Hogan Reviews

I’ve said on this blog a few times that I tend to steer away from flat-out comedies because what you find funny is extremely objective. Case and point, while I enjoyed the first Deadpool film I found the second one leaned too heavily in the more crass humour that I don’t really enjoy, but I wouldn’t feel right reviewing it and giving it a low score because it might be right up someone’s alley, unlike more traditional storytelling issues which I feel more comfortable pointing out. Deadpool & Wolverine though is a “canon” entry in the MCU, and I really don’t want to miss one of the films out, so here we are! Thankfully for me the film doesn’t go down the crass route this time and lands some pretty good gags while keeping things gory and verbally explicit. Let’s take a look!

The plot, such as it is, is based around the TVA from the Loki series popping over to the Deadpool universe and recruiting him (played of course by Ryan Reynolds) before they prune his timeline away, something the new TVA have stopped but a rogue agent called Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) decides to use a “Time Ripper” anyway. He’s a good laugh, your classic stereotypical British villain in every way. Deadpool naturally isn’t on board with the universe as he knows it getting destroyed so seeks to stop it, hearing that his universe is dying because his universe’s “anchor being”, Wolverine, is dead. This is obviously a joke on franchises dying because the lead actor steps away, but either way it leads to Deadpool killing a bunch of TVA agents with Wolverine’s adamantium skeleton that was buried in the film Logan, a very literal depiction of Kevin Fiege’s infamous story of telling Hugh Jackman not to reprise the role because he thought the ending of Logan was so great that it shouldn’t be touched. Boy was it ever touched here!

Deadpool without his mask, never a pleasant sight…

Deadpool steals a pad and pops across a bunch of universes looking for a Wolverine he can nab and after some funny multiverse gags he finds a Logan who let down his whole universe due to something revealed later, and drags his drunken arse back to the TVA to fix things. Sadly, Mr. Paradox isn’t interested because he really wants to destroy Deadpool’s universe, so he sends both Deadpool and Wolverine to the same Void world that Loki was sent to, though this time with plenty of humorous set-dressing to do with the fact Disney brought FOX. In fact, before we get the next chunk of the film, I’ll say that in reality this film is far more a love letter, or a fond goodbye to the FOX era Marvel films and despite more downs than ups in the series (especially towards the end), I was all for it. Anyway, the core of the film becomes the titular Deadpool and Wolverine trying to kill each other, only both having the healing factor stopping them, then reluctantly (at least on Logan’s part) working together to both survive the Void and find a way to escape.

Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine finally in an actual Wolverine costume: definitely a pleasant sight!

During their travels they find the okay Fantastic Four film version of Johnny Storm (Chris Evans, clearly having a great time) rather than whatever the hell that other one was, who informs them about the Void’s dangerous gang leader: Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin) who has her own group of FOX era villains reprising their roles. She kills Storm but Deadpool and Wolverine escape, soon having to assemble their own team of FOX era heroes to combat her…

I’ll leave it there until the spoiler section, but I’ll just say I had a smile on my face from start to finish. I was worried about the film just ragging on the FOX films but thankfully there were several jabs at the MCU itself and how its been on a downturn since Endgame, which just made the film all the better, less kicking a horse that was already way down and more a general, all-round fourth-wall-breaking set of good gags and fun set pieces.

Overall Thoughts:

Given how flat-out weird Cassandra Nova’s backstory is in the comics I was surprised they didn’t go all-in on it, just so Deadpool could rightfully point at it and ask what the hell they were thinking when they came up with it!

Deadpool & Wolverine is less a long string of crass gags and bloody gore and more a celebration of the FOX era of Marvel films, mixed with amusing set pieces and lots of trademark fourth wall breaking gags aimed in all directions, including at the MCU itself. Not for everyone then, but for this long-time Marvel film fan, it was a great two hours.

So Deadpool and Wolverine, after another section of trying to kill each other, assemble a team of FOX era heroes comprised of Wesley Snipes’ Blade, Jennifer Garner’s Elektra, and Dafne Keen’s X-23, plus Channing Tatum as Gambit, who was set to play the role in a spin-off film that never happened (which is a shame because he’s good fun here!) X-23 manages to finally get Logan on-board with helping Deadpool save his universe and so the weirdest Avengers ever to assemble arrive and take on Cassandra Nova’s returning lackeys in a really fun set piece. By the end Deadpool and Wolverine manage to convince Prof. X’s evil female twin to allow them to head back to Deadpool’s universe, where they find Mr. Paradox is on the verge of completing his plan. Oh and we found out that in his universe Wolverine was getting drunk in a bar when a bunch of human mutant-haters broke into the X Mansion and killed the X-Men (somehow) which led to Wolverine going on a human killing spree. Yikes! Worse Wolverine indeed…

If you’d shown me this screenshot a few years ago I would’ve been so confused…

In order to stop the duo Paradox sends an army of alternate universe Deadpools, far too many funny sight gags to list them all, but during this Nova finds her way to Paradox’s base and decides to use the Time Ripper to wipe out ALL universes so everyone has to join her in the Void. After a very odd showdown Deadpool and Wolverine get down there and manage to stop her by taking a would-be-deadly amount of energy and changing it between the two of them. Nova is destroyed, Mr. Paradox is arrested by the TVA and Wolverine (and a few of the FOX heroes) join Deadpool in his universe to have a bit of a celebration. The end credits then show a bunch of heartwarming behind-the-scenes footage of the FOX films as a final salute as that era of Marvel Film gets put to rest.