Deadpool was a surprising, unconventional risk that paid off for Marvel and 20th Century Fox when it released back in 2016. The film was heavily pushed by its star and producer, Ryan Reynolds, after his version of the character portrayed in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine was heavily criticized by comic book fans for betraying the character. Reynold’s goal was to make a film starring the merc with a mouth that was true to his character in every way, including his antihero tendencies and crude, fourth wall-breaking quips. This risk ended up paying off, becoming a massive hit and making $782.8 million at the box office and proving that Deadpool was indeed a character that had a huge mainstream appeal.

The film depicts Wade Wilson (a.k.a. Deadpool)’s origin story, as he is on the hunt for his nemesis Ajax, played by Ed Skrein, after he is turned into a deformed mutant with healing abilities by the deranged scientist. This is all in an attempt to win back his girlfriend, Vanessa, played by Morena Baccarin. What ensues is a rollercoaster ride of a film that jumps back and forth from the slapstick comedy of modern day Deadpool and his tragic past where he is diagnosed with cancer and then tortured by Ajax in an attempt to cure his disease. This leads to a film that can be a little tonally jarring at times, but is still effective at telling its story. The humor in the comedic scenes usually works pretty well, giving a variety of slapstick and witty one-liners, perfectly showing off why Reynolds is perfectly cast as the character who spends just as much time trash talking the audience as he does his enemies. The more serious scenes in his backstory are not quite as entertaining, but are still vital to setting up elements that are played into later in the film. These scenes are good for establishing the chemistry between Reynolds and Baccarin, so they are still engaging to watch nonetheless.

Despite the film being extremely well-paced, the shift back and forth between the comedic scenes and the tragic backstory do cause tonal whiplash throughout. Perhaps if the backstory had been relegated more to the first half hour it could have worked a little better. Other than that, the only other issue the film has is that some of its humor and references feel a bit dated 8 years later. For example, there is a joke early on in the film where Deadpool references Mama June from Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, which was already old news when the movie came out. While the film heavily relies on edgy shock value humor, rarely does it do anything that could be considered cringey or distasteful by today’s standards, making most of the jokes either still legitimately funny or at least worthy of a small chuckle here and there. Despite the humor and dialogue being the strongest part of the film, the production value still shines as being pretty impressive for a $58 million budget, which is microscopic by today’s Marvel movie standards. 

When the film first came out, it was viewed as a surprise success, an underdog just trying to climb the ranks amongst its bigger budget MCU counterparts. However, today we are looking at a much different landscape for Marvel movies and the comic book genre as a whole. Last year alone, the MCU put out 2 flops in Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels. This is a far cry from the Marvel films that were released when the first Deadpool film came out. Now with a third Deadpool film coming out in 2024 after a long hiatus after 2018’s Deadpool 2 as a result of Disney acquiring 20th Century Fox, many are looking to the release of Deadpool and Wolverine in July as the film that will single-handedly save the MCU and Marvel as a brand after a rough patch that has ensued after the end of their Infinity Saga that concluded in 2019.

Deadpool & Wolverine seemingly will finally give fans the movie they have waited years for, teaming up Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, as they make their long-awaited arrival to the MCU. With the first couple of trailers out, the final product looks like it could be promising. Audiences may have grown tired of the overly quippy and cheesy humor of the modern MCU, but Deadpool has always offered something a bit more subversive and self aware that was unique when it first came on the scene and proved so successful that other comic book movie properties like Shazam! and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law took influence from it. This new film is looking to also be the first R-rated MCU film, showing that Disney may be willing to take a chance on something a bit edgier if it means they can reinvigorate some life into a dying franchise. This is actually a good sign, as Deadpool is a property that only works if it is pushing the envelope and taking studios out of their comfort zone, as seen from the original film. Overall, it is hard to predict whether or not Deadpool & Wolverine can save the MCU, but it is very likely to perform well at the box office for an audience that has desperately craved more content from the merc with a mouth after a long 6-year hiatus.