Melissa and I saw the movie on opening night, and I took Chris to see it last night. Both times, I had a huge grin on my face. It’s Monday night, work has been hectic today, and I want to talk about this movie.

I’ll start with high-level stuff, then put up a warning and drive straight into spoiler territory. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, I’ll tell you this and then you can close this tab/delete this email: I had a really great time and recommend it to anyone that liked the previous Deadpool movies or the Fox era of Marvel movies.

Non-Spoiler Stuff

This was fun comedy that looked great, sounded great, and met all of my expectations. The movie contains some surprises. Hugh Jackman has always been an amazing Wolverine, and I think this performance was more nuanced than I expected. Ryan Reynolds also does great, and offers hints of emotion and depth between the 4th wall breaking humor. The story is good, as long as you don’t think about some of the details too much.

About My Movie Tastes

Before I get into spoilers, I feel like I should talk about what kind of movie-goer I really am. In short: I’m just looking to have a good time.

I don’t need a perfect movie to enjoy myself. I don’t expect every Marvel movie to be Endgame. I don’t need every movie to be Marvel, either. I like movies, and I’m willing to turn my brain off and have a good time if I have to.

For example, I can appreciate the movie Lucy. The premise is flawed and as dumb as a bag of hair, but I enjoyed the spectacle and thought Scarlett Johansson gave a good performance. I really enjoyed The Butterfly Effect, and still think about it sometimes. I enjoy Star Treks, and almost all Star Wars movies. I loved Oppenheimer and pretty much everything Nolan does. I enjoyed Viola Davis in The Woman King.

I go back and watch classics like Citizen Kane and Twelve Angry Men. If we use food as the metaphor for movies, I have the palette and appetite to enjoy fine dining, but I’m not going to turn my nose up at some greasy fast food.

Deadpool & Wolverine is a cheeseburger, but one that has been crafted with love and attention to detail.

Spoiler Stuff

From this point forward, I’m going to get into spoilers.

This is your last warning.

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Okay.

Obviously, a big part of this movie’s success is sticking the landing with the cameos. And I really think they did it.

I remember hearing a rumor they got Chris Evans to come in and reprise Johnny Storm rather than Steve Rogers, but I forgot about it until I saw him leap into the air covered in fire. It didn’t feel forced or shoehorned. This cameo and the others felt like a celebration of the things that came before. The parts weren’t as large as Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield in No Way Home, but still enough to satisfy.

While this movie brought Deadpool into the MCU, it was more a love letter to the Fox movies that came before. We get one last celebration with the old and could-have-been characters in The Void, and the movie signs off with a mid-credits reel that ends with the 20th Century Fox logo.

Wolverine is the perfect straight man to Deadpool’s wackiness. It really worked for me. I loved that they spent half the movie trying to tear themselves apart, but they’re victory in the end is them holding hands while an epic version of Like a Prayer is pumped out of the speakers by a choir so powerful, it blows Wolverine’s shirt off his body.

Final Thoughts – Marvel Isn’t Dead

This movie knows what it is, and it’s fun. Is Deadpool “Marvel Jesus?” No. He’s a violent clown that winks and nods at the audience while giving a proper sign off to the franchises that came before.

Will this save Marvel? I’m an unapologetic Marvel fan boy, and I do not believe Marvel needs saving. What they need to do is let creative folks like Shawn Levy tell fun and interesting stories with their own style and unique voices. It’s why Guardians of the Galaxy 3 worked last year. Other movies I think worked since Endgame: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in 2022, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness in 2022, Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2021, and Shang-Chi in 2021. Different voices, different styles, all successful.

What about the ones I didn’t mention, like Black Widow in 2021? I found that movie to be ultimately forgettable (since… you know… I forgot it existed until just now), but I remember having a good time when I saw it. And some movies received unwarranted hate, like Thor: Love and Thunder and The Marvels.

Marvel movies are like pizza. Even when it’s not your favorite flavor, it’s still pretty good. And I would say that Deadpool & Wolverine contained some of my favorite toppings.