‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Reviews: “Hugh Jackman is having the time of his life. Because of that, so is Ryan Reynolds. Because of that, so are we.”

         On July 26, 2024, Walt Disney Pictures and Marvel Pictures released ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’, which is currently holding fresh at 81% on Rotten Tomatoes. In the film, Deadpool is recruited by the Time Variance Society to protect the multiverse and partners with Wolverine that alters the MCU forever. The ensemble cast includes Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Karan Soni, Aaron Stanford, Matthew Macfadyen, Stefan Kapicic, and a bevy of guest stars that would fall under spoiler territory. But what did the critics say? 

Johnny Oleksinski of New York Post writes, “Director Shawn Levy’s laugh-a-second movie is easily the best Marvel has delivered since 2021’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” and provides similarly nostalgic pleasures in its whiplash-inducing number of retro cameos — none of which I’ll spoil, for fear of my own life.” Concluding, “Everything is. The third film is somehow even funnier than the sidesplitting previous two entries, and goes buck wild with risque humor and self-referential jabs. “Either you help us,” Deadpool yells, “or my friend here is gonna sing the entire second act of ‘The Music Man’ with zero warmup!” Broadway’s Jackman, of course, knows his way around a jazz square.”

Chris Evangelista of Slashfilm was less impressed, stating, “Unfortunately, as the excellent movie "Logan" showed us, Logan is dead. That film was meant to be Hugh Jackman's swan song as the character after playing him for 17 years. But Disney found a way to bring Jackman back (I'm guessing a hefty sum of money was involved — an idea that "Deadpool & Wolverine" isn't afraid to joke about), and thanks to the multiverse, Wade is able to team-up with a suitably grumpy and still-living version of Wolverine. The stage is set for a classic buddy comedy — mismatched characters who hate each other at first but then grow to like each other in the end. You know, like "Midnight Run"! Or "Planes, Trains and Automobiles"! Unfortunately, the lazy script doesn't really do much character building. It simply thrusts these two together, sends them on a needlessly convoluted mission, and hopes for the best.” Adding, “Along the way, they encounter plenty of other characters, which means lots and lots of exhausting cameos that will no doubt all be spoiled before the movie even hits theaters. They also have to deal with the villain Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin). Corrin seems to be having a lot of fun sinking her teeth into her antagonist role, but the character is rather bland, prone to little more than long monologues and arched eyebrows, and her motivations make absolutely no sense. But no one is coming to this movie for the villain, right? They just want to see Deadpool and Wolverine mix it up! And they'll get plenty of that — the movie is wall-to-wall scenes of the characters bickering non-stop. The jokes come fast and furious ... but none of them are very funny. Reynolds can play this character in his sleep at his point (and he seems to play the character at all times, even in non-"Deadpool" movies), and by now, you're either on board with his motormouth vulgarities and fourth wall-breaking antics or you're not. Thankfully, Hugh Jackman is on hand to save the day.”

Krysta Fauria of Associated Press notes, “A fun, generally well-made summer movie. The sole MCU release of 2024, “Deadpool & Wolverine” proves it’s not necessarily the source material that’s causing so-called superhero fatigue.” Continuing, “A defining feature of “Deadpool” has been its R rating and hyper violent action scenes. Whether thanks to more money, Levy’s direction or some combination of the two, these scenes are much more visually appealing.”

Peter Bradshaw of Guardian says, “Basically, Deadpool is quite right – he is Marvel Jesus, he is the guy elevated from the ranks here to be the heroic saviour, the wacky character who is going to make sense of the whole MCU business by repositioning it as gag material and keep the whole thing ticking over, perhaps until the MCU in its original fundamentally serious mode comes back into box office fashion. It’s amusing and exhausting.”

Sherin Nicole of RIOTUS praises the film, saying, “As the song says, Hugh Jackman is having the time of his life. Because of that, so is Ryan Reynolds. Because of that, so are we.” Adding, “What you’ll get is everything that made you love Deadpool to begin with. But wait, there’s more. For the MCU faithful, the fan service is so juicy you won’t know whether to giggle or pretend you’re not crying (you are, you’re crying). Better than that, this team-up gives you ALL the Wolverine moments that FOX deprived you of. I mean, ALL OF THEM. Finally, if you love the X-Men, you may need to carry a tissue.”

Image Courtesy of ©Disney