Withover $1 billion at the global box office,Deadpool & Wolverinehas both become the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time and the major success that the Marvel Cinematic Universe needed in a period of serious decline. Although the critical and commercial response to recent films likeEternals,Thor: Love and Thunder,Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania, andThe Marvelshad been disappointing,Deadpool & Wolverineproved to rejuvenate the audience’s love of superhero films by serving as a “love letter” to heroes from the 20th Century Fox era of Marvel. It’s a film that is certainly bound to entertain the youthful comic book fan in everyone, butDeadpool & Wolverinetook on a weight of self-importance that is inherently contradictory to the character’s ethos.
‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Became the Thing It’s Criticizing
The first twoDeadpoolfilms succeeded because they played around the boundaries of the X-Menuniverse, yet never went so far as to do more than the most minor of crossovers. While there were certainly a lot of jokes made at the expense ofHugh Jackman’s Wolverine andthe confusing nature of the X-Menseries timeline, bothDeadpoolandDeadpool 2worked becauseRyan Reynoldswas able to embody the underdog spirit of a character that should never have been commercial. It’s more than a little bit ironic that Deadpool, a franchise that was finally able to see the light of day because of the leak of unreleased test footage, ended up becoming the series tasked with sorting out the different timelines within the multiverse.
Even if there are a few light-hearted jabs at the recent failings of Marvel Studios,Deadpool & Wolverinetreated the MCU with a level of reverencethat was surprising at times. Not to mention that the majority of the plot involving the Time Variance Authority would essentially be incomprehensible to anyone whohadn’t already caught up withLoki.Deadpool is tasked with restoring the balance of the universe, which essentially ruins the joke that the franchise was intended for those who had felt burnt out by the overexposure of superhero movies. It feels odd that a character whose inherent nature is to create chaos now puts so much importance on ensuring that the audience remembers all the goodwill that both the MCU and 20th Century Fox earned in the past.
‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Played It Too Sincerely
Deadpool & Wolverinehas more respect for the superhero genre than previous entries in the series, suggesting that Wade himself has matured to the point that hewants to become a real heroafter he begs Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) to let him join the Avengers. Although the other films had shown that Wade wanted to save vulnerable people like Firefist (Julian Dennison) that he could relate to, it felt off for him to be trying to save the “Sacred Timeline” and essentially becoming a Wolverine fanboy inDeadpool & Wolverine. It would be one thing if Wade was only fighting for Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), but the idea that he’s going out of his way to save characters like Gambit (Channing Tatum), Blade (Wesley Snipes), Elektra (Jennifer Garner), and Laura (Dafne Keen) feels like the sort of thing that Deadpool would make fun of. Deadpool has traditionally been a fairly snarky franchise, but the montage set toGreen Day’s “Good Riddance” that concludes the film is very sentimental, and borderline saccharine.
Deadpool & Wolverineultimately does not succeed on its own merits, as there isn’t a single positive review for the film that does not praise the nostalgic feelings that come with bringing back older characters. It’s hard to not think ofMartin Scorsese’s criticisms of the superhero genre, in which he compared the films to “theme parks,” in that they only provide temporary entertainment, and do not have any lasting value or emotional stakes. The merger of 20th Century Fox and Walt Disney Studios has had many consequences and resulted in significant job loss and lack of creative momentum. While criticizing the decline of theDeadpoolfranchise may seem like a rather minor quibble when considering the larger cultural shifts at play, incorporating the franchise into the MCU means that Deadpool is now part of a brand, and no longer the transgressive character that he once was.
Deadpool & Wolverine
Wolverine joins the “merc with a mouth” in the third installment of the Deadpool film franchise.
Deadpool & Wolverineis now available on VOD.
Buy on Prime Video
