Movie Review: Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) co-written and directed by Shawn Levy

Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) is feeling a bit insignificant, mostly because his girl (Morena Baccarin) has dumped him. She has realized he only cares about himself. To show he has greater ambitions, he tries to join the Avengers and gets turned down almost immediately. He lives the lackluster life of a car salesman until his birthday party is interrupted by the Time Variance Authority. The TVA wants to take him in for the time travel shenanigans from the previous film, though they really have an ulterior motive. When the TVA official who pulled him in (Matthew Macfadyen) explains what he really wants, Deadpool doesn't want to play along, partly because he doesn't understand and partly because it reinforces his insignificance. He makes up his own plan (getting a hero who can save his world, i.e. Wolverine (Hugh Jackman)), which doesn't quite work out, so he keeps on coming up with other plans as the movie gets wilder and weirder.

The movie has a lot of action, a lot of jokes, and a lot of gore. The plentiful fights are mostly played for comedy and involve a lot of bloodletting. Deadpool's jokes stick to his two standbys--adolescent humor and fourth-wall-breaking remarks. Wolverine's laconic, grim dialog provides some laughs too. The high body count has so much blood being spilled, it's hard to take seriously and helps to mask a lot of mean-spirited acts. 

One or two characters point out that Deadpool is more a joke than a hero, a reality that he bristles at and tries to change. Of course, reality itself is on the line since the universe Deadpool is from is about to collapse. He travels through several other universes in search of a Wolverine to help him out (since his own universe's Wolverine is the one who died in Logan). He winds up in a "dumping ground" universe which allows for a bunch of cameos from previous films and new characters who appear for the sake of some laughs and to move the plot along. Deadpool does do something heroic at the end but it does not really change his character. This is probably deliberate since who wants a Deadpool who behaves like an actual adult? His appeal is his ultra-violent, ultra-selfish, ultra-jerky behavior.

The Wolverine Deadpool winds up with is the most interesting character. He has an actual character arc with pathos. He provides a welcome contrast to both Deadpool and Jackman's previous Wolverine character. But he's still stuck in a Deadpool universe. At one point, the two main characters fight all night, which points up the pointlessness of their conflict. Both have a healing factor that means neither can really kill the other. There's a lot of mayhem but no real stakes and viewers already know how the situation will turn out. With all the fourth-wall-breaking, I was fully aware of how the movie would turn out and had a hard time finding the peril credible. 

Not recommended--this a lot of Deadpool humor and violence, cranked up past 11. If you enjoy that, you'll like the movie. I have had my fill of Deadpool.

Movie Review: Free Guy (2021)

Free Guy (2021) directed by Shawn Levy

Guy (Ryan Reynolds) is an innocuous bank teller who goes through the same routine every day in Free City. He gets up; he says "hi" to his goldfish, Goldie; he eats cereal while watching the news; he gets the same cup of coffee from the same shop; he goes to the bank; he hits the floor each time the bank is robbed (which happens multiple times a day); he hangs out with his friend, who is the bank's security guard, Buddy (Lil Rel Howery). He has this routine because he's an NPC, or Non-Player Character, in a Grand Theft Auto-style game called Free City. The routine is broken one day when he sees the woman of his dreams (Jodie Comer) who sings a song he recognizes as she walks by. She's one of those people who wear sunglasses and don't follow a routine (i.e. an actual human player of the game). He follows her avatar around, breaking more and more out of his routine, discovering his own life, especially when he puts on a pair of sunglasses and sees all video game layer of his reality. She thinks he's another human player who has managed to mask his identity and steal the appearance of an NPC. She convinces him to level up so he can help her on missions, though she is not so much interested in game missions.

She's really Millie, a computer programmer who is searching through the game for evidence that the game producer is illegally using content she created with her partner Keys (Joe Keery). Keys has given up trying to prove the wrongdoing and even works at Soonami, the massive game corporation that sells Free City. Keys finds the company's boss Antwan (Taika Waititi) annoying but just wants to get by on his regular work routine. Keys is reluctantly drawn in to helping Millie as Guy becomes a celebrity player. He's been leveling up by helping out other NPCs and fighting against human players and NPCs as a hero in the otherwise morally bankrupt game. 

The movie follows some standard plot moves and twists and has a good sprinkling of pop culture and video game references. The special effects are very impressive and the premise allows the movie makers to have over the top action sequences. The whole "you should choose how to live your life rather than run through expected routines" message is fairly mundane and unchallenging moral to the story. The cast does such a good job living in their respective worlds that the movie is very enjoyable. It's just the sort of summer crowd pleaser that delivers a fun time.

Recommended.