Deadpool & Wolverine

Directed by Shawn Levy, Deadpool & Wolverine follows Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool as he seeks the help of a Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) variant to prevent the destruction of his planet. Filmmaker Levy, armed with a script written alongside Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Zeb Wells, and Reynolds, delivers a predictably bloated blockbuster that fares best in its relatively entertaining (albeit wildly convoluted) first half, as the movie, which kicks off with an agreeable, gleefully violent opening-credits sequence, initially boasts a briskly-paced and thoroughly irreverent feel that proves difficult to resist – with the watchable atmosphere perpetuated by Reynolds and Jackman’s engaging work and a smattering of amusing cameos and digressions. (There are, in terms of the former, a handful of very fun appearances by previous Marvel performers.) It’s clear, then, that Deadpool & Wolverine‘s forward momentum is stymied by a plodding midsection set within an excessively familiar post-apocalyptic landscape ruled by a dull villain (Emma Corrin’s Cassandra Nova), and there’s little doubt, as well, that the proliferation of pointless fights between the title characters serves only to pad out the already-overlong runtime – with the picture’s less-than-compelling vibe compounded by a larger-than-life and special-effects-heavy climax that’s hardly as thrilling or exciting as Levy has presumably intended. The end result is a disappointingly, distressingly underwhelming sequel that pales in comparison to its two comparatively stellar predecessors, which is a shame, ultimately, given the potential afforded by the admittedly irresistible nature of the central team-up.

** out of ****