In the original Deadpool, the titular hero (Ryan Reynolds) gripes about the X-Men series: “Those timelines are so confusing.” Now, though, they’ve rejiggered the timelines so that Deadpool teams up with Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and not the same Wolverine who died at the end of Logan. It doesn’t exactly take a genius to see that the eternally grumpy John Logan would be a dream comic pairing with Wade Wilson, who has a deep-seated need to make a joke out of everything. They tried to make something like this happen with Josh Brolin in Deadpool 2, and while Brolin isn’t a bad comic actor, Jackman is nimbler and more responsive, and that’s one reason why this third installment is such a hit.
The opening credit sequence does have Deadpool trying to dig up the Wolverine from Logan, with bad results. Our bulletproof Canadian is having a full-fledged mid-life crisis after being rejected by the Avengers, and when he finds out that the government bureau in charge of the superhero universes is planning on destroying his world along with all his friends, it cues his search for a Wolverine in another timeline who can help him save his world. That in turn kicks off a montage of Deadpool being killed in various ways by various Wolverines (not all of them played by Jackman). Eventually he and the worst Wolvy, a drunk and a loser who wears the yellow Spandex that the original X-Men film rejected, get tossed into a netherworld called The Void.
The Void is a funny dystopia, and not so much because its wasteland terrain gives the movie a chance to parody the Mad Max series. No, what makes this place worth spending time in is the fact that it’s an exile land for superheroes and supervillains who’ve been deemed surplus to requirements. This occasions a boatload of cameos from superfolk whom I haven’t given a second thought to in the last 20 years. Director/co-writer Shawn Levy showed in his last film Free Guy that he could play around with the Disney/Marvel intellectual properties without the jokes turning stale or cheesy. Occasionally the movie references overload here, but it’s worth it to see big stars taking up old roles or new ones. Also, The Void is ruled by Charles Xavier’s twin sister (Emma Corrin), who has his superpowers but is also evil, and she makes a sneakily formidable supervillain as she probes both Deadpool’s and Wolverine’s deepest fears and insecurities, at one point impersonating Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) and telling Wade that nobody needs him.
It can be hazardous casting actors who are longtime friends opposite each other, as they can coast through scenes on the assumption that their real-life chemistry will automatically translate to the screen. It’s a testament to Reynolds and Jackman that they’re both sharp whether they’re bitching at each other with real hostility or facing their own private demons. Inevitably, there’s a sequence where they fight each other, and Deadpool turns to the camera beforehand and says, “Grab your special sock, nerds. We’re about to give everybody what they want.” Later, when they truly become a team, their realization of how much they’ve come to need each other is actually moving.
Deadpool’s original collection of friends doesn’t have a great deal to do here, which is too bad because the whole movie is about him trying to save them and finding purpose in being around them. The running subplot about an ugly dog who melts Deadpool’s heart (and its owner, whom he instantly hates) doesn’t accomplish much, either. Still, Levy executes an impressive side-panning one-take shot as our heroes kill their way through an army of Deadpools and manages to steer the proceedings through potential rough spots. Strange how the hack director behind Cheaper by the Dozen and the Night at the Museum movies has risen in my estimation recently. The partnership of Reynolds and Jackman has been teased endlessly during the past eight years, and it would have been easy for the final product to be underwhelming after all that. Instead, Deadpool & Wolverine delivers a much-needed shot of energy to the whole Marvel series. For that, Deadpool gets to call himself “Marvel Jesus.”
Deadpool & Wolverine
Starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. Directed by Shawn Levy. Written by Shawn Levy, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Zeb Wells, and Ryan Reynolds. Rated R.
