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James Mottram

4.5/5 stars
“Welcome to the MCU … you’re joining at a bit of a low point.” So says Ryan Reynolds’ mouthy, R-rated, fourth-wall-breaking superhero in Deadpool & Wolverine, a riotously entertaining superhero team-up that is the most fun the Marvel Cinematic Universe has had in years.
Never one to hold back, Reynolds’ Deadpool tells it like it is, frequently pointing out how the multiverse extravaganzas that have dominated the MCU of late have been “miss after miss after miss”.
Following Disney’s acquisition of Fox, this third Deadpool outing, set in the Earth-10005 timeline, really goes to town, resurrecting Hugh Jackman’s hirsute hero Wolverine some seven years since he died in Logan.


Deadpool’s alter ego Wade Wilson is a car salesman desperate to be an Avenger. He gets his wish, sort of, when he encounters Matthew Macfadyen’s Mr. Paradox, a member of the Time Variance Authority (primarily seen in Disney + show Loki).
With Earth-10005 set for implosion after the Wolverine’s self-sacrifice, Deadpool sets out to find an alternate Logan to untangle the timelines – and settles on a booze-addled one who is propping up a bar.
Together, they go bouncing around the multiverse, ending up in The Void – a Mad Max-esque Wasteland run by Cassandra (Emma Corrin), the embittered twin sister of the X-Men’s Professor Charles Xavier.
At this point you’ll glimpse Pyro, Toad, Sabretooth and others from Marvel’s fringes – plus a whole host of “gratuitous cameos” too delicious to spoil.

Directed by Shawn Levy, who previously worked with Reynolds on Free Guy and Jackman on Real Steel a decade apart, there is real chemistry here between the leads.
Feeling like they’ve always belonged together, Reynolds’ “merc with a mouth” plays nicely opposite Jackman’s taciturn, claw-handed killer, as they pummel each other and myriad assailants in the most violent manner possible.
The script also doesn’t hold back, with jokes about “pegging”, cocaine and Jackman’s divorce zinging around.
The final act is overreliant on carnage, and it’s not quite as thrilling as what comes before it. There are also attempts to find humour in Dogpool, a canine found in The Void played by Peggy (officially Britain’s ugliest dog) that fall slightly flat.

But with more meta-references (even the Reynolds/Sandra Bullock romcom The Proposal gets a nod) than you can shake an adamantine katana at, this has a galaxy of genuine laugh-out-loud moments.
Brilliantly foul-mouthed throughout, the “nerds”, as Deadpool says, will be getting their “special sock” out for this one.
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Ryan Reynolds (left) as Deadpool/Wade Wilson and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine/Logan in a still from Deadpool & Wolverine. Photo: Jay Maidment/20th Century Studios and Marvel

Hugh Jackman (left) as Wolverine/Logan and Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool/Wade Wilson in a still from Deadpool & Wolverine (category: III), directed by Shawn Levy. Photo: Jay Maidment/20th Century Studios and Marvel

Emma Corrin as Cassandra Nova in a still from Deadpool & Wolverine. Photo: 20th Century Studios and Marvel

Hugh Jackman (left) as Wolverine/Logan and Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool/Wade Wilson in a still from Deadpool & Wolverine. Photo: Jay Maidment/20th Century Studios and Marvel

Twisters movie review: Twister repackaged with better visual effects – and Glen Powell

(From left) Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos and Glen Powell in a still from Twisters (category IIA), directed by Lee Isaac Chung. Photo: Melinda Sue Gordon

Daisy Edgar-Jones in a still from Twisters. Photo: Melinda Sue Gordon

A still from Twisters, directed by Lee Isaac Chung.

Fly Me to the Moon movie review: Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum lead space race romcom

Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum in a still from Fly Me to the Moon.

Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum in a still from Fly Me to the Moon (category: IIA), co-starring Woody Harrelson and directed by Greg Berlanti.

(From left) Channing Tatum as launch director Cole Davis, Woody Harrelson as government operative Moe Berkus and Scarlett Johansson as advertising executive Kelly Jones in a still from Fly Me to the Moon.

Channing Tatum as Cole Davis and Scarlett Johansson as Kelly Jones in a still from Fly Me to the Moon.

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Will Smith in a still from Bad Boys: Ride or Die (category IIB), directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah. Martin Lawrence co-stars. Photo: Sony Pictures

Martin Lawrence as Detective Lieutenant Marcus Burnett in a still from Bad Boys: Ride or Die.

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Film & TV

Reynolds’ foul-mouthed Deadpool and Jackman’s taciturn killer are laugh-out-loud funny in this riotous romp packed with delicious cameos


The Marvel Cinematic Universe hasn’t had this much fun in years. Reynolds and Jackman find instant chemistry in a romp through the multiverse that’s packed with unexpected cameos and full of in-jokes.


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An assessment or critique of a service, product or creative endeavour.  Film reviews, restaurant reviews, reviews of art exhibitions. (Eg. Crazy Rich Asians: an important film, yes, but a good one?)


Review

Review | Deadpool & Wolverine movie review: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman bring the MCU back to life

Reynolds’ foul-mouthed Deadpool and Jackman’s taciturn killer are laugh-out-loud funny in this riotous romp packed with delicious cameos