Riot’s Reviews: Deadpool & Wolverine
The ‘Merc With a Mouth’ is finally back in theaters, clawing (get it) The Wolverine out of retirement and bringing with him a slew of highly anticipated cameos as well as a reported 100+ f-bombs. In the midst of a string of superhero movie misses that has Marvel studios scrambling so badly to work out their problems that they’re bringing back the Russo brothers to save them, Deadpool & Wolverine is by far the most long awaited release that’s existed in a while. If Ryan Reynolds can be accused of anything, he’s a bit of a marketing genius. His highly publicized “rivalry” with Hugh Jackman over the years has been as hilarious as it has been interesting. How better to build anticipation for a team-up movie than to manufacture (in the most hilarious ways) a perceived hatred/dislike for each other? And ever since the pairs’ nonchalant-style teaser/announcement, people have been chomping at the bit to see this movie. Combine it with more incredible marketing and an unending rumor mill, Deadpool & Wolverine was sure to be a box office smash. It has already broken an opening day record, but was all the waiting and hoping paid off in the end?
It is impossible to say “no” to that question. The film is not without its faults to be sure, and I will get to those later. But holy cow did it have an insane amount of things going for it. Off the bat, it’s a bundle of nearly non-stop laughs. Reynolds is at his comedic finest and with Jackman’s brooding, rage-filled retorts the comedy never really stops. Their chemistry is as palpable as all of their fictitious rivalry videos and the dialogue is cleverly written to suit each man’s strengths, fully committed to their already established characters. When it comes to the cameos and Easter Eggs, there is nearly too many to count/catch. The rumor mill was free advertising and it paid off in all of the best ways. Keeping this review spoiler free prevents me from confirming my favorite surprise characters of the film, but it’s been a while since I audibly gasped in a theater from a big reveal (Cap lifting Mjolnir comes to mind). I’m a sucker for a good montage and there were a couple great ones, set to even better music, throughout (the soundtrack was absolutely fantastic). And even though I thought the jokes/laughter was the primary best feature of the movie, D&W was chock full of some of the best fight choreography I have seen in a while. The fantastic battle sequences weren’t limited to the satisfactorily long fights between Reynolds and Jackman (my favorite occurs fully within the confines of a Honda Odyssey) and the audience is treated to some new featured powers that MCU fans have been aching to see. Finally, and probably the most surprising considering the track record of Hollywood over the last couple years, I thought the special effects/CGI was some of the best I’ve seen in a while. I might be playing on the edge of spoilers with this one, so I’ll just say I loved the effects of a certain person’s hands moving in and out of certain people’s faces (if you know you know).
So what are the issues? Well to begin, the plot has holes like Swiss cheese. That being said, the audience is spending far too much time laughing to care and as I’m sure I’ve mentioned in previous reviews, the very nature of multi-verse stories ensures these plot holes will continue coming hard and fast. I’m bothered by the idea that this is obvious to most people I know and the online community has let the creators know the same. So why keep it up? (The recent announcement involving RDJ proves they have no intention of moving away from the obvious pitfall) Character motivation is also pretty thin, especially for the two leads. What has been established by the first two Deadpool movies sort of gets upended and the backstory of this version of Logan suffers as well. It’s another one of those moments where pulling from original comic book content could really serve the progression of the story, but the creators chose to relegate those moments all to cameos and Easter Eggs (which I honestly don’t hate, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of the story). The baddies of the film were pretty un-compelling, regardless of their comedic timing. But again, it wasn’t bad enough to overshadow the hilarious comedy and brilliant battle sequences. Finally, while the overall costume design was top-notch, there were a couple misses that I just wish didn’t happen.
Like I’ve already said a number of times, I was too busy laughing to be really bothered by the issues the movie had. The action was brutal and gory, keeping true to the Deadpool legacy. I, like every MCU fan out there, was ecstatic to see Jackman back, complete with the beautifully designed yellow and blue suit. Deadpool & Wolverine was everything I was hoping it to be and really made it obvious how 4th wall breaking comedy was meant to be done (*cough* not you She-Hulk cough). It might be the first time I’ve really enjoyed and appreciated some meta humor, which is also a testament to Reynolds’ unparalleled delivery. Does the movie "save" the MCU? That remains to be seen but it certainly didn't hurt the cause. Could the movie have been a little better with some extra care to the plotlines and character development? Sure. But it will do little to hurt the legacy built by a guy with a dream and a drive. Thanks Ryan.
Riot’s Reviews: 9.1/10
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