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| Photo courtesy of Walt Disney |
People who watch Marvel movies know to expect. People who watch the Deadpool movies also know what to expect. But when one of those movies is grafted onto another, expectations get confused.
There have been many negative reactions to Deadpool & Wolverine (D&W), often with criticisms that the plot is paper thin or the plot takes a backseat to all the meta jokes and cameos. If viewers come to this film expecting it to honor the usual Marvel routine, then they’ll be disappointed. Just because the Deadpool franchise is now officially in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), it’s not going to change its DNA.
D&W follows the somewhat familiar MCU formula in that there’s a plot related to a multi-verse that brings different characters together, gives them a chance to be heroic, and provides a little emotional heft to add a bit of depth. Most of that heft is thanks to Hugh Jackman’s return as Wolverine, the forever reluctant hero.
But this movie hits its Marvel marks with its jokes and meta guns blazing. It integrates, but not without calling out tired cliches and still being a Deadpool movie at its core. Some of the best examples of this brazen Deadpool-ness are the opening set piece and a post-credit scene.
The inciting incident revolves around the ending of the previous Wolverine film, Logan. When each of the universes in the multi-verse looses its anchor person (someone whose goodness keeps the universe together), then it starts to unravel. Mr. Paradox (a typecast Matthew MacFadyen) monitors these decaying universes and culls the ones who loose their anchor person.
There’s some more plot explanations that explain how Deadpool and Wolverine can team up, but they don’t matter as much because this is a Deadpool movie. One scene that tries to explain more of the plot is interrupted by Deadpool exclaiming, “What the MacGuffin is that?!”. And then it’s back to 4th wall breaks and jabs at Disney.
New-to-the-franchise director Shawn Levy has collaborated with Ryan Reynolds on two previous films (The Adam Project, Free Guy), and their union works well in D&W. The laughs are consistent, the attitude and style of the previous films present, and the cameos abundant and entertaining. Some cameos from unexpected Marvel characters even become meaningful and moving.
So, go watch D&W for everything you would expect from this franchise: graphic violence and Ryan Reynolds being Ryan Reynolds. And, perhaps like some Marvel executives, begrudgingly accept that this franchise is part of the MCU family.
Deadpool & Wolverine is now in theaters.
- Eric Beach