'Deadpool & Wolverine' review: Ryan Reynolds turns Marvel's unexpected superhero
What's the story
If you've watched the Deadpool movies, you know one thing--the Merc with a Mouth has waited a long time for a team-up with the legend, Wolverine.
He finally gets it in the third film.
But does director Shawn Levy and team match the expectations of Marvel fans, who've been left wanting more ever since the high of Avengers: Endgame?
They actually get pretty close.
Storyline
Here's what happens in 'Deadpool & Wolverine'
Six years after the incidents of the second movie, Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) has retired the red suit and is going through a mid-life crisis, waiting for a chance to leave behind mediocrity.
Incidentally, the Time Variance Authority (TVA) appears right then to give him the chance to become a hero but some conditions apply to the offer.
And our anti-hero has to choose.
Execution
It's regenerative healing abilities superheroes' showdown!
It's not a spoiler that Deadpool chooses to save his loved ones (hero complex?), and to go against the TVA, he needs some help, help of the good old Wolverine (Hugh Jackman).
But why would Logan aka the grumpiest, laid-back MCU superhero team-up with the chattiest of the lot?
And, thus much of the movie is Deadpool versus Wolverine, just like the people wanted!
Problems
Titular heroes lead the show throughout, other characters feel ignored
The issue with heavy-weight star casts is giving equal weightage to all the names while binding them in a compelling narrative deserving of their aura.
Luckily, Deadpool 3 gets it quite right. Both our leads get emotional motives, tons of cool action shots, and plenty of on-brand laughter.
But with a little over two-hour length, there's little meat left for the others.
Characters
Cassandra Nova's treatment was disappointing
Emma Corrin's Cassandra Nova tops this list of the others.
As the main antagonist, the evil twin of Charles Xavier gets dealt with a bad hand.
After looking at Wanda Maximoff's fate in Multiverse of Madness or Jane Foster's in Love and Thunder, I just couldn't help but feel MCU doesn't know how to deal with too-powerful female characters.
And, that's a pity.
Plus points
Come for the laughs, stay for the laughs and more
Apart from a little downtime in the second half, Deadpool & Wolverine is a joy ride.
Reynolds, who's also a co-writer, is at his comedic best with the zingers, the dramatics, and the slapstick bits.
Jackman embodies the gruff, why-am-I-here vibe ably. Most importantly, he takes a backseat and lets Reynolds do the talking.
Don't worry though, there's a lot for the Wolverine fans.
Verdict
Definitely give it a watch, in 3D, preferably!
Swen Gillberg will win you over with the visual effects and Rob Simonsen's music is worth all the bucks.
Packed with "gratuitous cameos" and an "indiscriminate use of alternate timelines," Deadpool 3 is everything Kevin Feige needed post-Endgame.
I mean getting slow-motion, well-choreographed fights as Madonna's Like a Player blasts off?!
This is what superhero movies are made of!
Verdict: 4/5 stars.