If you can hear a loud chorus outside your window then it can only be a mob of people chanting “Marvel is back”. Of course, Marvel has always had ebbs and flows, but post-Endgame there has been a feeling that quantity has often triumphed over quality. Regardless of where you stand on the MCU's phase 4 and 5, the Multiverse Saga has gained mixed results. With Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox, it means that there is a chance to finally bring mutants into the Marvel universe.
With a bloated universe it feels like a good time for Ryan Reynolds' fourth wall breaking anti-hero to come and poke a little fun at the franchise. We discover that following the events of Deadpool 2, the merc-with-a-mouth Wade Wilson has tried – and failed – to join The Avengers. His life has fallen apart, and worst of all the Time Variant Authority – last seen in Loki – has told him his universe is going to die. To save it DP teams up with “the worst Wolverine' to try and find a way to save his world and escape a place called The Void.
For the most part Deadpool & Wolverine keeps the irreverent tone that marked the first two Deadpool movies. A blood-splattered skeleton fight to an N*Sync classic opens the film and the violence continues to come thick and fast. Bodies are ripped open, blood splashes everywhere, limbs get well and truly lopped. But, there is a core theme to the film about not living up to potential, which is ironic, given the film never fully lives up to it's own potential. Matthew Macfadyen's cheerfully sinister Mr Paradox informs Deadpool that he's special, but for reasons no one can figure out. Reynolds does manage to plumb some depth as Deadpool, shedding layers of bravado, but he is, unsurprisingly, outmatched by Hugh Jackman. For twenty years Jackman has continued to fully, and totally, commit to the role of Wolverine regardless of the quality of the product.
A scene by a fire in which Logan, on the verge of crying, speaks of letting people down is some of his best Logan acting outside of Logan. Mournfully he recounts how he refused to wear his suit because he couldn't bear to have the other X-Men think he wanted to be there. It's on Jackman's strength, and Reynolds' glee that the film works. When interesting characters like powerful baddie Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin) get a little wasted in the mix. The villain has hints of complexity, and more emotional depth but the film can't focus enough on things like story when there are blood-soaked cameos to put in the film.
There are, of course, cameos. Some of which are fun, and some are a little excessive. But unlike Multiverse of Madness' mid-film cameo dump, a lot of these feel more like supporting roles than cameos. More in line with what Spider-Man: No Way Home did. Using past actors to root the film in a core theme. There's a love for a bygone era of superhero films, a swan song for Fox's sometimes great but sometimes misguided superhero films.
Director Shawn Levy might be too much of a safe pair of hands, having made more family friendly fare like Real Steel (good), The Adam Project (decent) and Night at the Museum 3 (bad). But he tries to keep the nutty thing afloat. If you can't get on board with the self referential, relentless tone, this could grate. Still, as a fun tribute to a fallen studio, this feels like a loving, if gleefully silly, entry into a franchise that doesn't always live up to its potential. But it tries very very hard.
Deadpool & Wolverine is in cinemas from July 25th
