'Deadpool & Wolverine' Review: Marvel Gets Its Own 'Rise of Skywalker'

While a better movie than 'The Flash' and 'Star Wars IX," 'Deadpool 3' is also filled with moments that mean more to the "fans" than they do to the in-movie characters.

Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

• 127 minutes

• rated R (strong bloody violence, language throughout, gore, sexual references)

• Directed by Shawn Levy

• Starring Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin and Matthew Macfadyen

• Written by Shawn Levy, Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick and Zeb Wells

• Produced by Kevin Feige, Ryan Reynolds, Shawn Levy and Lauren Shuler Donner

• Cinematography by George Richmond

• Editing by Dean Zimmerman and Shane Reid

• Music by Rob Simonsen

• Produced by Marvel Studios, Maximum Effort and 21 Laps Entertainment

• Opening the week of July 26 courtesy of 20th Century Studios and Walt Disney

While I did my best to avoid explicit second and third-act spoilers beyond what was revealed in the marketing (arguably with fewer details than what was offered in the last two trailers), I don’t know what the hardcore fanbase considers a spoiler anymore, so… reader discretion advised. This review makes no mention of the Elsa cameos, the Dylan Baker-as-Lizard appearances or that long scene where Deadpool travels through the timelines murdering all the Baby Groots… oh wait, sorry.

Deadpool & Wolverine is a (much) better movie than Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (or The Flash). It doesn’t feel like it was co-written (or rewritten) by the “Go Woke Go Broke Committee” (it’s the most gleefully bisexual entry of the trilogy) and offers set pieces and skirmishes that work as action movie sequences. However, it exists partially to pander to the oldest fans (and often gatekeeping fandoms) at the expense of theoretically newer and younger audiences. Like Star Wars IX, as opposed to Avengers: Endgame, many of the film’s plot points, character beats and “surprises” (yes, there are cameos) mean far more to the film’s audience than they do to the film’s characters. It’s a 127-minute love letter to the fan who was thrilled — macro-consequences be damned — when Disney bought Fox because they might see Wolverine punch Captain America.