Raunchy, Bloody, Funny – Two Stars’ Bromance in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Saves the World and MCU

Raunchy, Bloody, Funny – Two Stars’ Bromance in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Saves the World and MCU

By Lynn Venhaus
Propelled by personality and pizzazz, the very funny, very bloody and very meta “Deadpool & Wolverine” is an epic throwdown teaming two very different superheroes played by a pair of dynamic superstars.

Now a civilian, a listless Wade Wilson thinks his days as a morally flexible mercenary are behind him. But when his ‘homeworld’ faces an existential threat, he must suit up again as Deadpool and join an even more reluctant Wolverine to save his loved ones.

Full of Easter Eggs for comic book and superhero fans, another pleasant surprise is the clever casting, and a memorable soundtrack mix of sardonic needle drops. You likely have never heard Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” or The Goo-Goo Dolls’ “Iris” this way.

The plot, which is muddled and messy multiverse mayhem, is likely immaterial. One setting is The Void, apparently mentioned in Disney Plus’ “Loki” television series, and another is the often-used Time Variance Authority (TVA), a bureaucratic agency that monitors timelines in the multiverse.

Since appearing in Marvel Comics in 1986 and in “Loki” in 2021-23, the TVA regulates reality and swiftly acts on temporal anomalies. I don’t understand it either. Are we in the Matrix or out?

Time rips, worlds must be saved so that these anti-heroes can matter, the very tall and muscular pair bicker like they’re in a buddy cop movie, the fight scenes are mind-numbing repetitive, and the saucy innuendo and no-filter in-jokes comprise a hefty chunk of the 2 hour, 7-minute runtime.

Don’t think too hard and you can follow up with the MCU backstories later.

Director and co-writer Shawn Levy and his four credited co-writers Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, star Ryan Reynolds and Zeb Wells have fun mocking the MCU – and new parent company Disney.

Reese and Wernick wrote the first two “Deadpool” movies (2016 and 2018) and Levy worked with Reynolds on the video game satire “Free Guy” in 2021 and the time travel family film “The Adam Project” in 2022. He also directed Jackman in “Real Steel” in 2011.

The fan service-focused writers aim for the audience to enjoy the comedic gifts of glib Reynolds, all in for the third time as Deadpool, aka “The Merc with the Mouth,” doing his signature fourth wall breaking and snappy repartee peppered with self-aware pop culture references.

This film is Wilson’s timeline, and I think we’re part of the portal that has discovered a grumpy version of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, the X-Men legend that he’s played 10 times on screen, and yes, was killed in 2017’s “Logan.”

If you haven’t seen a recent Marvel movie, they play loose with the multiverses, so really anything can happen – and does, as logic doesn’t matter.

Capitalizing on their viral social media faux feud, Reynolds and Jackman follow through with their odd-couple chemistry and amusing one-upmanship.

The charismatic duo, in frenemies mode, must use their specific sets of skills to thwart the foe, Cassandra Nova, Charles Xavier’s evil twin sister who benefits from telekinesis and telepathy.

Xavier is none other than the beloved Professor X, creator of the X-Men, and founder of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. Logan taught a new generation of mutants there.

A bald, glowering Emma Corrin, best known for portraying a young Lady Diana Spencer on “The Crown,” is an unpredictable and dull villain that appears stuck in a scorched earth dystopian scenario reminiscent of another popular sci-fi fantasy franchise. 

The heavily banged-up, scraggly heroes are joined by faces both familiar and fresh, and while mentioning cameos would be a frowned-upon spoiler, those actors really perk up the proceedings.

Supporting characters include Emmy-Award winner Matthew Macfadyen (Tom on “Succession”) as a mysterious TVA manager-enforcer Mr. Paradox, Rob Delaney as Wade’s cheerful co-worker Peter who is eager to help save the world, Morena Baccarin returns as Wade’s sweet ex-girlfriend Vanessa, and Leslie Uggams is Wade’s cantankerous blind roommate Al.

With a torrent of F-bombs unleashed throughout – more than a 100, this is the first Disney-sanctioned Marvel movie to be rated R, and it’s also because of its gory slice-and-dice fights and raunchy, foul-mouthed humor.

If you’ve seen the previous two self-aware “Deadpool” movies, it follows that subversive-found family template.

Deadpool, a comic book figure created by Rob Leifeld and Fabian Nicieza, was a soldier dying of cancer when offered a lifeline by a shadowy agency – experimented on, which left him horribly disfigured but able to rapidly heal. He first showed up in the X-Men Origins movie “Wolverine” in 2009, and the bromance began.

This is also the first time Wolverine is seen in his comic book yellow-and-blue suit in 24 years of live-action films, and costume designers Graham Churchyard and Mayes C. Rubeo nail it.

The versatile Jackman, who is at home on both a Broadway stage and stabbing people with his mutant’s retractable adamantium claws, is in prime physical condition, and can capably handle his gruff character’s brute strength and animalistic rage, not to mention rock the mutton-chop sideburns.

Wolverine, aka James “Logan” Howlett, has been part of the X-Men, X-Force, Alpha Flight, the Fantastic Four, and the Avengers. Depicted as a loner, he’s known for a long lifespan and therefore, many life experiences. Jackman has played the character since 2000.

We reviewers are contractually obligated not to give too much away in terms of spoilers, character development, cameos and major plot points, so this must suffice.

This film is going to be a huge box office champ, restoring the MCU’s luster after last year’s flops “Ant-Man vs. The Wasp: Quantumania” and “The Marvels,” so does it matter if it’s really a rough patchwork quilt, enlivened by zippy quips and two pros giving fans what they want?

I doubt that anyone is going to remember this plot, or comprehend it, once people get home. But they will recall laughing a lot – and a very sentimental homage to the Fox era of “X-Men” films over the closing credits.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” is a 2024 action-comedy-sci-fi movie directed by Shawn Levy and starring Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corwin, Matthew MacFadyen, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, and Leslie Uggams. It is rated R for strong bloody violence and language throughout, gore and sexual references and runs 2 hours, 7 minutes. It opened in theatres July 26. Lynn’s Grade: B-.

Sharp Social Satire Lands Knockout Punches in ‘American Fiction’

Sharp Social Satire Lands Knockout Punches in ‘American Fiction’

By Lynn Venhaus

A scathing social satire about the current cultural obsession that reduces people to stereotypes is manifested in “American Fiction,” which is a remarkable directorial debut by Cord Jefferson.

Monk (Jeffrey Wright) is a frustrated novelist who is fed up with people profiting from ‘black’ entertainment that relies on offensive tropes. So, to prove his point, he uses a pen name to write an outlandish ‘black’ book of his own, which propels him to the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he claims to disdain.

Jefferson, who has toiled on some tony television series – “Succession” and “Watchmen” included, has cleverly adapted Percival Everett’s 2001 book “Erasure,” which criticizes the narrow view of black-focused entertainment like Sapphire’s novel “Push,” which was adapted into the film “Precious,” as authentic.

His sharp jabs against the publishing world and Hollywood entertainment that perpetuates tired cliches delivers some knockout punches, but there is a universal family dynamic as a major part of the journey too that emotionally connects.

Jeffrey Wright gives one of his best performances as Thelonius “Monk” Ellison, angry and alienating, who decides to fight back – if you ‘can’t beat them, join them’ – and dumbs down his writing in a book “My Pafology,” as Stagg R Leigh, an ex-con who’s on the run.

That not only gives him the praise that had eluded him but also enlarges the hypocrisy involved. As he tells his publisher, Arthur, nicely played by ace character actor John Ortiz: “The dumber I behave, the richer I get.”

In puncturing the stereotypes through thoughtfully written characters that are part of Monk’s personal orbit, Jefferson gives us a generational story that everyone can relate to because they appear as real people just trying to figure out life.

The supporting cast is exceptionally deep – creating nuanced turns are Sterling K. Brown as Monk’s irresponsible brother Cliff who has now come out as queer, Tracee Ellis Ross as his stressed-out lawyer sister Lisa and Leslie Uggams as their mother Agnes, who is beginning to show signs of dementia.

Tracee Ellis Ross, Leslie Uggams

Lisa has been taking care of their mom, and Monk’s other siblings are harboring resentment about his lack of commitment to his family. Granted, he is in L.A., but now back in Massachusetts, where he’s staying at his childhood home, full of memories and triggers. This is a family of intellectuals whose lives are enriched through art and culture.

Erika Anderson creates another layer as a single woman lawyer romantically interested in Monk, but whose eyes are wide-open to his flaws.

Through his uneasy relationships with his family, we understand that Monk, often self-righteous and condescending, needs to change and could be ripe for a reckoning.

Issa Rae is buzzy author Sintara Golden who pushes all of Monk’s buttons with her critical darling but pandering book, “We’s Lives In Da Ghetto,” that the public has embraced for what they believe is black suffering,

Jefferson’s script is smartly written, but there is a lot to digest over the 2-hour runtime. Besides the blistering social commentary, the family story has multiple layers. This cast really delivers the film’s heart as these imperfect individuals go through changes, not forgetting the past relationships while forging new ones.

In a sweet subplot, the family housekeeper, Lorraine, beautifully played by Myra Lucretia Taylor, reunites with the beach town’s law enforcement officer Maynard (Raymond Anthony Thomas).

Laura Karpman’s jazz-inflected score delicately punctuates the exchanges and confrontations, and the film’s other elements are solid — cinematography by Cristina Dunlap, production design by Jonathan Guggenheim and editing by Hilda Rasula.

The film’s message is not unlike what Spike Lee attempted in 2000 with “Bamboozled,” only instead of television, this is set in academia and book publishing in today’s ‘influencer’ world.

The wrap-up isn’t as satisfying as it should be, but this material is clever and the performances so superbly rendered. “American Fiction” has enough thought-provoking material to keep us mulling over the body of work, and appreciate what it’s trying to say.

F_01952_R Sterling K. Brown stars as Cliff Ellison, Jeffrey Wright as Thelonious “Monk” Ellison and Erika Alexander as Coraline in writer/director Cord Jefferson’s AMERICAN FICTION An Orion Pictures Release Photo credit: Claire Folger © 2023 Orion Releasing LLC. All Rights Reserved.

“American Fiction” is a 2023 social satire written and directed by Cord Jefferson. It stars Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross, Issa Rae, Sterling K. Brown, John Ortiz, Adam Brody, Leslie Uggams, Myra Lucretia Taylor, Raymond Anthony Thomas and Erika Anderson. It is Rated: R for language throughout, some drug use, sexual references, and brief violence. It opened in local theaters Jan. 5 after first debuting at the St. Louis International Film Festival in mid-November. Lynn’s Grade: A-