A concoction of visceral action, unabashed humor and visual swagger, Deadpool and Wolverine mostly succeeds in delivering on the anticipation of witnessing the title duo’s transition into the MCU.  It is clear that Shawn Levy has evaluated his audience and hones in on a heavy infusion of fan-service to carry the film through it two-hour runtime. However, the inevitable fallacy of this concept is that it remains diametrically opposed to narrative depth, particularly around its villain and its uncompelling overarching goal.

The film opens with Reynolds’s signature satirical violence which achieves its objective of portraying a ballad of broken bones and panache performance.  This scene lays the framework for a narrative that is primarily supported by the juxtaposition that is macabre comedy. Reynolds is once again persistently unyielding in his masterful comedic timing and delivery. It’s as though he is inoculated from missing the punchline. Jackman, on the other hand, lends to the dichotomy of the relationship with his usual grizzled, cantankerous persona which we have all embraced over two decades.   As the duo’s tale evolves, the idea  of grisly satire is heavily utilized to support a plot that can otherwise be viewed as formulaic MCU storytelling.  

When viewed narrowly through this lens, it quickly diminishes the obvious thrill and novelty of seeing Deadpool’s and Wolverine’s symphonic slicing.  However, to do so is to adopt a primarily unrealistic expectation of effectively balancing narrative depth with a conceptualization built around the entertainment value of the duo’s contentious relationship.  Is it possible to achieve both?  Of course.  However, it becomes clear that Levy is not willing to take the gamble of sharpening its plot at the possible expense of the opportunity to deliver memorable humor and iconic white knuckle set pieces.  As a result, we get a film whose shortcomings rapidly recede as we are wooed by its more delectable characteristics. 

Deadpool and Wolverine simply works in all the ways we hoped it would.  Yes, it is inhibited by what appears to be a consistent trait with recent MCU outings, which includes an unremarkable villain and a narrative objective that serves little more than a basic platform for inevitable conflict.  However, by the end of the film, it becomes difficult to contest Levy’s masterful ability to read the room.  He knew exactly what we came here for and delivers it as unashamedly as Deadpool’s fourth wall jabs at Fox and Disney.  Deadpool and Wolverine is such a stalwart of comedy and stylistic sequences that it is nigh impossible to not feel satiated by the time the credits roll.

Deadpool and Wolverine is now showing in Cinemas.