Right before Ryan Reynolds‘ Deadpool goes on a multiverse journey, he gleefully grabs the camera and says, “Suck it, Fox! I’m going to Disneyworld!” It’s just one of the several fourth wall breaking jokes he makes to acknowledge the fact that the character is now part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). For those not in the know, the film rights to different Marvel characters belong to various studios, with 20th Century Fox (now named 20th Century Studios) owning the rights to the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and some others. After Disney’s acquisition of Fox back in 2019, these properties have now officially joined the MCU.

Seeing as Deadpool ended up being one of Fox’s biggest successes after debuting in his own movie in 2016, of course he’s not going to be left behind, and he’s bringing his signature raunchy humor, hyper-violence and self-awareness along with him. As a result, we now have Deadpool & Wolverine, in which Deadpool tries to jump over into a new universe. It’s director Shawn Levy’s big effort to properly incorporate this foul-mouthed antihero into the mainline MCU, accompanied by the most famous X-Men member Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). The film makes it clear, however, that the Wolverine from 2017’s Logan is indeed dead, and it’s the reason why Deadpool’s timeline is about to be destroyed by the Time Variance Authority (TVA), a mysterious organization led by Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen).

Now Deadpool must find himself a live Wolverine, in a montage full of easter eggs, as a desperate attempt to save his own universe. The duo then ends up in a purgatory-like place called the Void, where it’s ruled by Charles Xavier’s evil twin sister Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin). This is a team-up for the ages, and one that makes sense, even if it exists partly because of a corporate acquisition. Both characters are Canadian and essentially immortal, and Reynolds and Jackman are friends in real life. So it’s no surprise the two would work incredibly well together and have great chemistry onscreen, with Jackman playing the brooding straight man in contrast to Reynolds’ non-stop snarky wisecracking.

Reynolds has struggled to display some range in his roles to be honest, always reverting to the same quippy personality he’s known for. That’s why him landing Deadpool is nothing short of a career saver. Here’s a character that perfectly plays to his strengths, and one that would probably go down as his best role. Meanwhile, Jackman proves that he’s still got it as Wolverine and acts circles around his co-star, especially in the scene where the two are in a Honda Odyssey. His rage and guilt are extremely palpable, briefly delivering some genuine gravitas to this whole thing. It’s the one moment where it feels like something’s actually at stake in this film.

Look, the film’s army of screenwriters (there’s six of them, including Levy and Reynolds) try their best to wiggle around its nonsense plot. But the multiverse is simply a tired narrative thread in this era of the MCU. The movie itself even makes fun of it with Deadpool saying “Can we be done with the whole multiverse thing?” and encourages Marvel to just take the L. Although I highly doubt MCU mastermind Kevin Feige will listen to him. There’s some consolation in Deadpool taking digs at his new bosses, as much as he is allowed to, that is. He’s now part of the machine after all, which is why Deadpool & Wolverine has that MCU sheen present in almost all of its other movies. It makes everything look like it came out of an expensive assembly line, devoid of any stylistic and artistic sensibilities.

I can’t help but feel that a lot of the ideas in Deadpool & Wolverine would be executed better in the hands of a more capable director. Levy has a firm grasp on the comedy and humor, but he doesn’t seem to have a feel for action. The fight scenes feel very uninspired and over-choreographed that they kind of just blend into each other. The only exciting ones I could think of are Deadpool and Wolverine’s car fight and the opening action sequence set to the tune of ‘NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye.”

For what it’s worth, Deadpool & Wolverine successfully accomplishes what it sets out to do, which is to deliver a fun team-up meant to satisfy superhero nerds. This film is unabashedly filled with surprise appearances, easter eggs and references that hardcore fans would appreciate. But good luck to you if haven’t kept up to date. I don’t want to spoil too much, but I will say that there’s a surprisingly warm acknowledgement to the Fox era of Marvel characters. So, is this finally the film that will save the MCU from its slump? Maybe. What I’m sure of, though, is this will be a hit in the box office. Deadpool and Wolverine slash and stab a lot of people in many different ways while having some nostalgic cameos? As the aforementioned nerd, I say bring it.

Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.