Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

A 4th Wall Break Too Far

Wade (Ryan Reynolds) attends his birthday party with Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), Blind Al, the lesbian X-Men, and others.  He appears to be truly happy, despite the obvious cheap hairpiece.  But there is a knock on the door.  A band of armored goons have arrived to take him away.  His universe - an unremarkable timeline in the scheme of things - is marked for deletion unless a great hero can be found.  No, not Deadpool.  Deadpool knows just the guy: Wolverine (Hugh Jackman).  He uses a plane-hopping gizmo that he stole from the TVA (Time Variance Authority) to find a suitable Wolverine.  Mostly, he finds tragic, comic, or dead versions of Wolverine.  Finally, he locates a sad excuse for a Wolverine, but it's the best he's going to get.  Rejected!  Off to the void with you.  In the void, a variety of characters - heroes and villains - from abandoned Marvel series appear.

The movie leaps into the multiverse with glee and proposes an agency that determines the viability of each subverse in the MCU.  This allows the movie to grab characters from a variety of Marvel hero movies who were not part of the modern Marvel-verse.  For instance, Blade (Wesley Snipes), Elektra (Jennifer Garner), and the Human Torch (Chris Evans) all appear as characters that pre-date the MCU.  Laura - AKA X-23 (Dafne Keen) - also returns, providing a second callback to the tragic conclusion (apparently not) to Logan's story.  Though it is entertaining and funny, it proves to be too much.  Deadpool is no longer Deadpool, he is Ryan Reynolds playing Deadpool.  Yes, that is part of the schtick of Deadpool, but a little bit goes a long way.  This movie is one extended fourth wall break, piling the ludicrous upon the more ludicrous.  Again, it is fun as it goes, but it was something of a letdown.  With a multiverse of endless possibilities, it becomes difficult to care about this particular universe.  A lot of this feels like ad lib bloopers tied together as a movie.

The fights between Wolverine and Deadpool are overdone.  We have two characters with amazing healing factors mean they can't die.  One fight is fine.  The second is just pointless and makes the characters appear stupid.  Sure, it's played for laughs.  In the big fight where all the former characters get their opportunity to shine, they do.  In fact, they all kick butt and it is completely one-sided.  Apparently the villains weren't that tough.  Meh.

Again, I enjoyed the film while I was watching it, but it was like eating a box of cookies in one sitting.  Too much sweet and not so satisfying afterwards.  Nonetheless, recommended.

Deadpool

Deadpool opens with a freeze-frame exploration of an SUV mid-tumble on the highway while a half dozen men within are battling the red-clad Merc with a Mouth.  Credits appear, offering only descriptions, not names.  Thus, the movie stars British Villain, CGI Character, and Hot Chick among others.  Of course, we also see a People Magazine with Ryan Reynolds on the cover as Sexiest Man Alive.  The film is rife with such silliness, which quite befits the character.  From exploring this frozen instant of a frantic fight, the movie finally rolls with Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) in a cab driven by Dopinder (Karan Soni from Other Space).  Deadpool gets out of the cab in the middle of a highway overpass where he jumps off and plummets into the very SUV from the opening credits.  Crazy comic combat commence!  Several times during this messy melee, there are flashbacks to explain the purpose of this fight.  Thus, this fight lasts for half the movie.  :)

 

Deadpool has a constant monologue, offering endless commentary as the narrator but also offers asides by breaking the fourth wall (even within a 4th wall breakage, he breaks the 4th wall.  "That's like 16 walls!") to address the audience directly.  He offers commentary about the movie's budget, actors who have played roles in Marvel movies, and so on.  He is rude, crude, amoral, and frequently annoying, especially to his enemies but also his friends.  He is a kick-ass fighter but also a few fries short of a happy meal.  He repeatedly forgets things; it was quite funny when he forgot his bag of guns and ammo in Dopinder's cab.  I viewed Guardians of the Galaxy as the funniest Marvel film but this one far exceeds it.  I laughed so hard during Deadpool's fight with Colossus that I cried.  There is often a slapstick quality to the movie that hits just the right note.

 

I have not been a fan of Reynolds but he is perfect for this role.  In much the same way that Tom Hanks finally found the right character in Big and Will Farrell found it in Elf, Ryan Reynolds has finally found his character: he is Deadpool.  After watching this, one can see why comic fans were disappointed by the version of Deadpool seen in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.  Deadpool comments on that too.

 

Very entertaining and worth seeing.  Thumbs up!