DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Featured Story, Movies

“Deadpool & Wolverine” Critical Reaction: Killer Chemistry Equals Bloody Good Fun

July 24, 2024
By The Credits

The critical embargo has lifted on director Shawn Levy’s Deadpool & Wolverine, so the professionals are now weighing in on the long-awaited cinematic reunion of Ryan Reynolds’ Wade Wilson and Hugh Jackman’s legendary X-Man. Critics are mostly in agreement that fifteen years after their brief, unbeloved first pairing in 2009’s X-Men: Origins: Wolverine, Reynolds’ rebooted Deadpool, now a swaggering manchild with just as many quips as he has lethal moves, and Jackman’s beloved berserker mutant are a match made in movie heaven.

Empire critic Olly Richards had this to say about Jackman’s return as Wolverine:  “While the film is ridiculous, Jackman plays Wolverine just as he always has: brimming with hurt and self-disgust. In a film with a million dick jokes, he manages to deliver a character arc that’s genuinely moving, achieving the greedy honor of a second worthy bow-out.”

The second worthy bow-out that Richards refers to is that Jackman’s Wolverine died a hero’s death in James Mangold’s 2017 banger Logan. Yet, thanks to the flexibility of the MCU’s multiverse and some creative problem-solving by the Deadpool & Wolverine writing team of Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Zeb Wells, Wolverine is back in a big way. That’s made possible by the inclusion of Matthew MacFayden’s Mr. Paradox, a member of the Time Variance Authority first introduced in Marvel’s Disney+ series Loki. The film’s big bad is Cassandra Nova, twin sister of the X-Men’s patriarch, Professor X, played with verve by The Crown‘s Emma Corin.

Richards is hardly alone in praising Jackman’s return.

“If you thought Hugh Jackman was incredible in Logan, then brace yourselves for another all-time performance from the greatest comic book movie actor of our generation in Deadpool & Wolverine,” writes ComicBook.com’s Rohan Patel. Vicky Jessop of the London Evening Standard adds, “Yes, please: we’ll take as many Wolverine crossovers as Marvel is willing to dish out, as long as they taste as good as this one.”

Critics are also saying that the film is a big, bawdy boost for Marvel, too.

“[Deadpool & Wolverine] is more amusing and electric—more alive—than any MCU installment in years, and it impressively integrates Deadpool’s distinctive R-rated personality into the decidedly PG-13 franchise,” writes The Daily Beast‘s Nick Schrager.

CNN’s Brian Lowry writes, “Beneath the outlandishness, half-dozen belly laughs, and nerd-centric beats resides sweet nostalgia for the last quarter-century of superhero movies while demonstrating that Marvel Studios possesses the power to laugh at itself.”

Let’s take a look at what some of the critics are saying. Deadpool and Wolverine will be released in theaters on July 26.

For more on Deadpool & Wolverine, check out these stories:

First Reactions to “Deadpool & Wolverine” Say the Chemistry is Explosive in MCU Game Changer

New “Deadpool & Wolverine” Trailer & Images Reveal Fresh Look at Lady Deadpool & More

If You Ignore 1973-1983, Wolverine’s Timeline Isn’t That Confusing

Featured image: (L-R): Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool/Wade Wilson and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine/Logan in 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios’ DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE. Photo by Jay Maidment. © 2024 20th Century Studios / © and ™ 2024 MARVEL.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The Credits

The Credits is an online magazine that tells the story behind the story to celebrate our large and diverse creative community. Focusing on profiles of below-the-line filmmakers, The Credits celebrates the often uncelebrated individuals who are indispensable to the films and TV shows we love.