How do you save a superhero? Better yet, how do you save a studio that manufactures superheroes from self-sabotage? That seems to be the million-dollar question. When Marvel first introduced the concept of the multiverse to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it was an exciting notion that might need a little explaining to those unfamiliar with comic-book jargon. But now fans are exhausted of both the concept of the multiverse and superheroes in general. So how does one battle a self-inflicted superhero fatigue on top of multiverse monotony?
Simple. Add a raunchy-as-hell antihero who continuously breaks the fourth wall to reference his depraved sex life while decapitating hoodlums with a katana. And it is Ryan Reynolds.
Welcome to Disney, Mr. Wade Wilson. It needs your help. Badly.
Reynolds, who plays Wilson and his alter ego Deadpool, once again slips on the red Lycra and returns to his role as the Merc with the Mouth in Deadpool & Wolverine. This time around, Deadpool is plucked from his universe by the Time Variance Authority, the bureaucratic org introduced in Disney+’s Loki that is bogged down by red tape and frustration, and monitors the many timelines. It appears Deadpool’s universe faces certain annihilation, which makes for an unhappy Wade. Unwilling to lose those he loves, Deadpool finds himself forced to pair with a grumpier-than-usual Wolverine so he can save his world, while also allowing Hugh Jackman to return to the role that made him a household name.
Directed by Shawn Levy (Free Guy), Deadpool & Wolverine is not the first live-action pairing of the two Marvel icons, but one that is closer to fans’ hearts considering what happened to the motormouth Merc in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (without spoiling much, let’s just say it wasn’t pretty). So finally watching the two mutants with unlimited healing powers and potty mouths properly go head-to-head is a bloody good time, but just a small part of the film’s hard-R amusement. The witty writing delivers bawdy jokes at a break-neck speed that paces the action. How fast are the quips? In the time it took to write this sentence, I missed three jokes, so please enjoy it.
But can Deadpool save the MCU from its worst enemy: itself?
In the last few years, Marvel has had a few misses — The Marvels was an entertaining outing that few saw, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was just a hot mess of exposition and pseudoscience nonsense, and the sheer amount of MCU TV shows just added to the burnout.
But Deadpool & Wolverine embraces the exhaustion and pulls humor from it. The exposition that normally drags down a scene is made amusing by adding what it so desperately needed: dick jokes. And violence. And cursing. Oh, the glorious cursing.
By lovingly adding foul-mouthed humor and the fourth-wall breaks that come with the Deadpool outing, it was able to halt the tedium of yet another alternative universe trope. Throw in dozens of fan service cameos that only Disney dollars can provide, and audiences get a clever superhero movie that is entertaining, furthers the agenda for the MCU, and isn’t a chore or a bore to watch. The film isn’t for everyone, but Deadpool never was. Remember moms: the ‘Pool’ is an adult swim only.
Deadpool & Wolverine uses every weapon in the Merc’s arsenal to revive the clichéd multiverse genre. How do you save a genre from oversaturation? By acknowledging its mistakes through sexually explicit, self-deprecating humor, over-the-top violence, and plenty of fan service. AKA, the Deadpool way. ❖