On Jul. 26 Marvel’s “Deadpool and Wolverine” was released in theaters. The new release, both nostalgic and humorous, starred actors Hugh Jackman (Wolverine) and Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool) to both reprise their iconic roles.
“Deadpool and Wolverine” is about the anti-hero Deadpool becoming captured by the TVA (a timeline controlling organization from Marvel’s “Loki”) and discovering that his universe is dying because its anchor being, Wolverine, has died and now Deadpool must find a new anchor being. After a brief montage he discovers who the TVA calls the worst Wolverine and both are sent to the Void, the rest of the film is focused on Deadpool and Wolverine struggling to get back to Deadpool’s timeline to save it.
This film excelled in three distinctive ways. The first is Wolverine. Jackman left me feeling depressed after seeing one of my favorite characters from the “X-Men” series die, because it seemed established in other movies that he couldn’t die. I understood why the filmmakers decided to retire the character finally but it didn’t make any residual sadness melt away. Seeing Wolverine again, especially with one of my favorite anti-heroes made this movie mean even more to me. I also think that letting the events of “Logan” remain the same was the right choice. Undoing the damage of the film would make the movie seem pointless and would enrage most of the fans of the feature. Having Wolverine in an R-rated movie where he wasn’t just yelling all the time and had some slicing and dicing with other iconic characters was just so much fun.
Another aspect that I adored were the cameos. Most films I’ve seen that break the fourth wall consist of cameos of famous celebrities with jokes pertaining to the audience that were funny, but only if you understand the allusion. I believe both “Deadpool” and “Deadpool 2” tried to resurrect these types of jokes while excluding the cameos and leaving the references in. “Deadpool and Wolverine” went in an entirely different direction and incorporated this trope by having cameos and jokes pertaining to other superhero’s from both franchises.
Finally, one of the most beloved parts of this film was its soundtrack, featuring artists NSYNC, Madonna and others. Two of the songs stood out to me in particular, NSYNC’s ‘Bye Bye Bye’ at the movie’s opening and Madonna’s classic ‘Like a Prayer’ that allowed one of the biggest reveals of Wolverine’s full and complete costume. Both created a media storm, rebirthing the infamous 2000’s songs.
Over the past few years, Marvel has faced heavy criticism. People have accused them of focusing more on making money over making stories. I am not trying to deny that this was the goal. Every producer knew that making this movie was going to create a lot of cash but that didn’t mean they just took some big names to throw into a movie. The acting was top tier, the cameos placed effectively, and the soundtrack had an almost James Gunn feel to it, all of the elements worked to tie the Twentieth Century Fox superhero teams and individuals alike into the most extensive universe ever composed in cinema. I hope Marvel is taking this win in stride and as a reminder of what their fans value in their movies.
