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matt_zimmerDeadpool And Wolverine
My relationship to the Fox X-Men films is complicated. I never exactly hated them, but I never really found a reason to like them either. X-Men: Days Of Future Past was universally beloved and I just thought it was good. I liked First Class and X-Men and X2, but nothing else really did much for me.
Except for the Deadpool films. They are the only Fox Mutant-related films I love unreservedly. Why?
Because as violent they are, they are crowdpleasers. They are the ONLY Fox films invested in making the audience happy and giving them everything they want by the end of the movie. And in a saga overflowing with overwrought forced drama, it was a tonic to that. And yes, The MCU similarly went for a crowd-pleasing vibe early on, and lost its way once it decided to give that up. I think the Deadpool films were more successful there and we get the super happy ending here too. .
So to bring Deadpool into the MCU sounds like an interesting idea. I liked it, but not as much as Deadpool 2. Why? The first two Deadpool films were amazing because they refused to get bogged down in the Fox X-Men melodrama. It was irrelevant. Fuck, look how they used Cable! And you can call that an actual failing if you want, but shit, it's always quite refreshing to me at least.
The main problem I had with Deadpool And Wolverine is instead of the film sidestepping the Multiverse Arc, which even the film admits has lost its way, it's suddenly about it. I'm not saying the previous Deadpool films didn't have stakes. But they were tied to Wade's character pretty much exclusively. Disney does everything Marvel bigger and I'm not positive it's right for Deadpool.
To be honest, I didn't find it as funny as the first two films either. I will say the jokes in the second half were funnier. Maybe I was getting used to the humor. But I was sitting their during the opening sequence of Deadpool violently slashing the Time Agents to "Bye Bye Bye" and I was like, "I think I'm supposed to find this funny." But I couldn't for the life of me figure out what the joke was supposed to be.
I liked the tribute to the Fox films in the end credits. That was nice and feels like actual wrap-up in a way randomly having a few of those characters die in the final battle was not.
Let's go over these revisits of famous Marvel variants.
Johnny Storm. I'm not a huge fan of the Fantastic Four films, but if I were, I'd be pissed. I get the joke is they can fuck around like that because supposedly nobody likes those films. But they made a lot of money. Somebody must have. But no lie, Chris Evan's filthy monologue in the tag almost made it worth it. I think the funniest thing was after all that the screen cuts to black and says "Distributed by Walt Disney Studios".
Elektra. My favorite bit is when Deadpool offers her condolences over Daredevil's death, she's all, "Eh." It's funny because you know Jennifer Garner has similar apathetic feelings about Ben Affleck right now. Fuck, I think movie audiences do too. "Eh."
Blade. Deadpool makes the joke that Blade never liked him. Ain't that the truth. Wesley Snipes didn't exactly hate Ryan Reynolds, but I am well aware Reynolds essentially stole Blade Trinity right out from under him. If I were Snipes, I'd have been furious. It's really cool years later they've made a sort of peace over this. This was more the fault of David Goyer than anyone else. Although again, I would think fans of Blade's Universe would be a bit unhappy with its fate here. And the Blade films definitely had more fans than the Fantastic Four ones.
Gambit. I don't get the raves. When Deadpool asks him if he took dialect lessons from the Minions that was correct. I don't think I could stand listening to Channing Tatum talking in that voice for an entire movie. Plus as Wade mentions, it fucks up the exposition.
Dogpool is absolutely revolting. Deadpool being so enamored with him is funny for that reason.
Poor Nicepool. "The Proposal." "What the fuck was that?"
I like them poking the holes in Blind Al's name. That's not very nice, is it?
Deadpool mentions there have been five Punishers. I can only think of four. The three movies and the TV show. Who am I missing?
I love movie soundtracks but I normally only respond to original musicals. I might get the soundtrack for this though. It's pretty damn great.
How are Deadpool and Wolverine together? I thought it worked out fine, and I liked the idea of the variant Wolverine they used. Hugh Jackman seemed game for the foul language and dirty jokes, which is pretty much a dealbreaker in this franchise.
I love that Wade still love Yukio. I do too. Also props for seeing Negasonic Teenage Warhead again.
I'm glad the Time Bureau didn't give a crap about Wade's time traveling antics at the end of Deadpool 2. If Wade's entire mission here was protecting Vanessa from being put back into the original timeline, that would be a bit tiresome. I mentioned I prefer these movies with lower stakes having to do with Wade himself. But that would be sort of treading well-worn ground at this point.
I liked Laura's scene with Wolverine. It was so nice it almost felt out of place.
Love Deadpool making fun of the fact that Logan could move his neck in the mask. Granted, recent Batmans have been given that ability, but it is fucking RIDICULOUS that was ever a problem in the first place. After designing the Batsuit, once Tim Burton saw Michael Keaton couldn't move his neck, that should have been automatic back-to-the-drawing board right there. Instead we're stuck with it for four movies. The Bat-Nipples in the fourth film aren't technically the worst things about those suits. But they are pretty much insult to injury there.
Cassie Nova was a creepy villain, and maybe not the best fit for the franchise, because I found myself not liking her or sympathizing with her EVER. Even after Logan's mercy I was like, "Your mistake." She's a little too horrible of a villain for a comedy.
Lady Deadpool was Blake Lively? That both makes sense and is a total let-down. Those Taylor Swift rumors were nuts!
I am with Deadpool when he suggests maybe Marvel ought to cut its losses with the Multiverse stuff. And just because that's true and funny doesn't mean Deadpool And Wolverine redeems it. I think people declaring it a return to form for Marvel Studios are being WAY premature. It was a GOOD movie, not great, and certainly not Earth-shattering. I care less that they are playing with the Time Bureau and the Multiverse Arc, and more that Laura's appearance with Logan at the table at the end (as well as Vanessa holding Wade's hand) gives us the super happy crowdpleasing ending I love about these films. When Deadpool warily suggests Marvel is going through a low point, that doesn't mean Deadpool And Wolverine is the thing that will bring them out of that lull. Marvel's current problems are larger than a single movie. I wish more people understood that. ****.
Deadpool's Fun Sack 3
Three promotional films. The second two are funny but the first is a dud. Overall: ***1/2.
Dr. Deadpool
Does this actually think this is a testicular cancer PSA? Because it's counterproductive to making men want to get checked. *.
Product Review
I like the blur especially when it shakes. And the joke about X-Men '97 being Hugh Jackman's age is funny too. Dude's old. ****.
Wade Is Back
Disney is different now. Also that Disney Channel bumper wand thing always bugged me. So did Green Lantern for that matter. ****1/2.
Bloopers / Gag Reel
These are less flubs, and more alternate improvised line readings from Ryan Reynolds, which makes them a hoot. Also I could listen to Leslie Uggams say the word "Motherfucker" all day long. ****1/2.
Deleted Scenes
Three brief scenes. All three deserved to be cut. Overall: **.
Elevator Ride
A wise cut. They REALLY don't need to explain all the Multiverse stuff to us AGAIN. Not after all this time. *.
Do Nothing
Mr. Paradox sucks at his job. ***.
Daddy's In Love
This would raise too many questions. That's not really what the Deadpool endings are for. Deadpool films are good because they actually end. I'm glad this was cut. **1/2.
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Date: 2024-10-27 03:53 am (UTC)I agree with a LOT of your points here. As much as I liked it (it wasn't stellar, but it was mostly fun), it is absolutely NOT the "Film That Saved The MCU". Not by a LONG shot. In fact, I look at it as a breather or reprieve from the stream of mediocrity that Marvel Studios has been selling us. The reality still remains that the Multiverse Saga is pretty much a trainwreck; looking at what's to come, even calling this chapter anything to do with the Multiverse actually doesn't make any sense to me at this point. The act of desperation that is Kevin Feige shoehorning Dr. Doom as the new big bad along with "Avengers: The Kang Dynasty" becoming "Avengers: Doomsday" is really the final nail in the coffin. I agree with you that Kang should've been recast after the Jonathan Majors snafu; Kang was the personification of the Multiverse in the first place, his character was basically an "at anyplace at anytime" entity in the source material.
I'll admit, Chris Evans' role was a surprise to me for a few moments. I knew his face and actually thought he might've been some variant of Captain America, so I was momentarily confused when he ignited into flames; I never saw either of the Fox Fantastic Four films, though I did remember seeing Evans as Johnny Storm in a lot of the promotional material. And yeah, that profanity-laced rant killed me -- no way would Steve Rogers be caught saying ANY of that. Hilarious with a capital H.
Elektra's response to Daredevil's death... to me it came off as she's long moved past the loss, but your take on it DOES make perfect sense to me; the less Jennifer Garner is reminded of Ben Affleck and the first Daredevil film, the better. Hell, even Affleck himself hated that film. Me and many of my friends found it a real lackluster film after the first Spider-Man film came out; it was basically an afterthought.
Gambit... ehhhh, not much to say. Costume was pretty accurate, and he had maybe one or two lines that cracked a smile from me, but really not that memorable.
Blade was a big surprise for me, and though I haven't seen Blade: Trinity, I somewhat got that jab he took at Deadpool. A friend of mine mentioned that Ryan Reynolds played a character in that film, so I can sort of see the connection. But looking back, Wesley Snipes' appearance in the film does remind me of an article I recently read: the article's title referenced one of his quotes in Deadpool & Wolverine, which was "There's only one Blade, and there's only ever gonna BE one Blade". I think it was a tongue in cheek article, as it covered news of the MCU's Blade film being effectively indefinitely delayed. Snipes wasn't mentioned anywhere in the article save for the quote and his appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine, but the title of the article was clever.
The whole "turn your head in the mask" thing... FULL agreement with you there. As far as the first four Batman films are concerned, I'll admit I never really paid attention to this costume flaw when I was a kid, but looking back, it really does look like an intentional move on the part of the designers, and NOT in a good way. No wonder why Keaton, Kilmer, and Clooney looked so clumsy during fight scenes in the Batsuit. A design flaw that did NOT need to become a trend all the way up to The Dark Knight; looking back, it's really inexcusable. However, I won't deny that seeing Hugh Jackman put on that cowl in such a fashion with that quiet choir reaching a crescendo was a legendary moment; the showroom erupted into cheers and whoops, though one of my pals looked like he was at a loss for words for a few moments. I pretty much saw it coming, though -- the very first teaser for this film had one of those "best friends forever" necklaces as it's main image, with one half resembling Deadpool's mask and the other half resembling Wolverine's mask. I don't think Marvel Studios would put such an image out as promotional material so early and then turn around and not have the cowl in the film. Considering how so many Marvel fans wanted to see Hugh Jackman in that cowl, especially after the first images of him in the classic suit, I don't think they'd be able to handle the backlash. Like, at all.
Lastly, Cassandra Nova... no sympathy for her from me either. Letting her live was a BIG mistake for sure. But her powers were just fucking terrifying; this lady is the personification of the word "mind-fuck". Probing someone's mind by literally driving her fingers through someone's skull? And God-DAMN, the way she basically skinned Johnny Storm alive -- and I mean she REALLY SKINNED HIM ALIVE -- that ain't comedy superhero film material, no sir. That's fucking DARK, like "The Joker's demented sadism" dark. For someone who looked so young, she made me pretty uncomfortable for most of the film. I never read any Marvel comics with her in them, and my only knowledge came from when I saw she was the villain leading up the film's release and the fact that her character looked a lot like Charles Xavier. But still... Charles was more of a mentor, a teacher, a civil rights leader in a sense. If Cassie Nova is this way in the source material, I can DEFINITELY see the kind of rifts between her and Charles. Very disturbing and sadistic villain for this kind of film.
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Date: 2024-10-27 11:58 am (UTC)