TAGGED AS: Marvel, MCU, movies, reviews
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is back! Not only is Deadpool & Wolverine the first MCU film release in more than eight months (and it will be the only one this year), but it’s arguably the most satisfying installment since Avengers: Endgame. The third Deadpool movie brings Ryan Reynolds’ Merc with a Mouth to the MCU for the first time, and he’s joined by Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine from the X-Men franchise as they buddy up and have it out, bloody R-rated style, through a meta-filled multiverse adventure. The first reviews can’t say a whole lot due to plot and cameo spoilers, but they offer fans a promise of expectations exceeded.
Here’s what critics are saying about Deadpool & Wolverine:
(Photo by Jay Maidment/©20th Century Studios and Marvel)
Deadpool & Wolverine is the ultimate Marvel movie.
— Rohan Patel, ComicBookMovie.com
The best of the MCU outings since Avengers: Endgame.
— Brian Truitt, USA Today
Easily the best Marvel has delivered since 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home.
— Johnny Oleksinski, New York Post
(Photo by Jay Maidment/©20th Century Studios and Marvel)
The third film is somehow even funnier than the sidesplitting previous two entries.
— Johnny Oleksinski, New York Post
Just as in Deadpool and Deadpool 2, buried beneath Deadpool & Wolverine’s never-ending sea of psychosexual scatological humor, splatter-punk absurdities, fourth-wall breaks within fourth-wall breaks, and superpowered Jackass-like gags is a massive, indomitable beating heart.
— Justin Clark, Slant Magazine
Those who find Deadpool’s exhaustive battering ram of dick jokes, irreverent pop culture commentary, and full-on Ryan Reynolds mugging migraine-inducing may find this the most insufferable Deadpool entry yet.
— Matt Oakes, Silver Screen Riot
(Photo by ©20th Century Studios and Marvel)
People who love comic books and the movies they have inspired are going to have a frickin’ field day!
— David Poland, The Hot Button
It’s one of the most wildly enjoyable comic book movies ever.
— Rohan Patel, ComicBookMovie.com
(Photo by Jay Maidment/©20th Century Studios and Marvel)
The cameos are spectacular in a way that will resonate with anyone who’s been going to the multiplexes over the last 30 years (one of them left me laughing in tears), and the best of them are lovingly extended into genuine supporting roles.
— David Ehrlich, IndieWire
There are many familiar faces — a fact likely to either get audiences positively keyed up or overwhelmed by sheer cameo mania.
— Matt Oakes, Silver Screen Riot
(Photo by Jay Maidment/©20th Century Studios and Marvel)
The movie can boast an all-too-rare quality for aspiring blockbusters: It’s just plain fun. Chalk it up as one of those rare experiences where audiences should derive as much enjoyment from watching the film as its leads appeared to have had making it.
— David Poland, The Hot Button
(Photo by Jay Maidment/©20th Century Studios and Marvel)
The fights and effects are hugely improved.
— Johnny Oleksinski, New York Post
There is this giant, complex fight with a crazy number of characters and Levy doesn’t let himself get bogged down in trying to deliver every angle of the fight. He knows which characters we have a relationship with and he services that relationship while never making us feel like we are missing other stuff.
— David Poland, The Hot Button
It has some of the most comic book-y fight choreography we’ve ever seen from these characters or from any CBM. Wolverine fights like he’s been ripped straight out of the pages of a Marvel Comic, exhibiting his trademark berserker rage… Enjoy the carnage.
— Rohan Patel, ComicBookMovie.com
(Photo by Jay Maidment/©20th Century Studios and Marvel)
Shawn Levy, as director of this franchise for the first time, does pretty flawless work here. He is a pro who knows what he is doing and manages to keep a lot of very complex action with a lot of characters making visual and story sense.
— David Poland, The Hot Button
Director Shawn Levy is used to juggling characters and cultural references from his work on Night at the Museum, Free Guy, and Stranger Things, but this is next level.
— Brian Truitt, USA Today
Levy has a few clear skill sets as a director: He’s great at bringing out Reynolds’s natural breezy humor. He’s also a skilled mimic, which ends up serving him well here.
— Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
(Photo by Jay Maidment/©20th Century Studios and Marvel)
The opening is kind of ingenious. The second act is kind of ingenious. The third act is kind of ingenious. There are just some really clever ideas.
— David Poland, The Hot Button
The film is a masterclass in meta-humor.
— Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
(Photo by Jay Maidment/©20th Century Studios and Marvel)
Jackman especially runs a gamut of emotions as a Logan lashing out because of the trauma he’s faced; whatever they’re paying him in cash and themed popcorn buckets is not enough.
— Brian Truitt, USA Today
If you thought Hugh Jackman was incredible in Logan, then brace yourselves for another all-time performance from the greatest comic book movie actor of our generation in Deadpool & Wolverine.
— Rohan Patel, ComicBookMovie.com
While he isn’t the Logan we’ve previously encountered in the X-Men films, his performance channels the same feral bad-boy energy that has made Wolverine a mainstay in the superhero genre for 24 years… However, Deadpool & Wolverine fails to justify bringing the character back from the dead for anything beyond purely commercial ambitions.
— Matt Oakes, Silver Screen Riot
(Photo by Jay Maidment/©20th Century Studios and Marvel)
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the absolutely electrifying performance by Emma Corrin… Corrin delivers a tour-de-force performance that is both menacing and captivating. Their portrayal is a stark departure from the roles we’ve seen them in previously, showcasing a remarkable range and depth of talent.
— Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
Emma Corrin in particular brings a lively yet demented air to their villain role.
— Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
Emma Corrin is exceptional as Cassandra Nova.
— Rohan Patel, ComicBookMovie.com
78%
Deadpool & Wolverine
(2024)
opens in theaters on July 26, 2024.
Thumbnail image by ©Universal Pictures
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