Do you hear that? That massive, creaking sound is the sound of Marvel Studios’s gears turning, pistons firing, and their pace quickening. Deadpool & Wolverine is the only film that Marvel Studios is releasing in 2024 as part of a rebrand of sorts. After a succession of misfires at the box office, the giant of comic-book movies and media needed to regroup. What better way to do that than with their first R-rated film? Well, that gamble seems to have paid off at least with the quality of the film, because Deadpool & Wolverine is excellent.

Here’s the obligatory spoiler warning, anything discussed in this review will ONLY be from what you can see in the trailers, and even then, the trailers do spoil a character or two showing up. So beware!

As for the plot of Deadpool & Wolverine, it’s quite simple. Deadpool’s meddling at the end of Deadpool 2 got him on the radar of the TVA. His own universe’s timeline is dying off and he needs to find Logan/Wolverine to make it better. It gets a bit more complicated involving the TVA, an administrator named Mr. Paradox (played by Matthew McFayden), and Cassandra Nova (played by Emma Corrin), but that’s the general gist of it. The plot of the film is fairly easy to understand, and they do an admirable job of explaining all the timey-wimey stuff if you haven’t seen Loki. That’s really where Deadpool & Wolverine works. Besides the R-rated antics and vulgarity, the film explains to audiences what they need to know with exposition, and then they’re off.

Call it lazy writing if you want, but at this point in the MCU, people might need a refresher.

Does Disney Neuter Deadpool?

Absolutely not.

If you were worried about Disney making Deadpool anything other than what the character is, which is the fourth-wall-breaking, vulgar, violent merc with a mouth and a heart of gold, he’s all of those things in this film. The opening credits sequence should introduce or re-introduce any previous fans of his to just what you’re expecting in this film.

Shawn Levy might have been the perfect director to choose for Deadpool & Wolverine. His style is all over the film, whether that’s the frenetic action sequences or the use of music in some of the more pivotal scenes. The movie is beautifully shot, with actual physical locations and set pieces instead of an overreliance on The Volume technology. The effects-heavy sequences of the film are pretty seamless, with lots of action happening on screen; you can tell that Marvel wanted this one to look good, and they seemingly gave their effects teams the time to make it look perfect.

Wolverine and Deadpool absolutely savage each other at multiple points in the film, and their relationship is the crux of what makes the film work so well. At the end of it all, this is a twisted tribute to the 20th Century Fox-era of Marvel films. For those who despise the nostalgia-filled glasses feel of certain franchise films these days, you’re going to hate this movie. The jokes might not hit as hard if you didn’t grow up or watch those Fox films, or if you weren’t chronically online in the mid to late 2010s, but there’s still a lot for everyone to laugh at here.

In classic Marvel fashion, they took their superheroes and slammed them together with another movie genre and gave us this movie. In Deadpool & Wolverine‘s case, they jammed together those characters with the road, odd couple, comedy. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles is a nice comparison for what to expect from these two. Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman have exquisite chemistry with one another. The vitriol and hatred comes right off the screen and when that relationship turns, it’s a beautiful thing.

The emotional wounds that both Deadpool and Wolverine hold are at the center of this film. Deadpool just wants to be accepted and part of a team, while Wolverine has a wound from his past that haunts him. Those emotional beats rise above whatever nostalgia-tinted plot that Deadpool & Wolverine might have. It’s the center of the film and at points is deeply touching. Wade Wilson might be a mercenary for hire, who has regenerative powers, kills and brutalizes henchmen with no issue, but at the center of it all, we as an audience can still relate to him.

There might be vulgarity, blood, guts, cameos, jokes, baby hands, Deadpool variants, overexplained cosmic phenomenon, but through it all, Deadpool & Wolverine has heart. That heart is what carries the film. If you’re hateful and didn’t care for the previous slate of Marvel films or you’re one of those clowns online that complains about everything, you will hate this movie. But, if you can see through the weeds, maybe check a bit of that cynicism and jaded behavior at the door, and just sit down to watch two characters we’ve been waiting forever to interact with each other while blasting ‘Like A Prayer’ by Madonna.

What Cheapens Deadpool & Wolverine A Bit?

Emma Corrin’s performance as Cassandra Nova is great. With what they’re given, they’re excellent, terrifying, and most importantly, imposing. However, the movie’s weight tampers down Cassandra’s motivations a bit. They’re relegated to the background in favor of Deadpool and Wolverine. The sort of twin-villain roles of Mr. Paradox and Cassandra also lessens the impact that both of them have. Paradox at least gets a bit more in development, while Cassandra is just kind of generically evil. However, when we do get to see the full extent of Cassandra’s powers, they’re truly terrifying. Is Cassandra one of the better villains we’ve had in a Marvel movie? Sadly, no. They’re more of a means to an end, but that’s due to the story, rather than Corrin’s performance. If they had more to work with, I’d expect Nova to be a much better villain.

That being said, the biggest issue that I have with Deadpool & Wolverine isn’t actually an issue that I had with the film, but an issue that people who aren’t as chronically online or knowledgeable about the Fox Marvel movies could have. Some of the biggest moments need a bit of an explainer for people who might not know or remember certain aspects of that universe of movies. For all of the complaints we had about people expecting cameos and characters in Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness, we get in Deadpool & Wolverine what those people wanted most.

That aspect of somewhat gratuitous cameo appearances and Easter eggs is a treasure trove for comic-book superfans and people with sharp eyes who can see things in the background or in split-second moments. Those moments that pop those fans might confuse or bewilder others. We’ll have to see how much the general audiences know and if they even care in the end.

Deadpool & Wolverine is bombastic. It’s heartfelt and emotional. It feels like a step in the right direction for Marvel Studios. After a couple of misfires in a row, they’ve reached the right blend of combining genres, visual effects, and, most of all, capturing that emotional resonance that makes us all relate to a guy who’s covered in splotches and has a hell of a vulgar mouth.

Deadpool & Wolverine releases in theaters on July 26th, 2024.

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