Deadpool and Wolverine: Breaking the Fourth Wall, and the Rules

Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) was just released in July, and it is already the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time—but is the hype deserved? This film is Deadpool’s (Ryan Reynolds) long-anticipated first venture into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), as well as Hugh Jackman’s first appearance as Wolverine since 2017. The film certainly has its flaws—it has a mediocre story and forgettable villains—but it hits on every other front, with unforgettable action, character dynamics, and cameos.

The film’s conflict is directly tied to the death of Jackman’s Wolverine in Logan (2017). He is an “anchor being,” an individual upon whom the universe’s livelihood hinges. Without him, his universe will slowly die. However, an officer named Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) of the confusing Time Variance Authority (TVA), a multiversal organization introduced in Loki (2021), wants to destroy the doomed universe instantaneously. He offers Deadpool a chance to join the MCU and let his universe die, which he obviously refuses. TVA agents try to capture Deadpool, but he retaliates and brutally murders them. He then attempts to restore his universe by finding a version of Wolverine from another universe. As a result, Paradox “prunes” Deadpool and Wolverine, sending them to the Void—the multiverse’s garbage dump. There, they team up with other characters from pre-MCU Marvel franchises to fight the overlord of the Void—Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin)—and escape. When they return to their universe, they fight the Deadpool Corps (an army of evil Deadpool variants working for Nova). The film then reveals that Nova wants to destroy everything in the Multiverse except the Void, with the final conflict being Deadpool and Wolverine trying to stop her. 

With former CEO of Disney, Bob Chapek, having rushed the production of several recent Marvel films, there have been significant technical problems within the studio; VFX artists are egregiously overworked, and some projects have undergone extensive reshoots and rewrites. However, the action is still very consistent. The opening scene featured Deadpool killing several TVA agents with the dead Wolverine’s bones while the upbeat song “Bye Bye Bye” by NSYNC played in the background. The blood contrasts harshly against the bright snow, and the choreography of this scene is stunning. 

In recent years, the MCU has faced criticism for its humor-filled lightheartedness. That’s why this film’s impact cannot be understated—it is the first R-rated MCU film, and its success will likely pave the way for darker and more mature MCU projects in the future. Some worried Marvel’s acquisition of the X-Men franchise’s characters would result in Deadpool’s character being watered down, but as seen in Deadpool & Wolverine, that is absolutely not the case. Unlike the incessant family-friendliness of the MCU’s past attempts at comedics, the film’s jokes are as crass as ever, and the action is just as gruesome, if not more, than in the first two Deadpool films. Deadpool broke the fourth wall several times to comment on the current state of Marvel’s films, such as the studio’s mediocre output in recent years, mentioning Kevin Feige (the president of Marvel Studios)—making for hilarious, self-aware comedy.

This film’s Wolverine is a distinctly different version of the character last seen in Logan. He’s from another universe and wears his classic yellow and blue suit from the comics. After seeing Wolverine in exclusively casual clothing and black leather suits in the X-Men franchise, it was a delight to finally see Jackman use this suit in live-action. This culminated in the film’s final action sequence, which saw Jackman don his iconic cowl. 

Reynolds plays his role perfectly, as usual. Deadpool is extremely immature, but he always fights for those he cares about—and the film highlights this. His childish demeanor allows for a fun dynamic between him and Jackman’s stoic Wolverine, creating enjoyable banter that was a treat to see. 

Unfortunately, the villains of this film struggle to be interesting or memorable, with over-the-top and cringy writing. Cassandra Nova has confusing motivations, and her character is overshadowed by her showy, telepathy-based superpowers. Paradox is even more puzzling. He wants to expedite the destruction of Deadpool’s timeline for seemingly no reason, serving as nothing more than a plot device. Additionally, Paradox’s characterization is so cartoonish and ridiculous that it’s impossible to take the character and the film’s overall plot seriously. 

To compensate for its lack of meaningful villains, Deadpool & Wolverine turns to the multiverse; as has become customary for the genre, there are a myriad of cameos. Unlike the meaningless cameos of Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness (2022) and the distasteful cameos of The Flash (2023), the film’s cameos were meaningful and substantive. With this film marking the end of the Fox era of Marvel, several characters from those films return, including Blade (Wesley Snipes), Elektra (Jennifer Garner), Laura Kinney/X23 (Dafne Keen), Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Chris Evans), and Gambit (Channing Tatum). These characters are stranded in the Void and have to work with Deadpool and Wolverine to defeat Nova. Technically, these cameos serve as nothing more than nostalgia bait. However, their fun interactions and lines referencing their respective franchises were entertaining enough to make viewers forget that their presence in the story made no sense. 

Deadpool & Wolverine, while not perfect, succeeds at its goal: celebrating the Fox-Marvel era and bringing Deadpool into the MCU. Its messy story and uninteresting villains are a noticeable problem, but seeing Deadpool and Wolverine interacting in their comic book-accurate suits overshadowed it. The film knows what it is and doesn’t try to be anything else, making for an enjoyable and entertaining film and a great finale to the Deadpool trilogy.