Gonna be honest with you guys…I kind of hated it.
Deadpool & Wolverine is about moving more Marvel-originating properties under the Disney umbrella. Literally. They use some stuff from the Loki TV show to form an in-universe context for the metatextual framework, but Deadpool openly discusses how this is about getting that Disney money. And. Okay. That’s what they wanted to do and they did it.
I hesitated to review Deadpool & Wolverine because I don’t want to be a killjoy. Obviously the movie knows it’s a cynical cash grab; that is the source of much humor. If you find open cynicism, self-reference, and nostalgia inoffensive, you’ll have a great chance of genuinely enjoying this movie. So who am I to write a negative review? It’s exactly what it is. It’s making a lot of people happy.
There is a genuine attempt to put some respect on certain abandoned cinematic Marvel heroes. The story is frail enough that these appearances don’t feel meaningful outside nostalgia. But again: a lot of people do like this kind of nostalgia, and it served it up on a platter. Frequently. It’s not as disrespectfully hollow as some other superhero movies. They really did give these guys some action sequences on par with the lead characters’ action sequences. That smells like an attempt at respect to me.
Talking about action sequences, I’ve seen worse. I guess that’s kind of how this movie is best summarized for me. I’ve seen worse. They don’t do that awful cutting-every-two-milliseconds kind of editing on fight scenes, so you can tell that the stunt performers are killing it. There’s some amount of a gummy CGI look, but not always. I have seen so much worse.
The mere presence of Dogpool — a very ugly dog in a Deadpool costume — is proof that I am just as cheap as anyone else; my buttons can be pushed; most of the movie is not aiming for my buttons. I love Dogpool. I really just want an ugly dog on screen and I’m happy.
Deadpool & Wolverine dips into emotional beats a few times to contrast the goofier stuff. I’m sure some people really liked that too.
Tom Wambsgans seems like he was having fun. That’s really nice.
The genuine highlight, for me, was the effects used for Cassandra Nova. The whole thing with her fingers. I just really liked that! It’s unsettling and weird and a bit more horror-hued, and I’ve got plenty of horror buttons to push. They mentioned her weirdo comics backstory too, and I love a weirdo comics backstory.
Honestly, actual comic books have been more cynical than this. They have been shallower than this. It could have been worse. I have seen worse. Is anyone expecting a groundbreaking cinematic experience from the MCU at this point? Deadpool wasn’t.
I know a lot of people were happy seeing this movie, and I’m happy for them. It was a two-hour slog, but I don’t entirely regret seeing it, if only for Cassandra Nova’s fingers inside Tom Wambsgans. And Dogpool. The end.
