Deadpool can’t die. If he were a character in Greek mythology, that might be a source of tragedy, but in Wade Wilson’s scuzzy corner of the Marvel universe, it functions as a catalyst for off-color comedy instead. Last time the trash-mouthed mercenary headlined a movie, Deadpool could be seen chugging drain cleaner and trying to nuke himself into oblivion — a stunt that sent his extended middle finger flying in Wolverine’s direction. The two heroes have had a long-running rivalry, since both were given regenerative healing powers via the Weapons-X program, but only Wolverine could make grown men cry. Until now.
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The laughs are a given, but not the misty-eyed reaction to the final minutes of “Deadpool & Wolverine,” which is by far the most fan-service sequel released under the Marvel banner — and that’s saying something, since the comic book empire panders even harder to its flock than the faith-based industry does. In the past, such shameless give-folks-what-they-want-ism might have been a bad thing, but here, it serves as a welcome corrective to the superhero overload of the past 15 years. Now that the Disney-backed Marvel Cinematic Universe seems to be running on fumes, the entire genre could use a shake-up, and this jester-like character is just the guy to do it.
What makes Deadpool special, apart from lead actor (and co-writer) Ryan Reynolds’ sarcastic R-rated sensibility, is the way he breaks the fourth wall, offering unfiltered commentary on just about everything, including the filmmakers’ most craven creative decisions. Turn that attitude on his various parent companies, and audiences get a subversive laugh, while the bean counters earn cred by showing they’re in on the joke (as when Deadpool quips that “cocaine is the one thing Feige said is off-limits”). Mattel did it with last year’s “Barbie” movie, and now Marvel comes off looking like a good sport.
It’s no risk at all, considering that Deadpool’s two previous outings rank as Fox’s top-grossing superhero movies, ahead of “Logan” and the entire “X-Men” series. That’s presumably because they don’t take themselves seriously. Now “Deadpool & Wolverine” looks poised to surpass all of them, considering that it brings Hugh Jackman’s adamantium-clawed character back from the grave. Technically, this version of Wolverine comes from a separate timeline — one of those multiverse tricks that even Deadpool’s narration seems to recognize as a cheat, right up there with such Marvel staples as time travel and magic.
Meanwhile, this movie tries to have it every which way. Early on, Deadpool learns that a dude in a suit (not a spandex one, but the business kind) is going around scrubbing worlds that stray too far from the “sacred timeline” (that would be the MCU one of the “Avengers” movies, where death was handled far more reverently). The man’s name is Mr. Paradox, and he’s played by “Succession” star Matthew Macfadyen as a demented corporate stooge. Unless Deadpool can bring back Wolverine, it’s twilight for his time zone.
Mr. Paradox is not much of a villain, though he does represent a fascinating meta-concept: What happens to all the dead-end Marvel properties introduced over the years? A few of them make cameos here, while others are name-checked in jokes meant for super-geeks. The implication is that Deadpool, who was caught in limbo amid the real-world Disney-Fox merger, could be at risk of being canceled, despite having earned the studio $1.5 billion at the box office. What’s a superhero to do to justify his own existence?
The physics of “Deadpool & Wolverine” function more like a Looney Tunes cartoon than your typical comic book, as Deadpool skips around various dimensions without having to explain how he does it (I blame 2023 Oscar winner “Everything Everywhere All at Once” for mainstreaming multiverses). He finds a few next-best alternatives — including a shorter Wolverine who reminds that the ferocious character originally got his name for his compact stature — before landing upon one sporting the yellow costume and black mask made iconic in the comics.
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“He’s usually shirtless, but he’s let himself go since the divorce,” Deadpool quips, roasting what he calls the “worst Wolverine,” though this surly, hard-drinking fighter (played by a still-jacked Hugh Jackman) comes off tougher than ever. “The Greatest Showman” did nothing to soften his image. Furrowing his brow and grunting, as if uncertain about being dragged into a comedy, Jackman makes an ideal straight guy to Reynolds’ talkaholic shtick. They trade insults the whole way through, and whenever Deadpool crosses the line, the claws come out and these two indestructible malcontents turn on one another.
Director Shawn Levy (who has helmed Reynolds twice before) is stronger at comedy than he is with action, which means these sequences aren’t nearly as well orchestrated as “The Matrix” stunt maven David Leitch’s work on “Deadpool 2.” The visual effects are iffy, and city streets have rarely looked more like a backlot. Still, Marvel has enlisted some awfully ill-suited filmmakers over the years (Tim Story killed the “Fantastic Four” franchise, and Peyton Reed made each “Ant-Man” movie more excruciating than the last), whereas Levy is on Reynolds’ ultra-rude wavelength. At one point, he has Deadpool fighting with Wolverine’s corpse, which is still deadlier than most living superheroes. It also raises the question of which is more wrong, a Disney-trolling joke about pegging or the repeated sight of crotches speared by adamantium claws.
No one will accuse Deadpool of good taste. And yet, this film achieves an unexpected poignance when Deadpool and Wolverine are exiled together to The Void, a wasteland overseen by Professor X’s quasi twin, Cassandra Nova (a not-campy-enough Emma Corrin), where orphaned IP goes before being purged forever. There, amid what look like “Mad Max” rejects, the once-mighty 20th Century Fox logo has been tossed aside, à la the Statue of Liberty in “Planet of the Apes.” Like the incinerator at the end of “Toy Story 3,” this is where your nostalgia goes to die, so it’s fitting that it should be crammed full of cameos from misfit Marvel characters (including a card-carrying member of the X-Men who never got his own movie).
Throughout the film, Deadpool wrestles with a desire to “matter.” This wisecracking cancer survivor may be effectively immortal, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be forgotten. When it comes to longevity, these heroes all find themselves at the mercy of both Marvel and the market. In its own uniquely self-aware way, the movie confronts that phenomenon without overstaying its welcome — not just by acknowledging what happens to its two title characters, but especially with the montage that plays over the end credits. It’s a poignant summation of the Fox chapter of the Marvel saga.
Now that he’s back, Deadpool warns Wolverine, “They’re gonna make him do this till he’s 90.” Audiences (and Disney) may well demand it, though this singular mutant satire works best as an irreverent homage to what’s come before, as opposed to the prototype for future superhero movies.
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