So, after years of teasing punters, Huge Action said yes to appearing alongside Deadpool, the result being this uneven, snarky bloodbath. It's very funny in parts, slow in others but it seems to have washed its face already, bringing in over $600 million worldwide to the evil Disney coffers. This is the third film in the Deadpool series, but the first since Marvel/Disney acquired FOX studios, a Hollywood business deal referred to way too often in this film - once or twice would be enough but I reckon most of the audience don't find these Pool asides as funny as the writers do. Speaking of writers, there's a veritable stable of them credited here - Ryan Reynolds himself; Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick from the first two Deadpool films; Zeb Wells; and director, Shawn Levy; not to mention the comic creators, Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza. Many cooks, lots of broth.
Plot-wise, there's a lot to get into here but I'm not sure that's really of concern - the 'story' is background to the sparring, verbally and physically, of the two leads - with one another and with several different punching and slicing bags. A few of these must remain nameless, as I'm not about to divulge the numerous cameos that appear. Most people have probably already seen or heard about them, or conversely couldn't give a flying shit. Suffice to say, one or two of these 'surprises' were the best things in the film.
Ah, bugger it, I'll have to talk a little about the plot. Wade Wilson (Deadpool) is floundering in his private life, having been rejected for a spot on the Avengers team. Suddenly (and for reasons best known to the writers) he's kidnapped by TVA agents - these are the folk from the Loki TV series, the Time Variance Authority, and holy fuck am I sick of this lot. I realise it's likely the best way to involve 'a' Wolverine, seeing as the excellent film Logan put the character out of business years ago, but it still boils my piss. On that, it would seem there's an old Logan floating about somewhere in this world, Earth-10005, which is discrete from the 'sacred timeline' of Earth-616, where Pool went, presumably with Cable's time device from Deadpool 2, to apply for the Avengers. Confused yet? Don't let it bother you, just enjoy the shits and giggles.
Admittedly, there are some great gags but ultimately, you can see through the chuckles to the bare bones, and you might be left wanting if you can't get excited by all the multiverse stuff (there are some nice throwaways to this, though). The pathos from Wade at the start and Logan throughout doesn't really ring true, but nothing in the film does except for the laffs. Honestly, Reynolds (or as Ozzy Man calls him, Noldsy) and Jackman (Jacko) have been all over everything promoting this film. The anticipation was always going to be more than the actual payoff.
Some of the faults may lay at the door of Shawn Levy, who's responsible for The Pink Panther remake, Night at the Museum, the Cheaper by the Dozen remake, Free Guy and Real Steel, plus some TV, including Stranger Things. Let's face it, this is a pretty dire resume. Oh, and the musical choices are fucking terrible, but that's the point, I guess.
The future of Deadpool? How about an R-rated Uncanny X-Force (Pool, Wolvy, Psylocke and Fantomex)? Could be bloody, compromised and dark, with less humour but more nuance. A chance, maybe, but it surely wouldn't make as much money as this is doing, and that's the point, innit?
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I favour David Leitch's Deadpool 2 (2018) over the others, and once again, Logan (2017), directed by James Mangold, is a fantastic film.
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