Review: DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE is Cathartic [Minor Spoilers]

review by Junior Boss James Hunt

Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
Written by Ryan Reynolds & Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick & Zeb Wells & Shawn Levy
Based on characters created by Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza
Produced by Kevin Feige, Shawn Levy, Ryan Reynolds
Directed by Shawn Levy
R, 2hr 8m

Deadpool & Wolverine offers a cathartic, chaotic and charming ending to the legacy of 20th Century Fox while opening a door to the future of the now, cemented, shared universe.

The opening gives us a very satisfying — and long overdue — answer to the ending of Deadpool 2, and I was worried about how it would be handled given how much ground this movie covers, but it’s handled quite nicely. This time out, we go on an adventure following Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) on a quest to save his universe after agents from the Time Variance Authority (TVA) attack and pull him into the agency, where Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) tells him he can die with his universe, or join the TVA to help prune the various divergent timelines, and that includes his own universe, which is dying backwards from the events of Logan. Turns out, our favorite angry Canadian was the anchor being for that universe, and his death is causing things to unravel.

Except “Marvel Jesus” has a few ideas of his own, refusing to accept the ultimatum from the TVA. His option is to find another Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and make him a new anchor being for his universe. Pulling various disparate parts into the main MCU, Wade’s quest leads to variants, multiversal madness, and cameos that made watching Loki even more rewarding.

The much-anticipated meeting between Wade and Logan goes about how you’d expect, delivering a few fan-pleasing fights before introducing Cassandra Nova, and I have to admit Emma Corrin stole the show whenever she was on screen, giving us a very fun and truly warped villain. 

Spoiler time.

What can I say? It’s amazing. I, along with EVERYONE, was concerned with how they would bring Logan back, because it’s a pretty big deal to undo that ending. Ryan Reynolds even said they wouldn’t disrespect Logan’s ending. So how do they start the movie? With Deadpool using all 206 bones of Logan’s corpse to kill the TVA as we hear NSYNC’s “Bye, Bye, Bye”. And I have to admit it works. It was a very funny, very smart way of ripping off the Band-Aid. Jackman’s return as Logan has been a touchy subject for some, so Reynolds & Company’s antidote is to make the audience laugh as much as they can so they can enjoy the desecration of Logan’s body.

The story overall is solid. Deadpool’s goal is pretty loose enough that you can fit in all kinds of cameos, action scenes and subplots, and boy did they do that. We get a whole slew of Wolverine comic cameos from mini-Logan to his alter ego Patch. But of course, we have to talk about the Man of Ste- adamantium, Henry Cavill. Best. Cameo. Ever. 10/10, the whole theater was screaming. Most likely he’s not coming back, and if that’s the case, that was the best throwaway gag ever. But if there’s more, as Deadpool says, it just feels right.

The way they get Wolverine into the MCU, is probably the best way. This is a Logan that’s familiar enough to the one we’ve watched before, but he has enough unexplored backstory to offer all new possibilities. For example, this Wolverine knows who the Avengers are. (Side note, hearing the word Avengers come out of Hugh Jackman’s mouth was just the coolest.) I loved this take on Logan, especially the redemption arc because in a way it shows us a soft reboot of the character, going from much more dark and gritty to eventually becoming a better man that gets a family at the end. 

I have mixed feelings about the Cassandra Nova character. On one hand, Emma Corrin killed it and felt like she could just chew scenery with either Patrick Stewart or James McAvoy. She’s a dangerously fun villain that you just enjoy watching. She can snap at any second, but you also feel for her because she’s an estranged child stuck in the void. I quite enjoyed her getting a small redemption arc and helping Deadpool and Wolverine get back. But the character would have been served better with an appearance by Charles Xavier. I mean, as pleased as I am with all the cameos and guest stars we did get, Cassandra Nova — the sister of Charles Xavier, who keeps mentioning Charles Xavier, keeps asking Logan what Xavier’s love is like — she should have met some version of Charles Xavier. 

I was having a discussion with my brother when leaving the theater that in the scene where Cassandra dives into Logan’s memories, Professor X should have appeared there so Cassandra could see how loving her brother was. I just thought that would’ve made for some more interesting character moments. Instead, we have a small redemption arc followed by her learning of the timeline killer, and she decides, oh yeah, I’ll just destroy the whole universe. That was the moment I could start feeling the runtime starting to wrap up. 

Hugh Jackman is phenomenal, no question, but this delivery is hands down one of his best performances. The scene in the van where he dresses down Deadpool was genuinely hard to watch; you could feel the discomfort in my theater when he screamed at Deadpool. His scene with Laura, where he explained why he wears the suit, had me in genuine tears. This Logan is a man who lost so much, and you feel every ounce of it.

Credit also to Ryan Reynolds. He’s an incredible talent, and he really got to show his acting chops in this Deadpool movie a bit more than the other two. That whole opening sequence felt so relatable. It was rough seeing Wade so depressed and lost. And it was heartbreaking to know that he went through all of Deadpool 2 to save Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), just to push her away. Going back to the scene in the van, where Wolverine just verbally obliterates Deadpool, Wade’s “I’m going to fight you now” had to be one of the best deliveries of the film. I’ve never heard Ryan Reynolds sound so coldly defeated. Jackman and Reynolds together are perfection; their overall chaotic blooming of a friendship they hate was a joy to watch. I think probably my third favorite scene was Wade and Logan at the dinner table, and Wade is so distracted by the dog that Logan takes Dogpool and makes him talk to Vanessa. Everyone was choked up, because we got to see them earn this friendship.

When Channing Tatum was cast as Gambit, I was twelve years old. Now I’m 22, and it was the best thing ever seeing him finally play the part. He sold it, and though there were a couple points where he felt a bit over the top, it worked. He also felt right at home. He was Gambit, not Channing Tatum playing Gambit. Perfect casting. I was pretty happy that it was more than a cameo as well, that we actually got to see a full display of Gambit’s powers and fight skills. It felt respectful to the character.

Now, I don’t like the Daredevil movie, but I will admit, I freaked out over Jennifer Garner. She deserved so much better than the Elektra solo movie, and then she was kind of just forgotten in the superhero world. For her to get both a heroic entrance and a grand farewell was both unexpected, but so very welcome. She absolutely killed it, and it’s a shame we may not see her again, but she got more respect in about 20 minutes than she did in two movies, and yeah, I love that.

I’m actually about to watch Logan, so I don’t have much to say about Laura. Daphne Keen was outstanding in the movie and, come on, cutting off Juggernauts feet? Cool. Her relationship with Hugh Jackman was so natural and familial that I was disappointed we didn’t get more, but seeing her at the dinner table at the end gives me hope that we’re not even close to done.

There’s only one Blade. That’s it. 

Jimmy Durante’s “I’ll be seeing you” is the best needle drop ever. As Deadpool and Wolverine jump through the portal after the absolute mind-blowing fight between the mutants and Elektra, Gambit, X-23, Blade and our guys, “I’ll be seeing you” plays, and I know I’ve already mentioned my theater felt this or that, but when the words “I’ll be looking at the moon, but I’ll be seeing you” played as we got to see these long lost heroes for one more moment, painfully bittersweet, everyone was on the edge of their seats, and I can still feel the lump in my throat.

The final nail in the emotional coffin were the credits. I never realized how much of the Fox universe I really grew up on, and going over the past twenty-four years of films, it hit me pretty hard. I remembered seeing an early screening of X-Men: Days of Future Past with my dad when I was little, or sitting on the couch watching X-Men Origins when the Fox channel was still a thing. Getting excited to see a new Fantastic Four with my dad, and then hating the new Fantastic Four with my dad. The movies weren’t necessarily as important to me as the MCU, but the experiences were. And I’m grateful to my dad for making me a fan, even though DC’s better. It was goodbye, and it hurt, but it was earned, and it was needed.

Thank you, to everyone who made this experience possible. And most importantly, thank you to production designer Ray Chan for getting to be the best fan ever.

Good movie. Go See it. “He has risen baby girl.”