Deadpool and Wolverine (2024)
Yes, I actually saw Deadpool & Wolverine.
Much to my own surprise, I did watch Deadpool & Wolverine and I found it entertaining enough to give it a B or B- (what is that in stars? Maybe 4?). There was plenty to be excited about in seeing tons of characters and references. I would never call myself a Deadpool fan. It’s one character, like the Joker, that I’m not that into despite the talents of the creators, costume designers, and actors. Sometimes, a character just isn’t for me.
I don’t think these things are spoilers because they’re mentioned right there on the IMDB page. Read forth or not.
I’m glad there were a few seconds of shirtless Hugh Jackman (or a body double because his face wasn’t shown). I loved seeing Gambit have some actual purpose and action plus fantastic dialect. The ones that really got my attention were Elektra and Blade. I’m one of two people who liked the Elektra movie (maybe Garner’s kids like it too). Like many of the characters, she’s given an excellent one-liner.
Now that I think back, one of Blade’s (Wesley Snipes) spoken lines is about there being only one of him; there was the Blade TV series which did not cast him (big mistake) starring Sticky Fingaz, but it quickly became more about his co-star turning it into The Krista Show. (*tangent just like Castle becoming All About Kate Beckett). Per IMDB, there’s a new Blade movie starring Mahershala Ali, a phenomenal actor, set for 2025. I love Wesley Snipes so he’s a tough act to follow. Plus, I completely forgot that Ryan Reynolds also starred alongside Snipes in Blade Trinity!
Kudos to the entire crew who had to manage all those digital FX turning real actors into CGI ragdolls. There was a whole lot going on in a movie that could have been condensed considerably. Funnily, it ties into Loki the tv series and makes mention of it, but I don’t think he had any of the cameos. There were a lot of things on the screen in big action moments so I could have missed it. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say the TVA is involved in the main plot of this movie.
As for the costumes:
The concepts of them were great, but what goes into a comic page is not always something to be executed which we should know by now. A lot of them looked too rubbery like the main Wolverine suit and Gambit’s suit. While standing up and not moving, they looked fine, just like the comic book suits, but that kind of thick rubber (like the Batman suits) sacrifices visual appeal in order to make nerds happy with accuracy. The Batman franchises learned that lesson and made adjustments/”inventions” about new materials.
Music:
The soundtrack was banging. Everyone is celebrating it which is freaking delightful! The ‘NSYNC scene, which opens the movie, has some eww not for me aspects mixed in with “Deadpool” doing the actual Bye, Bye, Bye dance which he (or a “Dancepool“?) do well. Reynolds, to his credit of having more talent than people think, was not the dancer but was one of the writers of which there were several. The music also featured old school Madonna with some remixes and Aretha Franklin.
I found this on Spotify (blech) labeled as the official playlist, but who knows: https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX5WkSQEMTURo?
Miscellaneous:
The credits are LONG and yes there is something afterwards. What irks me is that with such long credits having thousands of names, there are still people uncredited. Actual on-screen people who have action and are referenced in conversation. If you’re not going to mention every PA or assistant to the assitant hair stylist because the union doesn’t require it, I understand. But someone on the screen who is doing things and talked about seems odd to leave out. Besides that though, there are a ton of 3D artists also uncredited but who appear on the IMDB page.
Those are my initial thoughts without getting into the nitty gritty of the plot. The story had some heart and ingenuity spliced with long interludes of violence.
Rating: 4 stars or rather 4 bullets
Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AmberUnmasked.com and Vodka O'Clock Podcast. Author of The Farrah Wethers Mysteries, comic book short stories, prose, and non-fiction. Cosplayer and figure model.