Deadpool & Wolverine isn’t so much a movie that breaks the fourth wall, as one where the fourth wall doesn’t even exist. Shawn Levy’s (Free Guy) meta-meta take on a superhero cross-over delivers ample fan service, and lifts the veil on how the Disney-Marvel empire will work in the future.
Like several of the more recent Marvel films, Deadpool & Wolverine requires at least some knowledge of the extended Marvel Cinematic Universe (or MCU). In particular, if you haven’t seen the Loki TV series, a lot of this is unlikely to make much sense. That said, it seems making sense wasn’t high on the priority list for the hefty screenwriting team of Levy, star Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Zeb Wells.
Indeed, the plot – such as it is – becomes secondary to the film’s core elements – Reynolds’ wisecracking and extravagant fights. But for what it’s worth, the Wade Wilson – a.k.a. Deadpool (Reynolds) – we all know from the earlier movie harbours a desire to be an Avenger. Using a time-slipping device, he travels from his world – Earth-10005 – to Earth-616, the setting of the Avengers movies and home to the “Sacred Timeline” (this is where you need to have seen the Loki stuff). Rebuffed, he goes back “home”, retires from heroing and becomes a used car salesman. But the Time Variance Authority (TVA) captures Wade and brings him to Mr Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen). He offers Wade a place on Earth-616 (where he can fulfill his dream), but also reveals that Earth-10005’s time line is deteriorating as a result of the death of Logan – the Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). Logan was that time line’s “anchor being”. His demise means Earth-10005 will eventually fade away, but Paradox plans to hasten its end (with Wade’s help), essentially killing all Wade’s friends.
So Wade steals Paradox’s TemPad to travel the multiverse and find a variant of Logan (the “real” one being decidedly dead) to save his time line. After many unsuccessful encounters with various Logans, Wade eventually settles on one – but he turns out to be “the worst one” – this particular Logan had caused the destruction of his universe. Paradox however prunes them both into the Void, a bizarre wasteland ruled by Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin), the exiled twin sister of the X-Men leader Charles Xavier. The only way for Wade to save his friends, and Logan to redeem his past, is to team up to defeat both Nova and Paradox.
The rather flimsy storyline doesn’t really act as a narrative. It’s more a blank canvas for the screenwriters to riff on pop culture, intellectual property, studio rivalries and the inherent silliness of Hollywood. Oh, and to stage massive CGI-heavy fight scenes. So if you’re looking for a taut plot that ties all its loose ends off, look elsewhere my friend. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a chaotic, scruffy, joke-heavy rollercoaster of a movie, then this is for you. Still, it has its serious moments, mostly involving Logan. But those are heavily outweighed by lashings of jokes and sight gags. Everything is set off to a rocking soundtrack featuring many familiar earworms.
The film resurrects some almost-forgotten heroes of the MCU – some from before it was even the MCU – including Johnny the Human Torch (Chris Evans) from Fantastic Four; Elektra (Jennifer Garner) and Blade (Wesley Snipes). Channing Tatum turns up as Gambit, a character that was being developed for years but shelved before any movie was completed. Characters from the X-Men universe also crop up. Their appearances – and a few other key moments – had the audience at the preview cheering.
But all this points to how the behemoth franchise will likely operate going forward. If there are multiple (infinite?) timelines with alternative realities, any character can be simply revived at a whim (as happens with Wolverine here). This means no character is ever truly retired, and opens the space for new iterations using new actors. It’s kind of genius, but also (for me at least) a bit unsettling.
As is always the case with Deadpool movies, Ryan Reynolds holds the whole thing together as the smart-mouthed lead. Hugh Jackman becomes a plausible straight-man to Reynolds’ jokester, even if he does spend a lot of the movie scowling. Matthew Macfadyen (Operation Mincemeat) makes Paradox a suitably bureaucratic villain, but he’s outshone by Emma Corrin (Misbehaviour) as the manipulative and powerful Cassandra Nova (aided by some wonderful special effects).
Deadpool & Wolverine isn’t really a film for deep thought. This is a quintessentially “fun movie” experience – even if it does involve a heavy body count. But as a wild ride, it’s one I’m happy to strap in for.
David Edwards
Other reviews you might enjoy:
David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television