By Jamil Weeks

Once the credits rolled on Avengers: Endgame, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has never been the same. With the introduction of Disney+, Marvel Studios took their talents to digital streams promising movie-sized budgets for television series. From TV to the silver screens, the MCU continued to deliver comic book excellence with Shang Chi: Legend of the Ten Rings, Spider Man: No Way Home, and Wandavision. But for every hit, there were two to three misses. Adding insult to injury, Warner Brothers’ DCEU was failing miserably. With a string of subpar films from both camps, the phrase “comic book fatigue” was born. Actors and filmmakers, like Martin Scorsese, began casting stones at the MCU empire. The writing was on the wall. The reign of comic book films was coming to a close. Both camps went back to the drawing board. In the case of the MCU, they decided to scale back on the content and focus more on the quality of the material. In 2024, Marvel is only releasing one film. The film in question just may breathe new life into the super hero genre.

Deadpool and Wolverine is years in the making. The stars, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, spent years laying the foundation for this inevitable collaboration with their playful back-and-forth banter on social media. With both characters being set in the 20th Century Fox X-Men Universe, the two actors initially squared off in the 2009 Wolverine: X-Men Origins. Needless to say their first on-screen encounter left a bitter taste in the mouths of comic book fans. Ever since, the two expressed a desire for the two characters to reunite in a way that would do justice to the cinematic versions of the comic book legends. A Deadpool and Wolverine film was supposed to happen. Both Reynolds and Jackman were born to play their characters. With their off-the-screen chemistry, along with the success of their films in the X-Men Universe, it was only a matter of time before the paths of these popular characters collided again. Now that the film has finally been released, is it the cinematic defibrillator to the “dying” MCU?

With the third installment in the Deadpool trilogy being the first film of its kind in Disney’s MCU, many worried that we would get a censored, more kid-friendly version of Deadpool. I am happy to report that is not the case with Deadpool and Wolverine. The language is as crude as ever. The blood and gore is in abundance. Everything we enjoyed about the previous two Deadpool films is in this movie. The breaking of the fourth wall. The self-awareness. The roasting of the comic book movie genre. The action. The comedy. All these elements are amped up more in this film. Director, Shawn Levy, has found a way to keep this movie self-contained despite the addition of multi-verse elements. There are a number of satisfying surprise cameos in this film but they are done in a way that make sense to the story. Do your best to avoid spoilers before seeing this film!

The dynamic between Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman is as magical as you would have expected. The plot in the film is a reluctant but simple team-up between the two characters to save Deadpool’s universe. Deadpool recruits Wolverine, who is seeking redemption after being down on his luck from a traumatic incident that has stained his name. Along the way, the pair go from being at odds to forming a bromance. Reynolds and Jackman play off each other much like Jack Cates and Reggie Hammond from the 48 Hours films. The journey they go on is loaded with laugh out loud moments and creatively bloody action sequences. Even more surprising than some of the cameos in the film are the unexpected emotionally heartfelt scenes that add some gravity to this parodic tale. These brief dramatic scenes make their characters even more endearing to audiences. The chemistry between Reynolds and Jackman is evident with how much fun the duo seem to have in every scene together. The brutal fight scenes between the two are cleverly inventive, fun, and bloody. I would not be surprised if Reynolds and Jackman were to run it back if this film manages to claw its way up the box office charts.

Deadpool and Wolverine is a love letter to the 20th Century X-Men Universe almost 25 years after the initial X-Men film was released in theaters. The film is also a celebration of Deadpool entering into the MCU. The movie successfully balances being a high stakes multiverse film with not taking itself seriously. It has been a long time since I have had as much fun watching an MCU film. Deadpool and Wolverine will get comparisons to Avengers: Endgame and Spider Man: No Way Home with the amount of surprise appearances and fan service. Especially with how well the film seems to make all these different elements work. Is this film good enough to revive the MCU? With the Mutant Saga on the horizon, Deadpool and Wolverine seem to be the springboard for an exciting future from the MCU. The timing of the film is right on time as the genre needed a jolt of excitement injected back into these films with Marvel’s future plans. Deadpool and Wolverine proves that comic book fans are not tired of comic book films. They just want the stories to be told better in a way that does not come across as lazy and cheap cash grabs. Deadpool and Wolverine is pure adventurous entertainment that needs to be experienced on the big screen with a big crowd. So grab your tickets, popcorn, and drink, and scream in unison with the crowd “let’s f****** go” when the opening credits roll.