REVIEW: Deadpool & Wolverine wipes its feet on Fox’s grave

by | Aug 5, 2024 | REVIEWS

If you think the return of Wolverine in this movie cheapens his well-earned death in Logan, then welcome to comics – nothing is sacred or permanent, not even death. 

Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin

Director: Shawn Levy

Vuvu Rating: 7/10

The Merc with a Mouth’s third instalment is both a love letter to Fox’s X-men franchise and an obituary to the now Disney-owned 20th Century Studios. 

Centered around Deadpool attempting to save his timeline from being annihilated, the film gives us an honest, if slightly underdeveloped, look at Ryan Reynold’s’ Deadpool’s view of himself. Someone destined for greatness but unable to reach it without the help of someone he views as greater than himself. Most portrayals of Deadpool often forget the core aspects of the character. The insecurity he masks with humour, and bravado he employs to cover the pain. 

Irreverent to an almost masturbatory extent, the film starts right where 2017’s Logan concluded. In classic Deadpool fashion, he speaks directly to the audience while using Wolverine’s decomposed skeleton to decimate oncoming TVA agents to the tune of NSYNC’s BYE BYE BYE. Taking the multiverse shenanigans of post-endgame MCU to the extreme, Deadpool & Wolverine manages to reinvigorate Marvel’s fourth-phase slump, while packing the entire movie with enough fan service to make even the most casual fan salivate. 

In 2019, Disney acquired Twentieth Century Fox for a whopping $71 billion and immediately renamed it to 20th Century Studios. This marked the final nail in the coffin for what was once a legendary studio, home to more iconic franchises than Deadpool has Disney-friendly euphemisms for cocaine. Allegedly, the prospect of adding the X-Men to its billion-dollar Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) was the main motivation for the purchase. However, it left an important question unanswered: how will Fox’s favourite mutants wrap-up their convoluted (and occasionally disastrous) story? 

The film gives Marvel a clean slate to work from, but more than that, helps us wash the salty taste of 2019’s Dark Phoenix from our mouths. With the titular characters travelling to “The Void”, a location for discarded characters accurately described as “a little Mad Max-y”, hilarious dialogue carries us from one gratuitous action scene to the next. Unfortunately, the plot and character work to take a back seat to Director Shawn Levy’s insistence on ever present winks to the audience. 

The movie does more than laugh at the decline of Fox (who infamously butchered Deadpool’s first appearance), instead choosing to arrange a worldwide chorus of audience members to roar directly in their face. With a $400 million global box office, it is safe to say it managed to arrange a two-hour contemporary dance on Fox’s grave. But nonetheless, Reynolds’ love of the character can be felt in every drop of blood on-screen.

Deadpool & Wolverine wraps itself up with a montage of bloopers and clips from some of the most iconic scenes in the 22-year history of Fox’s X-men. The movie goes to great lengths to give every character stuck under the Fox umbrella a conclusion worthy of their influence. The modern reincarnations of the characters are given as much respect and presence as their original versions. 

With some actors having portrayed these characters for the better part of two decades, Deadpool put a heart-shaped bullet hole into some of my all-time favourite characters. With the intricate web woven ever larger with each MCU release, this movie is a direct lesson. A character may actively desecrate everything you hold dear as a fan. And all you can do is enjoy the ride. 

FEATURED IMAGE: Deadpool & Wolverine promotional poster. Photo: Disney

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Movie Review: Avengers Infinity War

by | May 3, 2018 | Arts & Culture

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Holland, Zoe Saldana, Chadwick Boseman, Danai Gurira, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Pom Klementieff
Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Vuvu rating: 7

Fans flock to see Avengers Infinity War.                                                   Photo: Sanet Oberholzer

Avengers Infinity War has left audiences aghast since it was released in theatres on April 27. The storyline breaks the familiar formula of many superhero movies and leaves the viewer with endless questions of what this means for the future of the Marvel franchise.

The movie is the culmination of all the previous movies within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). It is the third of the Avengers movies and flows particularly from Captain America Civil War, Thor Ragnarok, and to a lesser extent, Black Panther. Essentially the movie can’t be viewed and understood without knowledge of the previous Marvel films.

As what was to be expected, Infinity War brings together most of the Marvel superhero cast – 27 characters to be specific – to fight the super villain Thanos (Josh Brolin) who has set out on a mission to collect all six infinity stones which have been referred to in previous movies. Together, these stones bestow on the bearer infinite power. For Thanos this means the ability to wipe out half of the universe’s population with the snap of his fingers in order to bring about what he views to be a “balanced world”. To him, this is essential to sustain life in an environment which is becoming increasingly limited in resources.

Captain America Civil War movie ended with the Avengers going their separate ways, while Infinity War sees many of them come together again to fight a common enemy – Thanos. Although Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Captain America (Chris Evans) aren’t seen fighting alongside each other in the movie, the superheroes make a return on a quest to save the universe.

It’s the first time various casts of the MCU are brought together. Most notably, the Guardians of the Galaxy are introduced to fight alongside the Avengers as is the cast of Black Panther and Dr Strange. Following from the tone of the latest Thor and The Guardians of the Galaxy movies, the characters from these movies bring the comic relief. Spider-Man is introduced into a bigger role and officially becomes an Avenger. We also witness a few deaths of notable characters.

The movie did well in blending 27 different characters from nine different movies: The Avengers, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, The Hulk, Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man and Black Panther. It does a good job of portraying human elements of loss, loyalty and connection. It is the first time I’ve seen the villain showing elements of humanity and emotion which is something I feel contributes to the viewer’s understanding of his motives. The film makes a powerful statement about earth’s finite resources and while Thanos’s means don’t justify his end, with some thought you can understand his justification.

It’s already largely assumed that an Avengers 4 movie will be coming out in a year’s time. As with all these movies, there is a post-credit scene which gives a clue as to what is to come as Captain Marvel, the MCU’s biggest and strongest superhero, is introduced.

One possibility of the outcome of this movie is that the MCU will take on a new face into the future but I think the more likely scenario is for Captain Marvel’s upcoming movie, and possibly the next Ant-Man movie, to lead into Avengers 4. I cannot think that Marvel is likely to leave its franchise where Infinity War left off. Without introducing a spoiler, there is too much money to be made from various franchises that have recently been introduced; these movies won’t be dissolved now. To devastated viewers, this will sadly mean another year before we see where Marvel plans to take the MCU.

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