Movie review: Deadpool and Wolverine is irreverent, cynical, rude and fucking funny
We are indeed in an era in which film studios seek to have more quantity and less quality, not to mention the originality in things or in the scripts that are either a rifle of others or simply boring.
It is also true that Disney Studios/Marvel Studios are not going through their best moment, whether in the cinema or on the platform, the productions they have made have been magnificent shit that there is no way to support and defend them, right Ms. Marvel and Madame Web? And if we add to this the fandom and all the nonsense they do on social networks causing ridiculous controversies, things get worse, don’t help them, buddy!
Finally, it is also very true that the superhero genre in the cinema has been devalued over the years, an audience that feels very knowledgeable and certified critics of everything are those who have attacked them the most, however the studios are very confident that they bring out a product that is good and no, not everything is good, for this to work you have to have a very clear vision of things and risk presenting something that both insiders and outsiders, mainly the fans, want to see.
When the cartoonists Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza created the character of Deadpool for Marvel Comics in the ’90s, they did not imagine the reach it would have in the following years, since his first appearance in New Mutants #98 he was considered a mercenary villain, over time this was modified until he was what he is today, a cynical, shameless, rude, authentic character with zero morals but with a clear objective.
Its leap from ink to film in 2016, its sequel in 2018, and now in 2024 Deadpool arrives from the hand of director Shawn Levy to finally present a third part, Deadpool and Wolverine, something that has been quite a success and has been surrounded by much controversy, which makes us wonder: have they finally understood that well-planned things turn out better or is it just a spark in a history of productions that have already failed since their inception?
What is Deadpool & Wolverine about?
An apathetic and unmotivated Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) struggles to adapt to a normal civilian life away from his morally flexible mercenary profession by leaving his alter ego of Deadpool, now his world and everything around him face an existential threat where he can lose everything he knows and loves, whether he wants to or not Wade must put on the suit again to convince a decadent Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) to save everything from imminent destruction, with his help he will be able to find the answer to many questions while they have fun cursing and fighting.
This whole journey to see the result that they now present in the cinema has been a journey through different ways of thinking and seeing things. Disney Studios has been very careful and purist of what is politically correct and has risked breaking its schemes by approving that a superhero film deservedly obtains the R rating. Although these characters are directly and immediately related to a more childish audience, things have changed in a radical way in which this genre can be more flexible and reach more defined audiences.
Deadpool & Wolverine is a clear example that the baggage and previous information that we have is important to know how to use, the film exists among other things because Hugh Jackman who played Wolverine had already left the character after Logan in 2017 and his endearing friendship with the actor and protagonist Ryan Reynolds, the idea of conceiving that they 2 appear together was rumored for some months in what was defined as a movie of friends inspired by the action movies of the 80s having more freedom of language and more explicit violence with an R rating.
As a final product, it complies with its own rules and is faithful to the character and its franchise has its personality, although each part of this mini-saga has its personality it has a common thread and a detailed and concise character development, its acid humor, the ability to break the fourth wall are very specific characteristics of who it is and what we are going to see, that this film has finally been released has been quite a challenge, the constant changes in the script and the re-filming left material pending and from this they only chose the best for this film version.
Respecting its structure, the film opens with an action sequence in which we see Deadpool fighting against the agents of the Time Variance Authority (TVA) to the rhythm of the song Bye Bye Bye by the group NCYNC with a Wolverine that many of us wanted to see, after this, we are told that we are in a flashback. We go back to March 14, 2018, where he is interviewing Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) to be an Avenger, things do not go as well as Wilson expected because although he does not have a place within the team there are more things to come in which they will define him not as a hero but as what he calls the Messiah, the Jesus of Marvel.
After being detained by TVA agents at his birthday party, Wade embarks on a mission to save his universe within the multiverse where he will end up joining an alternate version of Wolverine after visiting several worlds and several variants where each one of them is a GREAT and very pleasant surprise and this is how this unique duo ends up falling into limbo to an empty land where references and mockery are not long in coming, this apocalyptic world is ruled by Cassandra Nova (Emma Corwin) the bald, crazy and asshole twin sister of Charles Xavier, the place is a dumpster of the multiverse and is full of rubble and monuments, all making blatant references to films released by Disney and 20th Century Fox.
It is right here where the surprises begin, the studios and director Shawn Levy as well as the entire technical team and cast were kind enough to launch an advertising strategy like we had not seen before, they leaked fake spoilers of the film on the web and social networks. film, situations, and special appearances were mentioned only to distract attention from what matters, it is a fact that this film was made to surprise us at every moment and it goes in crescendo, a priori of all this there is a universe that had not been explored, the universe of pre-UCM films among which we can mention, Elektra, the Blade trilogy, Fantastic 4 and characters that were supposed to appear or have a film and that were finally canceled.
The appearance of these characters in live-action shows us that both their director and their scriptwriters referred and mockery of this is what we could think was a shameless insult to Marvel Studios saying, “See damn yes it was possible and you canceled them” with this it is clear to us that the studios involved in this and other productions of their own and others are not interested in doing quality work because out of 5 releases 4 are bad and one is more or less so this comes to rethink those rules, the phrase that Deadpool is the Jesus of Marvel is because it breaks the fourth wall and makes fun of everything that has gone wrong and where more work should be done to please not a group of directors but the fandom that is the one that goes to the movie theaters and expects to see something that surprises.
Ryan Reynolds along with producers Kevin Feige, Lauren Shuler Donner, and Shawn Levy are obvious that doing this was risking everything, being the possible last installment of this saga should have a spectacular ending and then, they transformed everything that has gone wrong before into something coherent that can help lift the already very devalued MCU and link it with what may come in I don’t know what fucking phase that includes the upcoming Avengers movies for 2026 or 2027.
The production design is more than up to par, Spiderman: No Way Home surprises this movie takes it to the highest and unthinkable point, everything has been thought out and designed to be an action comedy with references and mockery, we can see a S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier. the Williamsburg Bridge that appears in Spider-Man, the top of the Statue of Liberty’s torch referring to Planet of the Apes from 1968, or the recent Mad Max from 2015 in a prominent group of metaphors that allude to pop culture, comics and movies and television series, thus twisting an aspect of society, psychology and the political and social condition in which we currently live.
It is no coincidence that now the characters feel more mature and breaking the fourth wall they have matured in the time that the pauses between movies have lasted, and it complies with the rule of going from being funny to more mature, introducing new characters and resurrecting others is what gives strength to the plot in each of its three acts, first, we see what this is all about, then what is done to fix everything and finally we can see that everything has been in favor of these secondary characters having a new opportunity in the future, either in movies or in television series.
The Deadpool Corps villain multiverse is vast with interesting characters among which we see their leader Lady Deadpool, DogPool, KidPool, and other variants, their participation does not have much development with limited participation that gave for much more, likewise, there is a problem with the cameos, some are completely unnecessary and bringing in great actors that we already saw that do nothing more than waste a resource that they could have used later and in a better way, this is due to the cuts and re-filming that it had.
The villains, which is where this universe has failed the most, play with the fact of introducing us to one to tell us later that that one wasn’t and it was another and that neither was it another and that all together they give symmetry and coherence to a story that has its flaws, the script written by Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Zeb Wells and Shawn Levy himself has holes that explain very little in their subplots that leave more questions than answers and that this film does not answer, it is not falling into a comfort zone that everything will be explained later in regards to this they explain what they should and nothing more.
As such, this work is directly linked to past events, with episode 5 of the Loki series in its first season being the one that they refer to the most and on which part of its first act is based, Logan and of course the 2 previous Deadpool films, and it allows itself to exaggerate in double-entendre jokes, rudeness and homoerotic wordplay in a context in which what we are seeing is not serious, it is all a very well-crafted joke so that its protagonists can look good and serve to welcome them to the MCU.
The special effects and their CGI as well as all the costume design and photography are one more character that brings dynamism, symmetry, and reality to the fantastic that we can see, every detail holds an easter egg, a reference, and all with full awareness and boasting that this is a blockbuster and what every fan of the genre expected.
Talking more about the plot would be a potential spoiler, and that is not the case with this review. The film was made to surprise and one of the big problems that this studio has is that with this type of release and its high-quality result, it leaves us wanting to see and know more than to see other things that are just pure shit.
The cast is made up of Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Aaron Stanford, and Matthew Macfady among others. Their work is what we expected it to be, having fun like the great group of friends that they are. There is no need for excessive or methodical talent for their performances. Each one knows how to do perfectly well what they have to do, each one has their own screen time that makes them even more endearing.
The music composed by Rob Simonsen Tolima references and samples what Tom Holkenborg and Tyler Bates did in their past installments but giving it a more fun plus, the songs by NCYNC, Madonna, The Platters, John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, The Goo Goo Dolls, Chris De Burgh and Huey Lewis & The News and it is a modern retro mix that fits wonderfully well with what we are seeing.
In conclusion, Deadpool & Wolverine gives us everything we wanted to see and rescues everything that the studio has considered to be garbage to transform it into a box office success, let’s hope that these characters who have just arrived at the USCM are better used and taken advantage of in future installments because now the bar is set very high for what they are going to present to us in the future, a very worthy example that a simple story despite the errors it has, if it is well told, has a magnificent result.
Deadpool & Wolverine is already in theaters in your country.
