As a brief introduction to Deadpool and Wolverine, let’s recap the previous two films. Wade Wilson aka Deadpool is a Canadian merc doing what mercs do – freelancing as a heavy, an assassin, a general gun for hire. He is diagnosed with terminal cancer and is tricked into undergoing an experimental treatment to cure him. It does but the cure is, in this case, worse than the disease as it requires him to be tortured to activate his X-gene.



Thus, he is gifted with incredible healing abilities along with a scarred visage and possibly his fourth wall-breaking quips. The second film involves time travel and Wade trying to be a good guy to make up for a lifetime of bad acts by, well, murdering his way through some even badder guys.



Deadpool and Wolverine picks up after the events of the second with Wade now continuing to do better, and in a little bit of a twist on the Colossus recruitment drive from the previous films, he interviews for another position but his inability to play nice gets in his way. Thus begins the path to Wade giving up the merc/superhero game for car sales of all things. Wade is at his lowest point and if you remember the first film and even the opening act of the second, that is saying something.

Instead of backsliding though, he puts on a brave face and a hair system and tries to make the best of it. You may be able to take Wade out of the action, but you definitely cannot take the Deadpool out of Wade. Wade’s dirty mouth and inability to conform is played out brilliantly in a scene where he is trying to make a sale. And so we have the setup for Wade’s reawakening and Deadpool finding a purpose.



The film races along from here with Deadpool being recruited by the TVA and being given the bad news about his universe and timeline (Earth 10005 for those counting, if I managed to remember the universe designations correctly). Basically, the whole Fox timeline is being erased. Overseeing all of this is the new, less murdery TVA.

For MCU fans, the TVA brings the Fox universe into close proximity to the mainline MCU. For non-fans there’s a brief, but not very easy to understand explanation of the multiple timelines and the TVA with a nice fourth wall break referencing Loki season 1 episode 5 for anyone wanting to do some extra research after the film. Following a classic comic “oh, you misunderstand” setup, Deadpool quickly goes on a mission to recruit a Wolverine.



The montage of Logan’s is an easter egg hunter's dream but just an appetiser for what's to come. The sequence is going to have comic book fans sitting forward delightedly exclaiming “aha” at each and every sequence - and in one laughing heartily given the comic accuracy on display.

The Wolverine he recruits is a down on his luck alcoholic just looking to be left alone to forget. Seeing Hugh Jackman as Logan again is a delight and you can tell that he really wanted to do this - while I am certain that Disney backed up multiple money trucks to his front door, you can tell that he just loves playing this character. It also helps that Ryan Reynolds loves playing Deadpool and has struck up a close friendship with Jackman as evidenced by all the social media posts of them enjoying time offset together.



The meeting and subsequent interactions don’t go according to plan or smoothly. In fact, as is common in these crossovers, the two characters fight often, sparring verbally, cutting psychologically deep and with blades physically cutting deep (thank goodness for healing factors otherwise this film would’ve had a very short run time). Jackman gives an affecting performance as a Logan carrying a lot of pain from his previous life.

In fact, his yellow suit ties into that trauma as well as taking a slight dig at the original X-Men film’s use of black leather instead of comic-accurate suits. This plays off against Deadpool’s growth as a character and his desire to be of greater consequence to those he loves. But the character development and the overarching story does feel at times to be sacrificed for the easter eggs and cameos.

This is a general issue with Deadpool and Wolverine; the plot and story are underdeveloped compared to the humour and the fan service. While the fan service is never egregious to the point of being groan-worthy as it became in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, it doesn’t serve the plot in quite the way it did Spider-Man: No Way Home. This problem extends to the villain development too.



Cassandra Nova is deliciously evil and over-the-top but her relationship to Professor X and the idea of her being his dark reflection just isn't explored in any depth. Her power set is extraordinary; a character that could have easily been the new Thanos. However, her motivation is honestly never developed. She’s evil, well, just because. There’s a convenient 'plot mover alonger' involving her that is just out of character for what we have seen up to that point.

However, none of that is why we have been excited by Deadpool and Wolverine. It’s all about the easter eggs and the cameos and you will be glad to hear that there are a number that the internet hasn’t spoiled up till the movie actually landed. The cameos range from blink-and-you-will-miss-it to relatively substantial ones. All are fun and I am certain that the frame-by-frame analysers on YouTube are preparing their computers and coffee pots as we speak to bring you the information.



The cameos and easter eggs are handled well but like the villain plot, they do tend to undercut any emotional heft that the main characters bring to their stories and can be distracting to the point where you forget about the story.

With these significant strengths and relatively minor weaknesses. the film doesn’t quite reach the heights to join the great comic adaptations of the past decade, but it does a helluva job of entertaining you and giving audiences what they have been clamouring for – more Deadpool mayhem and humour and Hugh Jackman back once again as Wolverine - probably till he is 90-years old.

This has been a long review telling you that what you already know, but please indulge me as I have to address the way films are presented. Firstly, movie houses, can we let the studios know that the 3D fad has been over for at least a decade? No one besides James Cameron wants or does the work to justify the extra expense of 3D. The glasses are too dark and make the films darker than is necessary.



Also, I get it that theatrical experiences are not pulling in the numbers they once did and costs are constantly rising, but does dimming the bulbs as much as you do really increase their lifespan by enough to add significantly to the bottom line? Listen, this is an accountant asking the question, so I understand the need to cut costs in the face of decreasing sales, but couple dimmer bulbs with the darker 3D glasses and it becomes nearly impossible to recognise faces and follow action.

This is especially egregious when I paid - yes, dear readers, this review is not the result of a free press screening - the additional money for the fancy theatre with larger, comfy seats along with the extortionate cost for popcorn and cold drinks. Even non-3D films are too dark, I watched Bad Boys for Life at the theatre and while better than a 3D film, it was still too dark, especially during the night scenes. This poor experience at premium prices helps disincentivise people from going to the theatre and rather wait for home releases, legit and otherwise. Rant over.

Deadpool and Wolverine is the perfect mid-year popcorn movie, a great introduction to the MCU for Deadpool and Wolverine. Overlook the flaws because you will have a great couple of hours forgetting about the world and all of its problems.