Deadpool & Wolverine | Two mutants wandering in the void

Are you suffering from the Marvel fatigue ? If so, the union of the irreverent Deadpool and the dark Wolverine, played with palpable enthusiasm by Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, may be the miracle cure.

After 33 feature films and almost as many series, there’s a certain weariness to be had every time a Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) project is announced. Could we move on to another call, please?

Having shaken the audience’s cage under the direction of Tim Miller in 2016 and David Leitch in 2018, the vulgar and hilarious Deadpool, once again played by the priceless Ryan Reynolds, could revive interest in the various MCU franchises thanks to this third installment directed by Montrealer Shawn Levy. What’s more, the tireless Canadian appears alongside the imposing Australian Hugh Jackman, who dons – finally! – the famous yellow and blue costume from superhero comics.

Shawn Levy, who directed the Vancouver actor in Freeman And The Adam Projectalso wrote the screenplay with Reynolds, who had participated in the writing of Deadpool 2Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, loyal to the post since the first part, as well as Zeb Wells, one of the writers of the crazy animated series Robot Chicken. This shows how much childish humor and easy mockery are in the spotlight here.

Having been given a shocking death in the twilight Logan (2017), by James Mangold, which Deadpool desecrates at the beginning of the film by waddling on Bye Bye Byefrom N’SYNC, Wolverine returns to Earth-10005, but he is not quite the same as the one who evolved on Earth-616. In fact, this Logan comes from a multiverse where he drinks to forget that he has lost everything.

However, it is this dark version of Wolverine that Deadpool will have to make do with to prevent Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfayden) of the Anachronistic Variation Tribunal (TVA) from erasing the timeline in which he evolves as Wade Wilson, a car salesman, surrounded by his friends from previous episodes. The two superheroes, who hate each other heartily, will engage in a memorable duel on You’re the One I Wanttaken from the film Greasewill find a common enemy after being thrown into the Void.

Populated by MCU heroes and villains who have been forgotten for years, even decades, the territory of the frightening Alioth, seen in the series Lokithe Void is a desert that evokes, with many winks, the post-apocalyptic landscape of the series Mad Max. It is there that, taking refuge with her henchmen under Antman’s skull, the vile Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin, far from the Diana of the series The Crown), twin sister of Professor Charles Xavier, plans to wreak havoc across the multiverse.

Winning recipe

True to the franchise, Deadpool & Wolverine is full of tasteless jokes, crude language, on-camera asides, surprise appearances and muscular fights orchestrated to the quarter turn to thunderous pop songs, including Like a Prayerby Madonna, at the heart of an epic battle. Why change a winning recipe?

Obviously, what brings the greatest joy in this third part is the reunion, 15 years later X-Men Origins: Wolverineby Gavin Hood, the provocative mercenary and the man with the adamantium claws.

Moreover, Shawn Levy enjoys multiplying the scenes where the two actors, who get along like thieves in a fair, find themselves in compromising positions.

Through accidental touching, Deadpool & Wolverine is not without recalling Ambiguously Gay Duoa cartoon series presented at Saturday Night Live. “I’m gonna tell Blake,” Ryan Reynolds says, referring to his wife, actress Blake Lively – who is later found in an army of Deadpools…

In this thrilling race against time, Deadpool, who loves to break the fourth wall, makes fun of Fox, the former owner of Marvel Studios, whose logo can be found buried in the desert, of Disney, the new owner, and of the actors of other franchises. Certainly, the formula works at full speed in this 34^e MCU feature film, but how much longer can we stretch the sauce?

Compared to the other superheroes in the MCU, Deadpool and Wolverine would make some people look like pale princesses or watered-down Disney heroes. If they reconcile us with the MCU universe, have they just raised the bar a little too high for what’s to come?

Indoors

Fantasy drama

Deadpool & Wolverine

Shawn Levy

Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin

2:07 a.m.

7/10