“Welcome to the MCU. You’re joining at a bit of a low point.”
When Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, the Marvel fanbase was instantly overflowing with questions. Of course, Fox held the film rights to a ton of Marvel characters and stories. So we were immediately trying to figure out how The MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) was going to integrate these characters into the one big beautiful world. The first bit of news concerned The Fantastic Four. We had a couple of pretty good films, but the last one was absolutely horrible. Now we have a cast and release date, so we’re all eager to see how that’s going to come together. What other Marvel staples will be included? The same is true of The X-Men and to a lesser extent characters like Blade, which so far looks like a huge mess in the making. For me the biggest question was, what about Deadpool? I mean, this potty-mouthed anti-hero does not fit in with the kind of films or reputation of parent company Walt Disney. Surely Deadpool was truly dead. If they did bring him back, there was no way they’d greenlight an R film loaded with F-bombs, bloody gore, and a lot of potshots at the company itself. No freakin’ way! Guess what? WAY.
“Hey! Cocaine is the one thing that Feige said is off limits.”
Disney was going to venture into the crude and bloody world of an R-rated comic book film. It appears the multiverse is real, because this isn’t Uncle Walt’s family-friendly company at all. This is the mirror universe of Disney and Marvel. I’ll bet you dollars to action figures someone’s wearing a beard. Check.
“Your little cinematic universe is about to change, forever!”
Marvel had to have known we would all be somewhat cynical of this attempt to join the dark side. So they hedged their bets more than a little bit. They decided this needed to be a team-up film, and who better to go on a road trip with Deadpool than Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine? Now I can’t really say much about the plot. This film has spoilers on the order of about every five minutes, so I must leave you to discover those moments, characters, and homage elements for yourself. Don’t blink, or I swear you’ll miss some really nostalgic moments. There are a ton of extended and brief cameos, and the internet has been on fire with a great number of them. I won’t list them, but I’ll offer you two pieces of information here. The first is that yes, some of those names will show up, but many will not. I hope that you end up more excited about who you do see than who you don’t. The second piece of information has to do with the film’s large theme. We’re (kind of) saying goodbye to the Fox films that include The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Again, can’t say more. You’ll understand when you grow up … or you see the film for yourself, which would be a smart move.
Lately Marvel has taken some heat about their f/x department, which kills me because they bought one of the most storied f/x houses in history when they bought Lucasfilm. The own ILM and are still cutting corners lately. Fear not. This is not the case here. I have to say they went all out, and the film’s visual stuff is awesome. It looks like maybe they’re getting the point again, because this is a pretty dang good start.
All of the Deadpool support characters are here, but not for long. This film is pretty much like a buddy road film for Wolverine and Deadpool. I was impressed by the chemistry, which must be hard when one character has his face covered for maybe 70% of the movie. And this is not the same Wolverine we knew. Yeah, it’s Hugh, but he’s from somewhere else. Not really a spoiler, because we know Logan died heroically a few years ago, and the film addresses that moment, and while they make complete fun of that legacy, they actually honor it, so don’t worry. Your Logan experience will not be pooped upon. The two heroes are out to save all of the universes against a threat that wants to destroy all of the timelines. Our two eh … heroes are going to try to make sure that doesn’t happen. I mean, let’s be honest. If all of the timelines die, Disney’s going to lose billions with no more movies to make. There’s a heavy Mad Max theme going on here, and I’m not sure how much of that I like, but, again, it’s all for fun.
Look. Go into this expecting to have a good time. The jokes are over-the-top and often in poor taste. If that’s not your style, look for a re-issue of Bambi somewhere and leave the rest of us alone. The film moves fast and all of those elements of language and gore are intact, which is more than I can say for most of the characters in the film. Stay for the credits. It’s not the mediocre stinger you’re staying for. It’s the love letter to the Fox era of these films. It’s touching. It very well should bring a tear to your eye. Maybe it’s the best part of the film. “You’ve been chosen for a higher purpose”.
