Movie Review: Deadpool – Marvels Messiah?

Even though I didn’t get my Wolverine popcorn bucket, even though the small Deadpool mascot cost three times as much as the whole popcorn-cola combo for two(!), and even though I’m not really a big Deadpool fan—I walked into the dark room full of chairs with low expectations (sorry Marvel, you did this to yourself) and… hope.

Surprise, Surprise! Marvel Still Got It?

And boy, oh boy! After over 120 minutes, plus the obligatory extra few for the post-credits scene, we rose from our comfy cinema chairs with that little extra spark in our eyes.

Damn, I don’t want to go all romantic on you guys, but do you remember that feeling when you were a kid, and a new issue of your favorite comic book arrived, or a new episode of your Saturday morning show came on with the theme song? Ah, easier times… That little spark of excitement. That little spark of… joy! (Don’t confuse it with Inside Out 2—totally different set of circumstances, but they also have Joy!) That little spark was what we got from Deadpool and Wolverine.

The Marvelous Adventures of Deadpool the Great

In this part of the Marvelous Adventures of Deadpool the Great (no, it’s not the real title, but… sounds good, right?), our favorite mercenary is saving the world, discovering the power of friendship, traveling through the multiverse, fighting bad guys (a lot of bad guys), making the Time Variance Authority look bad for recruiting him, fighting some more, and getting stabbed in the head, chest, arms, balls, back, and wherever else you can imagine by Wolverine.

Raw Facts and Rawer Humor

A bit of raw facts: Ryan Reynolds plays Deadpool again. Some are wondering if maybe Deadpool is really him and this whole “Reynolds” thing is just a persona he created not to scare people. Hugh Jackman plays Wolverine one last time yet again (another proof that “never” doesn’t always mean “never” when it comes to money and making Marvel/Disney movies—look at the recent case of Dr. Doom’s casting. Who thought it would be a good idea for a dead Iron Man to be Dr. Doom? I know it happened in the comics, but he is dead! Again—not a problem for Marvel/Disney…).

There’s much more to the movie, but I promised myself to keep this spoiler-free, so you’ll need to see for yourself who shows up, when, and why. And believe me, there are some surprises! Old friends, characters you didn’t even know you missed, and a beautiful goodbye to a character that never really existed apart from the script—those who know, know.

Blood, Gore and Giggles Galore!

Some of the old cast from previous Deadpool movies make appearances here and there. As usual for Deadpool movies, there’s a lot of everything for everybody: blood, gore, teeth, good jokes, bad jokes, awful jokes, and very, very well-chosen music for the occasion. The whole opening sequence is one massive “oh no, he didn’t!” where teeth are flying, and blood is spilling all over—simply awesome.

As usual, most of the jokes are on the lower end of the humor scale, but they aren’t so bad that you need to pretend you’re not laughing because you’re a “functioning adult.” During the Deadpool & Wolverine screening, a certain type of reality suspension kicks in—you laugh at things you normally wouldn’t, and you enjoy humor that, outside of this experience, wouldn’t make you laugh. And it was a very refreshing experience indeed.

Wolverine in Yellow: The Nerd Dream Come True

And let me just tell you this—finally, we got Wolverine in his yellow costume! All the fibers of my nerdiness started screaming a bit during that one scene (again, no spoilers—if you know, you know)! There could be a completely separate article just about how dramatically and dreadfully unfair it is that Hugh Jackman, at 55 years old, looks THAT good.

Better than probably 98% of all other men on planet Earth. And how amazingly awesome it is to see him playing Wolverine once more. Reynolds was making jokes about Disney at least three times, talking about the big corporation exploiting characters and actors until they’re 90 or dead, so who knows? Maybe we will see Wolverine once more? But the question is: should we? Or maybe it’s better that this character walked the road he did and ended beautifully during the Logan movie while saving X-23?

The Verdict: Worth the Watch?

To not finish on a question, let me answer the questions you probably have if you haven’t yet seen the new Deadpool movie.

Is Deadpool & Wolverine a good movie?

Well, not really, no. It’s not bad! Don’t get me wrong. But the story is flat, even though it pretends to be deep and about important things. The main bad guy is (as usual in Marvel) just there most of the time. You can really forget about him because there’s so much more blood, jokes, cameos, references, and Easter eggs flying around that the story becomes just an excuse for another fight scene with even more absurd gore and/or teeth flying around.

Is it good entertainment?

Hell yeah, it is!

Is it really Deadpool—the messiah savior of Marvel?

Don’t think so, no. But maybe if movies stopped for a moment from being these massive conglomerates built over 15+ years to create another Multiverse or whatever Avengers-level threat and just started being fun ways of spending time—just entertainment—maybe then people would start going to the cinema for them again (yes, I’m looking at those “amazing results” you generated with your last 4 flops, Marvel!).

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