“Deadpool and Wolverine” rewards 24 years of watching movies
Now that Disney has the rights to the X-Men, I knew "Deadpool & Wolverine" would be the swan song for the Fox X-Men universe. To prepare for the movie, I watched all the Fox movies, starting with "X-Men" through "The New Mutants." I didn't realize that the thirteen movies I watched didn't cover everything that "Deadpool & Wolverine" had in store.
Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) is told that his universe is dying and is offered a place in the MCU. Instead, he tries to save his universe by finding a Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) to help him.
When Jackman finished filming "Logan" in 2017, he said he was done playing Logan/Wolverine. It was a genuine shock when it was announced that he was coming back for the third "Deadpool" movie. In many recent interviews, he has stated that he regrets making that statement. This was worth him coming back for. This version of Wolverine lets down his entire universe and spends his days drinking, and this movie is about him learning to reconcile with what happened. There is a scene late in the movie where a character tells this Wolverine, "You were always the wrong guy. Until you weren't." That has been the defining arch of this character. He doesn't see himself as a hero, and he's not, but steps up when it counts.
These are two unkillable characters, so it is brutal when they fight one another and do it a couple of times. The fights between these two take full advantage of its R-rating. One of the great things about "Logan" was that it was the first time we saw Wolverine really be Wolverine. One of his most famous lines from the comics is, "I'm the best there is at what I do, but what I do best what I do isn't nice," he has gotten to show that in this and "Logan." When we next see the character, he will be sanded down to a PG-13 version, but we will always have these movies show what he can be.
I get the criticism of this movie. There are a ton of cameos from the last 24 years of comic book movies, and they can be seen as fan service. I can see that for some movies, but there is a purpose behind each of the major cameos. I don't want to spoil any, so I cannot back up what I just wrote. I can give a non-example. Kelly Hu comes back as Lady Deathstrike, but she is only a background character; she gets no lines and has no impact on the story. If you blink, you'll miss her; that is how quick it is. There are a few like that, but some more significant ones were used perfectly.
This is not going to be for everyone. It is crass, bloody, and full of references that only the movie obsessives will get. Basically...me. I loved it and had so much fun that I cannot wait to see it again.
8/10
Rated R for strong bloody violence and language throughout, gore, and sexual references.
2h 27min.
