Deadpool, I’ve personally only ever been a casual fan. I felt the character had his place among unique comic book characters, and while his first two theatrical movies really weren’t my thing, I felt they did right by the standards of the character and were perfectly okay. In general, I’m far more of an X-Men fan at heart, with Wolverine easily ranking among my favorite comic-book characters. Thus, a crossover movie between these two characters was going to be a unique outing for me to get behind, as I knew it would feature things I love, and things I’d be indifferent to. In general, the 2024 crossover movie “Deadpool & Wolverine” absolutely appeals to me the most, with the strongest enfaces on the world of the “X-Men”, but from a writing perspective, I found it the weakest of the Deadpool movies … so, let’s unbox this package one layer at a time and see how it stacks up among other “X-Men” and comic book outings.
We catch up with Deadpool, who after being turned down by the Avengers, is bummed and trying to live a quiet life separate from his costumed days. However, between his time travel antics in the previous movie, and Wolverines death at the end of the 2017 movie “Logan”, an organization called the TVA – Time Variance Authority – are threatening to destroy Deadpool’s universe, along with all his friends and loved ones, unless he finds a new Wolverine from a different universe to fill the missing gap.
After meeting up with a Wolverine who’s branded as the biggest failure of them all, the two end up stranded in a meta-junk yard called “the Void”, which is actually the remnants of 20th Century Fox before it was bought by Disney. It’s ruled under the aggressive thumb of Professor X’s evil twin sister, Cassandra Nova, who aims to use these new arrivals as a means to escape her prison universe, and unleash havoc everywhere else. Meanwhile, as Deadpool and Wolverine roam the Void, they team up with other rejected Marvel heroes from early Fox productions, and band together to give themselves one last major victory to give themselves closure.
While I wasn’t the biggest fan of the Deadpool movies, I felt they at least accomplished the bare minimum to get me to care about the lead character, and those close to him. This time around however, even when the character says his world is in danger, I never once felt any urgency in his goals, and when that emotional backbone is gone, his antics and personality get very repetitive and very boring. Honestly, while Deadpool carried himself fine before, he is aggressively unengaging when alone in this film, and even Ryan Reynolds charm in the lead role feels deflated. Also, the whole plot with Deadpool being tasked to save his universe is stupid contrived and really makes no practical sense. Lastly, it’s hard to feel anything for Deadpool’s friends when they’re barely in the movie. His X-Men buddy Colossus was easily my favorite character from his first two movies, and he’s regretfully reduced to a minor cameo in this film. Of all the Deadpool movies, this is the one that should have given him more attention.
The good news is that, despite being the tenth movie for Hugh Jackman to portray his iconic role as Wolverine … he delivers one of his best performances yet. There was naturally a draw to seeing him finally adorn his trademark yellow costume and mask, but beyond that, this movie and the actor bring some of the best material out of this character. This could have easily been a paycheck performance for Hugh Jackman, but he gives a million percent, has great chemistry with Ryan Reynolds, and is a perfect counterpoint to the sometimes-overbearing humor and tone of the film. Even Wolverine’s backstory is great and brings the much-needed emotional beats that I felt were lacking from Deadpool’s story. At the end, Wolverine reunites with his surrogate daughter Laura – the X23 – played again by Dafne Keen, and it’s both a touching reunion, and a major relief when these two have moments to sit down and talk, without Deadpool’s goofy antics spoiling the moment.
Things were certainly uphill with Wolverine’s presence, but what really catapulted me into fan boy Heaven is when the pair meet up with the other Fox Marvel characters. We have Jennifer Garner back as Elektra, Wesley Snipes returning as Blade, Chris Evans back as The Human Torch from the early “Fantastic Four” films, and even Channing Tatum appears as one of my all-time favorite X-Men characters Gambit, after his planed movie was canceled.
I loved seeing every one of these talents in these roles and it had me craving a movie based around this team of characters alone. Seeing them charge into battle against an army of X-Men foes like Sabretooth, Juggernaut, Toad, Pyro, Lady Deathstrike, Psylocke and others made for one of my favorite set-pieces of this whole franchise. Even though the early 2000’s Marvel movies weren’t the best, it was still a special decade I grew up with and set the groundwork for the Marvel Cinematic Universe to come. I thought it was really sweet how this film played one big tribute to the by gone era, right down to the end credits being a music montage to those early films.
The villains of the movie were something of a mixed bag. It was cool to see so many iconic X-Men foes rounded up into one big army, but the individual characters barley get any attention, with the exception of Pyro, who gets a little more focus as a supporting role. The TVA organization did absolutely nothing for me, and I felt they hindered a lot of the films momentum whenever they took center stage. As for the main villain, Cassandra Nova, played by Emma Corrin, she could have been one of the absolute best X-Men villains if she was in a more serious X-Men movie. Due to the film’s goofy tone, it’s hard to take her character seriously, but the performance is suitably creepy, with hints of an emotional side, and some cool powers on display. Also, on a quick side note, this movie commits the unforgivable sin of hinting at a fight between Wolverine and the Hulk ... only for it to cut away and not show anything ... Shameful!
One last thing I need to address is the pacing, which is very rocky, with a weak narrative and scenes that drag on for way too long. Thankfully, the film delivers its highlights throughout, which give me a jolt of adrenaline every time. The brawls between Wolverine and Deadpool are white knuckled and fun, especially this one scene with them rearranging the inside of a car. Also, the scene with the two battling an army of Deadpool’s is ridiculously satisfying in the moment, even though its place in the narrative feels pointless, like so many detours in this film. The climax in general, with Deadpool and Wolverine rescuing the multi-verse from the villains overstays it’s welcome, and aims high for a powerhouse moment, but for me, it was a little too self-indulgent and over the top for this movie’s own good.
Like the previous “Deadpool” movies, this film frequently threatened to lose me with it’s over the top tone, weak narrative and signature brand of foul hummer … but also like those films, it can be quiet funny, and this time it had the benefit of a certain clawed mutant providing the much-needed support to balance things out. For as outrageous as the film got, it was also a loving nod to an era of Superhero movies that didn’t always get the best reception ... but are still very special in their own right. Also, as a long time X-Men fan, this film gave me high's that I've wanted to experience for years. More than anything, despite having a weak script, this is unmistakably a film for fans to get served. I’m as big a fan as they get, and I got served quality treats that I didn’t even know were on the menu. It’s not one of the all-time great comic-book movies, but I’d say it’s required viewing for any long-time comic book fan to experience at least once.
Thanks for
reading my review of the 2024 comic-book movie crossover “Deadpool and
Wolverine” … and continue to enjoy the movies you Love!
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