Deadpool & Wolverine - Film Review

Reynolds and his character Deadpool have mastered the art of breaking the fourth wall by delivering meta inside jokes in his first two films by joking about real actors and other movies that are topical in pop culture. Deadpool was always left on the outskirts of the X-Men and the current MCU team of The Avengers for various reasons. Either Deadpool was owned by the now-defunct 20th Century Fox Studios or he was too R-rated for the family-friendly PG-13 superhero list. One of the big narratives of Deadpool & Wolverine this time around is how Deadpool the character wants to matter to his friends and family. He simply wants to be included in the big-name groups like The Avengers. Thankfully, Disney has the rights to Deadpool now and has somehow managed to make the most brutal R-rated-action superhero movie with a ton of heart and brings the entire superhero genre back to its roots by delivering everything fans have wanted since 2009 when Iron Man opened the door. 

Ryan Reynolds has known for some time now that the MCU needs a big overhaul of stories and characters. And from recent box office failures and poor ratings from the MCU TV series, Marvel honcho Kevin Feige has started to believe things need a big change. This is where Feige, Reynolds, original Deadpool writers, and director Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum, Free Guy, Real Steel) teamed up to deliver the ultimate superhero movie that will no doubt get bigger reactions and more praise than most superhero movie that came before it. The opening sequence with Deadpool fighting numerous people sets the stage for just how vulgar and fun the next two hours are going to play out with tons of blood, guts, and sexual motions where the laughter and cheers never stop coming.

In Deadpool & Wolverine, the story takes place six years after the events of Deadpool 2 where Wade Wilson (Reynolds) is retired from the character. He enjoys his life in his alternate universe where the Avengers don't exist. His friends and his true love Vensssa (Morena Baccarin) are his whole world. This is all interrupted when the Time Variance Authority from the TV show Loki shows up and wants to question Wilson about his actions in the second film. When the TVA reveals that his home universe is about to be deleted, he is allowed to save another universe by righting the wrongs that will change the course of the entire MCU by teaming up with his old pal Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). 

As Deadpool travels to multiple universes looking for the best Wolverine to team up with in a montage that will have people gasping, applauding, and laughing, he lands on the one Wolverine that is deemed to be the worst one out of any universe. This Wolverine can barely retract his claws and frequently drunkenly passes out, however, his past is what keeps him from being the big hero he needs to be. It's not a real friendship at first either as Levy conjures up some of the best action sequences between Wolverine and Deadpool that put any other superhero fight sequences to shame - even the big airport showdown in Civil War is upstaged by a fantastic choreographed fight scene between the two characters inside a Honda minivan. 

As the film moves on and Deadpool & Wolverine meet their villain in a world where former superheroes and villains are tossed aside that nobody likes anymore, the two leads form their team of sorts to fix the timelines and multi-verses while tackling their inner demons head-on in some truly emotional moments that Wolverine nor Deadpool have been allowed to give with the other studio. Reynolds and his team of writers and creators have masterfully cooked up some of the best moments in any superhero film that will have every comic book fan screaming with joy as they finally see some of their favorite characters getting the chance to show off and what it means to deliver the sought-after moments everyone has been clamoring for years to witness, whether it be pieces of dialogue, familiar faces showing up, or even the full-on costumes finally being presented in epic action sequences without the absurd censorship that hindered the previous films.

Hugh Jackman is the perfect Wolverine and never got to truly shine as the character until Logan, which plays a decent part in this movie. In Deadpool & Wolverine, Jackman is allowed to be the many types of Wolverine audiences have always wanted to see from going beserk to having an emotional breakdown about his past. And Jackman plays the part perfectly, even when Deadpool is spatting off his one-liners. Long ago, Reynolds stated that he loved the character of Deadpool and always wanted to play him in feature films. However, he and his character were always left out of the MCU. Now with his big introduction into the bigger world, in which he consistently tells the camera that he's always wanted to be a part of something that matters, Reynolds goes for broke in comedy and action pieces that put any other action scene to shame. From big expansive sets that resemble Mad Max to that small fight scene inside a minivan, the gore and brutal violence mixed with comedy is pitch-perfect. Audiences will be shouting for joy around every corner when a blade or a claw pierces the skin and it is met with a vulgar joke. 

This being a Deadpool movie and set inside the MCU where Disney has brought on their purchased IP of characters, the amount of cameos in this movie is going to shock people. Not only that, these are hands down some of the best cameos ever put on film and they are done in such a perfect way that it will no doubt change the MCU and the film industry going forward. There's nothing else like it and it's a sure bet that people will be cheering the loudest they ever have and shedding tears when the mass amount of cameos appear on screen for a good bit of time. The soundtrack is killer and mixes the nostalgic sounds of NSYNC's hit Bye, Bye, Bye as Deadpool is murdering a ton of people and dancing to the beat as he massacres everyone. Then there is  Madonna's Like A Prayer which acts as the anthem during the climactic moments of the film. It's a perfect cavalcade of music choices that only enhance the movie's tone.

Deadpool & Wolverine brings so much life back into the superhero genre and change the world for the betterment of future movies that have grown stale over the past few years. It consistently mocks the superhero genre and MCU specifically as it tries to find a new balance and tone with some amazing characters that will blow everyone's socks off. The fight sequences and comedic dialogue are perfect as the movie finally reveals that Deadpool & Wolverine are probably the best duo team up that will finally save the MCU from becoming obsolete and where these two beloved characters can finally be a part of the big squad that has made billions of dollars. MUST-SEE!