Deadpool & Wolverine

A madcap romp where half of it doesn't make sense, but a couple of one-liners are really good and the return of the old guys is a real treat. Hugh Jackman as we love him and surprisingly in super form again. I wouldn't go for it again, but kudos to Shawn Levy for his wholesomely politically incorrect, at times pretty wacky style and awesome action flick. (08/07/2024)

For anyone familiar with Marvel, it was clear this movie would be a game-changer. Marvel's future seemed to hang in the balance — either they'd rise or their glory days would fade. But pairing Deadpool with Wolverine? That’s a surefire bet. Especially with Hugh Jackman once claiming his Logan days were over after Logan. The writers would have to massively screw up to make this a flop, and they didn't. Quite the opposite. From the very first scene, it's clear this movie was worth making. It's brutally honest, sharply critical of modern times and Marvel's current status in Hollywood, and filled with references that true fans will appreciate. Ryan Reynolds brings his signature crude humor, swearing like a sailor, and you can't help but love it. Hugh Jackman, on the other hand, delivers a raw, torn performance that fits Logan perfectly. Marvel nailed it this time. Kevin Feige has effectively redeemed the franchise after the last couple of years. So, what's next? (08/05/2024)

Your crazy matches my crazy. I love Deadpool, but I love Wolverine even more, and if someone had told me a few years ago that they would meet in a movie, I wouldn't have believed it. Logan was the final chapter in every way, and even though I never literally accepted his canonical end, I didn't need any returns at the same time. Because it couldn't have been better. But it could have been different. The necessary events remain in their timelines and with further breaking the fourth wall, anything, anyone, and anytime can happen. In the first half of scenes, lines, and twists, it's unbridled fun that successfully makes my thirteen-year-old self laugh to tears, the second half throws references and characters from movies I still love, but to my huge surprise, also from directions that have long been forgotten. And just on the sidelines, it moves me to tears. It is a monument to one universe and one giant brand, it is an obligation for all who know Wolverine's comic history and didn't believe they would ever see some of his faces on screen, and it is an amazing film with breathtaking action full of ideas and literal low blows. But for me personally, it is also one of Jackman's peak performances, often played with facial muscles almost subconsciously. I wanted an entertaining movie, I got first-class entertainment that is hardly imitable - and you have to pay gold for it. (07/29/2024)

The ultimate Marvel porn, a desensitized hodgepodge of enticements designed to leave comic book fans with as many wet seats in the cinema as possible, packed with enough sensory stimuli to make most viewers simply turn off their brains and ride the wave of riveting entertainment. For once you start to think for a moment about the plot, the motivations of the characters, and the significance of their presence in the story, you find that they are virtually nil. Don't get me wrong, it's probably the coolest installment of Deadpool, and unlike most of the recent Marvel movies I've seen, this was at least really fun, but fun that was shallow, childishly simple, consumerist, and not as funny as the five writers apparently tried and wanted it to be. PS. I appreciate a bit the subversive homage to 20th Century Fox and the novel choice of cameo roles, since they are mandatory now, but I won't be lulled by it. (07/24/2024)

I don't think so this time. The "Deadpool" stuff (the R-rating, the fourth wall breaking, the meta commentary) still worked decently, but unfortunately there is at least as much "Marvel" stuff. The aimless layering of attractions, which for me as someone who doesn't have a vivid memory of all those comic-book films, was almost mind-numbing. I probably never saw half of the cameo roles, and I don't remember a quarter of the characters, and I didn't recognize a quarter of them at first given how they’ve aged. I'm really not happy that we've clearly entered an era where to fully enjoy a new movie, you need to know not only the Marvel movies, but also the Marvel TV series, the X-men universe, the Fantastic Four, and other Disney acquisitions. The bad thing is that I don't see any more ways to get any audience enjoyment out of this, it's pure fanservice. The plot is the classic overwrought Marvel nonsense of recent times where the bad guy wants to destroy worlds because why not. Most of the story takes place in yet another new space we've never seen before, and it's all governed by rules that are pulled out of think air and always told a minute before they're acted upon. 5/10 and I regret not going to see Twisters instead. (07/29/2024)