If one scene sums up Deadpool & Wolverine, it’s this: Wolverine shouting “Let’s f****** go!” as he and Deadpool jump through an interdimensional portal—all action, hijinks, and profanities galore, while the audience enjoys the wild ride.
SEA Wave is reviewing the latest superhero film making waves, the long-awaited team up of our favorite merc with a mouth, Deadpool, and the wild Weapon X, Wolverine. Spoilers ahead.
The Reynolds-Jackman Effect
In the spirit of Deadpool himself, we are going beyond the movie to comment on the studio’s marketing efforts, particularly the successful marketing tandem of Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. The pair did their best to promote the film on various shows like Hot Ones, BuzzFeed’s Puppy Interview, Jimmy Fallon’s Jingle with the Stars, Variety’s How Well Do You Know, and more. Reynolds and Jackman brought their A-game and played their bromance straight, generating hype for the film and earning the Deadpool & Wolverine trailer a Guinness World Record for the “Most-Viewed Movie Trailer in the First 24 Hours.”
A Soundtrack To Remember
Right off the bat, we’re treated to an incredible ensemble for the movie’s soundtrack—a mix of classic boy bands, rock bands, soloists and more. But the crux of it all is that each of these songs is played at crucial moments, adding to each scene’s levity or intensity.
NSYNC’s Bye Bye Bye opens the film as Deadpool desecrates Logan’s corpse while fighting TVA agents introduced in the Loki TV series. The gruesome action sequence paired with a pop dance classic made for an entertaining cold open that immediately captures the viewer’s attention.
Another song featured in the soundtrack is the theme for The Greatest Showman, which plays during a car scene, alluding to actor Hugh Jackman’s role as P.T. Barnum in the 2017 film. The scene was particularly charged as Wolverine finally got Deadpool to actually shut up, but can also be read in several ways as the characters go off-screen, adding to the already layered fourth wall breaking film.
Lastly, Madonna’s Like A Prayer plays during a fight sequence, with Deadpool and Wolverine facing off against a hoard of Deadpool variants from other universes. The duo definitely needed a prayer during this iconic scene, and the epic song just added to the fight’s intensity and comedy.
Found Family
As we saw in the two prior Deadpool movies, Wade Wilson has always had a knack for forming bonds with misfits like himself. From the little X-Men interactions he has had over the years to assembling X-Force, the found family trope has always been at the forefront of Deadpool films. This is also highlighted in Deadpool & Wolverine, giving us the most heartwarming scenes of the movie.
There’s Wade’s birthday party celebration with his friends at the start, then the Honda scene where he tells Wolverine that the only people he cares about are in the picture. Lastly, the movie’s ending has Logan, X-23, and Dogpool joining his quaint found family celebrating his birthday and their victory as they save Wade’s timeline. While our merc with a mouth may be annoying, he’s also a merc with a heart.
Cameos Galore
We’d be doing a disservice if we fail to mention the various Marvel characters that make their appearances in the movie. There’s a total of 9 Wolverine variants in the film including Logan (the corpse), Cavill-rine (Henry Cavill), Patch, Smallverine, crucified Wolverine, Old Man Wolverine, Age of Apocalypse Wolverine, John Byrne’s Brown and Yellow Wolverine, and of course, Wade’s favorite Wolverine: the worst one.
The Wolverine cameos were amazing, but what really got me were the appearances of the various characters from other superhero properties like Wesley Snipes as Blade, Jennifer Garner as Elektra, and Chris Evans as Johnny Storm, or roles that were hinted at but never materialized like Channing Tatum’s Gambit. The film truly knows its audience and makes use of the multidimensional conceit to its advantage.
A Nerd’s Dream
Where would Deadpool be without a good story to match his quick wits? Marvel is known for its various universes and time travel shenanigans—these have been explored in Loki, but is really amped up for Deadpool & Wolverine, with Wade’s whole timeline at stake if he can’t find a replacement “anchor being” for his world’s Wolverine.
Reynolds’ and Jackman’s on-screen chemistry is something to behold as the top stars make the film a breeze to watch. Despite the villain feeling a bit lacking compared to her comic book counterpart, Emma Corrin’s portrayal of Cassandra Nova was great and the multiverse elements are exciting to see on the big screen. Everything felt dialed up to 11 with how surreal the story was. This is especially true when Logan finally dons the comic-accurate Wolverine costume. The moment was so awe-inspiring that the crowd in the theater I was watching actually cheered for it!
With hype moments, exciting surprises, fast-paced action and well-timed comedic moments, Deadpool & Wolverine delivers a fun experience for moviegoers. I guess Deadpool really does deserve the “Marvel Jesus” title because of how he saved the MCU.
SEA Wave gives this movie a 3.5 out of 5 waves. Catch the movie in cinemas near you, or digitally on October 23.