Director: Shawn Levy  
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Aaron Stanford, Matthew Macfadyen 
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 128 mins

Deadpool and Wolverine is the long-awaited sequel to Deadpool 2 and in this installment, The Merc with a Mouth teams up with Wolverine. With 20th Century Fox now absorbed into Disney, the film now exists within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Six years after the events of Deadpool 2, Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) is now at rock-bottom, having broken up with Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). He’s soon captured by the Time Variance Authority, where an agent called Mr Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) explains that because Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) died in Logan, its universe has lost its anchor-being. Mr Paradox wants to use a ‘Time Ripper’ device to accelerate the process of Wade’s timeline being wiped but Wade refuses to accept his fate and travels across universes to find a suitable Logan replacement. Shawn Levy’s in the director’s chair, who has experience with both Reynolds and Jackman and fortunately, the film is still 15 / R-rated rather than being diluted for Disney. But Jackman was adamant when Logan released that that would be his swansong, and it proved a suitably fitting and moving conclusion to the revered character. It’s safe to say, many were trepidations when Jackman agreed to return for this sequel. 

While there’s the occasional laugh here and there, Deadpool and Wolverine is a disappointing sequel. There are simply no stakes with the overused multiverse construct and the film has next-to-no plot. The film simply felt like a series of smug in-jokes, akin to Marvel patting itself on its back. There are so many cameos and while some are great, it all feels meaningless in this overly corporate-feeling film. Deadpool and Wolverine is also let down by a poor villain with no personality or character development and typical end-of-the-world antics. You’d think this would be old hat for comic-book films now. I felt quickly worn out and the film more than overstays its welcome at 128 minutes. There’s no denying the script is sharp, even if the tone is far from personal but there are a lot of hands in the pie here – there’s five credited writers. Carrying on the confusion is Rob Simonsen’s score, which is just all over the place – he typically turns in thoughtful work. 

To give the film its due, both Reynolds and Jackman give committed performances. Deadpool is old-hat for Reynolds now but he’s fine and does his shtick. And while Jackman doesn’t ruin his Logan legacy by returning, I’d have preferred it if he hadn’t returned because his character isn’t given the time to shine here. 

Deadpool and Wolverine is easily the worst of the trilogy and feels like a cynical love letter to Fox. I really hope this smug cynicism isn’t a tone that will be replicated in future comic-book films but I suspect the rapturous audience reception and strong box office means studios will double-down on this approach. This is a creatively bankrupt, plotless and tiresome film. Shawn Levy is a fine director and some of his films have a real sense of fun but Deadpool and Wolverine feels like a product constructed by a corporate committee.