A listless Wade Wilson toils away in civilian life with his days as the morally flexible mercenary, Deadpool, behind him. But when his homeworld faces an existential threat, Wade must reluctantly s...
WHAT I LIKED: We've been warned - the multiverse is coming to Marvel. But whilst the 'Loki,' series went all-out with its multiple timelines and universe-altering bombs, the concept still hasn't really made its way into the films yet (especially if we ignore the dreadful sidequest that was 'Multiverse of Madness').
That may be frustrating for 'Loki,' viewers, but perhaps the reason the studio has shied away from it so far is that multiverses are actually a very difficult storytelling tool to use. For one, many audiences find it tricky to wrap their heads around different "versions," of characters on different "timelines," but there's also the problem that all the usual sources of tension in storytelling go out the window because things can so easily be undone or redone.
Now though, we have 'Deadpool and Wolverine,' which, strangely enough, Marvel seem to have chosen as the film to properly introduce audiences to the multiverse. Of course, that's a choice made partly out of necessity, as a multiverse is pretty much the only device you can use if you want to bring in characters from another universe (in this case, 20th Century Fox's previously separate universe of X-Men from where the titular characters originate). But the fourth-wall breaking humour of the Deadpool movies also means this script is able to deal with the lunacy of the multiverse by both making fun of it, and literally turning to the camera and explaining it.
The story specifically revolves around Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) trying to save his world from the Time Variants Authority (TVA) who want to "prune," his entire timeline after Wolverine died, as they're worried everyone's free will somehow lead to a big multiversal collision. To stop this, Deadpool finds a new Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) from another universe, but once he does, the pair end up banished by the TVA to a realm at the end of time from which they spend the second act trying to escape.
As ever with the Deadpool movies, the story isn't as subversive as the humour would have you believe. In fact, it's a fairly standard superhero fair, as both Deadpool and this new version of Wolverine have chucked in the towel at the beginning of the film, and their arcs are about becoming heroes once again. But that is at least moderately engaging because you care about this version of Deadpool if you've seen the last couple of films, and because Hugh Jackman does such a great job as this extra-depressed alternate version of his character that's failed his own universe.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: From an emotional engagement perspective, the film doesn't really show the world Deadpool is trying to save, so the stakes of his mission never really feel that tangible. Plus much of the humour undermines the emotional sincerity of the character arcs, and any tension that might have otherwise been present in the story.
That would be fine of course had the film worked mostly as a comedy, but for me that's where these Deadpool films generally fall flat. There may have been a couple of times when I sniggered, but generally, jokes about the state of the MCU, or the stars' acting contracts, or absurd cameos and visual effects gags, just don't really land for me.
VERDICT: 'Deadpool and Wolverine,' has some heart, but it mostly serves as a vehicle to introduce the multiverse and make lots of jokes that aren't that funny.
