Deadpool & Wolverine

Edwin Arnaudin: I thought I was a fan of the Deadpool series and its distinct brand of foul-mouthed humor, witty fourth-wall-breaking, and gleefully excessive violence. But Deadpool & Wolverine has me questioning if I ever actually enjoyed these movies.

From the plot to the jokes to the action sequences, everything about this timeline-hopping third installment feels lazy and uninspired. I blame co-writer/director Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum), one of the more ill-fitting choices possible for this material, but also co-writer/star Ryan Reynolds. He's basically been playing Wade Wilson/Deadpool in all of his films since the 2016 series-starter, has a ton of inside jokes to work with, plus the return of Hugh Jackman's Logan/Wolverine. And yet I was constantly annoyed and only occasionally entertained with the whole thing.

Are you ready for the end of Deadpool movies, too?

Isa Whitaker: As someone who wasn't instantly hooked after first seeing Deadpool in 2016 when it was released, I thoroughly enjoyed Deadpool & Wolverine and instantly wanted to see it again after watching it Thursday afternoon. There were so many easter eggs and references to the comics — I found myself in awe experiencing those moments come to life on the big screen. I'd have to say it was my favorite film of the trilogy, and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what's next.

Edwin: Esoteric details are well and good, but what about the story itself, which finds Deadpool attempting to save his version of Earth and the people he loves with help from arguably the most popular X-Man (or at least one edition of him)? Did you care about their mission and the people they encountered along the way? Or were you more entertained by all the inside-baseball references?

Isa: I think the mission makes sense within the world of Deadpool, and the journey was made better by the characters they encounter on the way. Similar to Spider-Man: No Way Home, the selling point of the movie relies heavily on the possibility of seeing some old, familiar faces. I realize those tactics don't always make for the best cinema, but I feel the way it was done will make for a pleasant surprise upon first viewing (especially in theaters). I think the real test will be how well it holds up after the initial excitement wears down.

Edwin: I'm glad you brought up No Way Home because I thought of it as well in this context. Without spoiling exactly whom our heroes encounter, I agree that the sight of these characters and actors is initially appealing.

But unlike No Way Home — which redeems such poorly depicted figures as Jamie Foxx's Electro, Thomas Haden Church's Sandman, and even Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker — Deadpool & Wolverine is content with merely showing these "under-appreciated" characters (one of whom has had a pretty solid run, albeit not lately) and doesn't give them anything notable or exciting to do (with the exception of one recast character who's barely been given prior screen time). It felt like another instance of the filmmakers checking a box rather than considering how they might color outside of it.

Isa: To me, it felt like a send-off to old characters, and a kind of a nod to one — but Deadpool style. So, where No Way Home felt like a more heartfelt dedication, this felt more like a tongue-in-cheek last hurrah.

Edwin: It wouldn't have taken much to make these cameos special — just show their powers in an entertaining fashion — but Levy has no idea what he's doing behind the camera.

I don't usually have issues with gratuitous gore, but the opening credit sequence of Deadpool massacring TVA employees with Logan's adamantium skeleton strikes a sour note, and few other images make a positive dent. I hate to say it, but I owe Zack Snyder an apology: at least he knows how to make comic book imagery look like he gives a damn.

You mentioned feeling in awe of certain images. I can think of a few with Wolverine but but not much else. Which ones have stuck with you and why?

Isa: I thought the battle scenes with the characters looked cool, and I'm glad they didn't string them along too much and make them integral to the overall story. The gore was a bit much at times, and the profanity was over the top with the R rating greenlight (I would not recommend this one for children). But there's an homage to the cover of X-Men 251 that I almost jumped out of my seat for, and the homage to Hulk 340 was dope as well.

Edwin: I still feel like you're praising pieces of a movie, not the overall work. The filmmakers throw A LOT at viewers, and some of it is bound to stick, but I laughed at maybe every 10th joke and felt wholly unmoved by what unfolded onscreen. Along with borderline boring action sequences and musical cues that consistently fall flat, there's very little here that did much for me on any level, leaving me wondering how a series could have so thoroughly deviated from its previously successful formula.

Isa: I definitely found a more enjoyable experience with Deadpool & Wolverine, and would say I enjoyed the movie from start to finish more than I did with the first two Deadpools. I wish I could have seen it again over weekend, but in the theater Thursday I found myself laughing multiple times, and was intrigued throughout the whole film.

Edwin: And other than giving Wolverine his iconic yellow suit, the filmmakers hardly do anything imaginative with this character. I know I just praised Snyder, but Logan's fight scenes with fellow regenerative Deadpool are as exciting as Superman and Zod throwing each other into buildings for 45 minutes (i.e. not at all), and Jackman isn't asked to do much that shows his strengths as a performer. It all made me wonder if I'd been too harsh on X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Isa: One nitpick I do have is I wanted to see more of this Logan's backstory, and the character as whole on a deeper level. I know we heard a recap, but a flashback scene would have made more of a connection for me.

I do feel like this was the perfect mash up of Deadpool and Wolverine, and finally the payoff Deadpool was waiting for after two movies of pokes and jabs at not ever having a real X-Men in his movies. I hope for as entertaining of a meet up when Spider-Man and Deadpool finally run into each other. The initial Deadpool vs Wolverine tussles were fun, but the final battle where Deadpool and Wolverine battle together was more akin to a legendary hallway scene.

Edwin: I also couldn't help but picture Reynolds, Levy, and the three other screenwriters sitting around a room, straining to connect a bunch of comic book references with their misguided attempts at humor and wit. For All their winking comments about the MCU losing its way and Deadpool being its savior prove false — outside of Marvel adjacent duds Morbius and Madame Web, Deadpool & Wolverine is the worst in the series since Iron Man 3, another movie whose creators thought they were saying a lot but were really just spewing hot air.

I give it a C-minus and pray this is the last we've seen of Deadpool — at least with Levy involved. His participation is akin to an extreme version of Christopher McQuarrie's influence on the Mission: Impossible series, tanking Deadpool on his first try rather than slowly poisoning it from the inside. Both filmmakers enable their stars and exaggerate the actors' worst qualities. But the extent to which Levy magnifies Reynolds' one-trick-pony nature is truly astounding and depressing.

Isa: I, on the other hand, still need to find out, "Why was Thor crying?" I left the theater feeling like this is my new favorite out of the trilogy, and am still looking forward to being able to see it again, and eventually watch all three back to back to back.

I would give Deadpool & Wolverine a B-minus, and place it on a list with other recent Marvel movies I've enjoyed, such as Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3. Though No. 1 on my list would have to be Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

Grade: C. Rated R. Now playing at AMC River Hills 10, Asheville Pizza & Brewing Co., Carolina Cinemark, and Regal Biltmore Grande.

(Photo: Jay Maidment/20th Century Studios/Marvel)