Finally, the team up that comic books fans have been waiting for has arrived in movie theaters. “Deadpool and Wolverine” is the introduction of Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) into the main Disney/Marvel Cinematic Universe. Plus, they bring back Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) – who died in the last movie he was seen in (*END OF SPOILER*) – to come along with him. Together they transform the previously PG-13 rated Marvel Cinematic Universe in the PG-13 AND R rated Universe. Unfortunately, some things that were in the previous Deadpool movies and (some of) the previous X-Men and Wolverine movies didn’t come along with them.
They did bring along all the things that most comic book fans would want from a Deadpool movie. There is a lot of adult language, adult situations, and adult references (according to Deadpool in the movie, they are not allowed to show people DOING cocaine – but talking about it is OK). There is also a lot of blood. Some fight scenes end up with blood EVERYWHERE.
The filmmakers also added a WHOLE LOT of pandering to the comics or previous movies. For example, for the first time ever (I believe), Wolverine is in his yellow costume (not a spoiler because it’s in all the advertisements and previews for the movie). There’s also a lot of alternate versions of both Deadpool and Wolverine. A few clips of the female Wolverine (named “X-23” aka Laura Kinney (Dafne Keen)) and the female Deadpool (named “Ladypool” or “Lady Deadpool” (you never see her face in the movie but the credits say it’s Blake Lively)) are seen in the previews for this movie. There are many more surprises in this movie, but I don’t want to give any spoilers (there’s tons of websites that list them if you want to know).
Now for the bad news. This movie has a very weak storyline. After the opening scene, the movie starts with the “TVA” (“Time Variance Authority”) offering Deadpool the opportunity to be transferred from the “alternate timeline” (the 20th Century Fox/Marvel timeline) to the “standard timeline” (the main Marvel/Disney timeline that most of the other Disney/Marvel movies take place in) because his timeline will be destroyed. This is a VERY generic storyline: A villain wants to destroy everything the hero loves, or wants to kill everyone on Earth, or wants to destroy the universe. It’s been used in a few other Marvel movies, almost all the James Bond movies, as well as other movies.
(If you don’t know about the “TVA” – you need to watch the “Loki” streaming series for more information.)
Deadpool is tempted to go to the new timeline, but he also wants to save his timeline because it has all the people he loves in it. The TVA department head, Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) says that since the most significant character of that timeline (*POSSIBLE SPOILER*) – Wolverine – is dead (*END OF SPOILER*), there really isn’t any reason to keep the timeline. This leads to Deadpool escaping the TVA offices to search alternate timelines to find a Wolverine.
Once he returns to the TVA, Mr. Paradox tells him that he’s not interested in overseeing this small alternate timeline. In fact, he has a machine that will destroy the timeline quicker. Then Mr. Paradox sends both Deadpool and Wolverine to “the void”. This is sort of like the dump where they send all the people and things that they don’t need anymore. Even the old “20th Century Fox” logo is in the void. They must fight Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin) – basically the head person in “the void” – so they can get back to Deadpool’s timeline and stop Mr. Paradox. The movie has one generic storyline and then adds a 2nd one: “stranding people someplace they (supposedly) can’t return from”. It’s been used in several movies including “Back to the Future 3” (Doc Brown and Marty McFly are stuck in the past), “Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan” (Khan strands Captain Kirk and others in a barely functioning Starship Enterprise), as well as other movies.
The one plotline this movie does get right is the OVERALL plot. The Marvel Cinematic Universe plot. It partially answers the question that fans have been asking since Disney bought Fox. What will happen to all the Marvel characters like Deadpool that were in the Fox alternate timelines.
However, I will admit that I forget about the generic plotline occasionally when I’m watching the funny scenes, the surprises (aka spoilers), and the fight scenes. I saw the movie TWICE (once in DolbyVision, and once in IMAX) because I thought I might have missed something the first time I saw it. For other scenes in the movie – the more dramatic scenes – I go back to thinking the movie has a weak storyline. I also noticed that some other people in the theater decided to have a bathroom break during those scenes.
If you’re a fan of the comics and/or the previous movies, I’m sure you’ll really enjoy this movie. Despite the generic storyline and the weak characters, the humor, the surprises, and all the fight scenes are very entertaining. If you’re not a fan of the comics or the previous movies, you may not understand some of the jokes and surprises, but I think there’s still enough humor and fight scenes to entertain you.
Overall: 7 OUT OF 10 STARS (maybe a little less if you don’t know the comic book characters or previous movies).
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