Shawn Levy, the director of Deadpool & Wolverine, claims this isn’t Deadpool 3. I beg to differ. Without spoiling anything, let me just say that the basic structure of the film is the same as the previous Deadpool movies. We kick things off with crazy action, but then go back to explore the events that brought the character to this point. The same applies to this Deadpool & Wolverine review — we need to take a step back and remember how we got to this movie.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been home to the dreams of geeks like us for years. Not only did it deliver its own groundbreaking productions, but it also led the charge in creating cinematic universes, setting a new standard for the movie industry! However, things began to change with the rise of streaming platforms. Disney, wanting a piece of this pie, started creating Disney+ series set within the MCU. Post-Endgame, people started to feel disconnected from the new characters and the expanded universe. Following the series, keeping up with everything became even harder, and interest in Marvel waned.
Now, the task of saving the floundering Multiverse Saga — further complicated by the departure of Kang's actor — has fallen squarely on the shoulders of Ryan Reynolds and Deadpool. Don’t take it from me; that’s straight from the mouth of Kick-Ass and X-Men: First Class director Matthew Vaughn.
However, Deadpool & Wolverine isn't just tasked with saving the MCU, and that’s what makes this movie tricky to discuss. Will the MCU recover? Will Marvel succeed with its first R-rated movie? Will the timeline changes teased in Loki come into play? And will the mutants from Fox's universe seamlessly integrate into the MCU? Yes, this movie was tasked with answering all these questions.
Rest assured, we’re still in spoiler-free territory, so let’s continue. If we’re talking about multiverses, with two characters leading the charge, and the runtime being only two hours, it’s hard to answer all these questions. If your expectations are along those lines, I recommend tempering them. But Deadpool & Wolverine is far from a standalone film that avoids tough topics. This is a genuine multiverse movie — dare I say, even better at it than Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness!
Multiverse of Madness squandered the potential of the multiverse on shallow fan-service cameos, delivering a weak screenplay. The art of properly utilizing fan service, however, was mastered by Spider-Man: No Way Home. Seeing the previous Spider-Men, icons of popular culture, was enough to mask some of the film’s flaws. Yes, money talks! But No Way Home was especially valuable because it brought fans who had drifted away from Marvel back to the theaters, exposing millions to the concept of the multiverse and Doctor Strange’s power within it.
Deadpool & Wolverine achieves something similar. It introduces millions of viewers, who may not have watched the Loki series, to the Time Variance Authority. However, it doesn’t go further. As we suspected from the trailers, the film makes numerous references to Loki Season 1 but essentially ignores Season 2. Beloved and important characters from the series, like Mobius, are absent from the movie.
This reminds me of the old days when Marvel Studios and Marvel TV were at odds, with Agents of SHIELD and Coulson’s storyline being dismissed by the films. A recent example would be The Marvels, where having seen WandaVision and Ms. Marvel made it easier to follow the movie but wasn’t essential. Similarly, Deadpool & Wolverine flirts with big concepts like Kang and the timeline, but ultimately shies away.
deadpool & wolverine
Cameos Galore!
So, if the movie doesn’t fully succeed in answering these big questions, how does it aim to save the MCU? By leaning on iconic actors, thrilling action sequences, nostalgic references, and exciting cameos that offer hope for the future. After all, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are now under the Marvel Studios umbrella. By the way, I truly believe we’re lucky to have someone like Ryan Reynolds. We owe Deadpool’s success, his team-up with Wolverine, and the creation of this film — a love letter to the Fox universe — to him. Just as in the previous two films, Reynolds carries this one with remarkable skill.
Looking beyond its contributions to the MCU, Deadpool & Wolverine is a good film. As I tried to convey above, the performances of Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman alone make it worth watching. And that’s not just my inner fanboy talking; Jackman genuinely delivers a fantastic performance! He’s joined by Emma Corrin, who is one of the film’s surprises. Facing off against two superheroes with healing factors isn’t easy, but as Cassandra Nova, she pulls it off and is genuinely terrifying. And Emma Corrin isn’t the film’s only surprise. While I recommended lowering your expectations for the movie’s impact on the MCU, I can guarantee you’ll be surprised by the cameos!
Cassandra nova
The movie is packed with funny scenes and lines, continuing the comedic streak that is arguably Deadpool’s greatest strength. This time, the fourth wall isn’t just broken — it’s smashed with the force of Deadpool taking a sledgehammer to Marvel’s prejudices. The combination of action and humor is what sets the Deadpool films apart. I especially enjoyed two sequences: one where Deadpool fights solo and another where he and Wolverine fight back-to-back. To be fair, they weren’t alone in that back-to-back fight — Madonna’s voice was there too! (Not a spoiler; we saw it in the trailer.) Beyond Like A Prayer, which set the tone in the trailer, the rest of the soundtrack choices are also excellent. That said, some of the Deadpool vs. Wolverine scenes and group fight sequences fell short of expectations.
If you’re wondering, “Well, if you laughed, had fun, and got excited, why are you nitpicking about the MCU?” the answer lies in the fact that this is the first Deadpool movie under the Marvel Studios banner. Flaws that wouldn’t bother me in a normal Deadpool movie are more noticeable here. Character motivations, for instance, are often weak. This becomes especially apparent in the second half of the film when you start asking, “Why is this character doing this?” or “What’s their goal?” The kind of motivations the Deadpool movies could normally sell doesn’t land here. The movie, which starts strong in the first half, struggles under the weight of its expanded cast and narrative burdens in the second half.
From this perspective, Spider-Man: No Way Home comes across as the better film. By avoiding TVA and timeline complexities, it presents a cleaner explanation of the multiverse, keeps the character count low, and fully leans into fan service. The areas where No Way Home takes the easy route — overindulging in fan service, for example — feel less problematic when compared to the forced motivations, underwhelming TVA portrayal, and other confusing elements in Deadpool & Wolverine.
As we near the end of this review, let me say this: the sense of awe I felt watching The Avengers, Infinity War, Endgame, and No Way Home is present in this film. It’s a fantastic tribute to the Fox-Marvel universe, and you might even feel emotional during the credits. We get to see Deadpool and Wolverine cursing, cracking jokes, and fighting in a blood-soaked R-rated extravaganza — all under Disney’s banner! Just as The Avengers fulfilled a geek’s wildest dreams, Marvel does it again here, and Deadpool himself knows it.
Returning to the questions we posed at the beginning, we can say Deadpool & Wolverine is a successful first R-rated movie under Marvel Studios. Who else but the fourth-wall-breaking antihero could break age restrictions too? It’s likely to do well at the box office, drawing even those who have drifted away from Marvel back into theaters, much like No Way Home. However, people are coming for the old characters. I don’t think anyone will rush home afterward to watch Agatha: Coven of Chaos.
Still, Deadpool & Wolverine isn’t “the” movie that will reset the MCU. Other multiverse-focused films like Multiverse of Madness and No Way Home couldn’t achieve that either. It seems they’re all just pieces of the puzzle leading to the upcoming Avengers films. The Multiverse Saga is nearing its finale, so let’s hold on a little longer. Avengers 5 is only two years away. Who knows? Maybe the rumors are true, and the Russo brothers will direct it.
Another major question Deadpool & Wolverine needed to answer was about integrating mutants into the MCU. Since the movie is set in a universe where mutants already exist, their presence doesn’t feel out of place. The term “mutant” has been mentioned multiple times in the MCU as well. So, can we now say that the X-Men are officially in the MCU? That answer will have to wait for the spoiler-filled review.
To wrap things up, I believe this movie suffers from the Captain America: Civil War syndrome — caught between being a Captain America film and an Avengers film.