Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

There is a version of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that plays things relatively straight: the stakes are real, the deaths mean something, and the films, for better or worse, ask you to invest emotionally. Deadpool & Wolverine is not that film. Released in the summer of 2024 and directed by Shawn Levy, it arrives as the first R-rated entry in the MCU proper, bringing Wade Wilson, the mouthy mercenary in red spandex, formally into the fold after Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox. The premise is straightforward enough on paper: a retired, directionless Wade is dragged back into action when the existence of his world is threatened, and he ends up reluctant partners with an equally reluctant Wolverine. What that setup really functions as, though, is a formal handshake between two previously separate Marvel universes, with all the self-congratulation that implies.

Levy, best known for crowd-pleasing, effects-heavy pictures, is a comfortable fit for material that prioritises energy and pace over restraint. Produced through Marvel Studios alongside Reynolds's own Maximum Effort banner and 21 Laps Entertainment, the film has all the polish of a major studio production, though polish and ambition are not always the same thing. Ryan Reynolds has been playing Deadpool since 2016, and his ownership of the character is total at this point. If you want a sense of how he performs in a very different register, it is worth checking out Life, a science fiction horror piece from 2017 where the charm is replaced almost entirely by dread, or the rather more family-friendly Pokémon Detective Pikachu, in which Reynolds provides the voice of the title character. Hugh Jackman, meanwhile, needs no introduction as Logan. He first played the role in 2000 and had, by most accounts, said his farewells in 2017's Logan. His return here is a deliberate, knowing decision, and the film is fully aware of that weight, whether or not it chooses to honour it seriously.

The supporting cast adds some welcome variety to proceedings. Emma Corrin plays the film's primary antagonist, bringing a cool, controlled menace to a role that the script does not always give enough room to breathe. Matthew Macfadyen appears in a supporting capacity, offering a somewhat different energy to his better-known dramatic work. Dafne Keen, who appeared as X-23 in Logan, also features, and her presence is one of several threads connecting this film to that earlier, tonally quite different chapter in Wolverine's story. For comparison's sake on what 2024 blockbuster filmmaking can look like at its most committed, it is worth having a look at the coverage of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, another large-scale action film from the same year that takes a somewhat different approach to the question of spectacle with purpose. At 128 minutes, Deadpool & Wolverine runs long enough to make its intentions very clear indeed.

Let’s get one thing straight: this film isn’t cinema. It’s a two-hour-long victory lap wrapped in spandex, CGI, and enough meta jokes to make even Deadpool blush. Deadpool & Wolverine is pure, unapologetic fan service, a chaotic, self-aware mash-up of nostalgia, multiverse madness, and fourth-wall breaks so frequent they border on performance art. And I kind of enjoyed it. Ryan Reynolds leans harder than ever into the shtick (the quips, the product placement, the relentless winks at the camera) but he’s clearly having the time of his life, and that energy is contagious. Hugh Jackman, returning as Logan, matches him step for step, bringing gruff charm and genuine physical presence to a role he’s earned the right to revisit on his own terms. Their odd-couple dynamic (one a foul-mouthed chaos agent, the other a reluctant, world-weary warrior) works better than it has any right to, carrying the film through its thinnest moments. The spectacle is undeniable. The multiverse framework lets Marvel throw everything at the screen. Alternate versions of familiar characters, deep-cut references, animated cameos, and more mid-credits scenes than you can keep track of. It’s a nostalgia buffet, and if you’ve spent the last 15 years watching these films, you’ll get a kick out of spotting the Easter eggs. But for all its fun, it feels… pointless. The stakes are laughably low, another collapsing multiverse, another evil organisation with a generic plan. The emotional core is buried under jokes, and the deeper questions about legacy, identity, and closure only get lip service. With so many versions of Earth, timelines, and characters floating around, nothing feels real or lasting. It’s all just noise before the next reboot. Still, as a popcorn movie (dumb, flashy, occasionally funny send-up of the whole MCU machine) it works. It doesn’t mean much, but it moves fast and doesn’t pretend to be profound. Nostalgia sells. And sometimes, that’s enough.

For me, that last point is probably where I keep landing when I think back on the whole thing. I had a reasonable time watching it, and there were moments that genuinely made me laugh out loud, but the morning after, it had already started to evaporate. There is something almost admirable about a film that knows exactly what it is and refuses to apologise for it, but there is also a limit to how far self-awareness gets you when the substance underneath is thin. I've sat with bigger, messier, louder films that still managed to leave a mark. This one is more like a very enjoyable distraction from the queue. Worth your Friday night, probably not worth your Sunday morning thoughts.

Rating: ★★★½  | Year: 2024  | Watched: 2025-08-10

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Trailer

▶ Watch the official trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) on YouTube

Where to watch

Watch in the UK
Stream: Disney Plus
Rent: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi

Watch in the US
Stream: Disney Plus
Rent: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Physical: Amazon US

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