A film caught between two identities. On one side, it’s a continuation of the irreverent, boundary-pushing Deadpool series. On the other, it’s a corporate-mandated multiverse spectacle designed to please an algorithm more than an audience. Somewhere along the way, it lost balance.

Desecrating the Sacred

The film announces its misguided approach from the very first scene. Deadpool desecrating Wolverine’s corpse is an immediate red flag – not for being edgy, but for being lazy. It leans grotesque not to shock the audience in a meaningful way, but simply because it can. This type of humor isn’t boundary-pushing; it’s just a shortcut for actual clever writing.

Much of Deadpool & Wolverine follows this pattern, choosing cheap, grotesque gags over engaging storytelling. Deadpool shredding dudes while taunting the audience through fourth-wall breaks might be what fans expected – but does it actually add anything? The film mistakes excess for entertainment, a flaw that only snowballs as it goes on.

Meta Humor & Fan Service

Meta humor has always been Deadpool’s bread and butter. This time around, it feels like the writers confuse meta with meaning. Instead of adding depth, much of the self-awareness serves as a crutch. An excuse for lazy writing rather than an enhancement to the narrative. The film pauses many times to wink at the audience. As if acknowledging its own absurdity absolves it of needing to tell a compelling story.

Deadpool dancing to the backstreet boys IS funny. But why would such footage exist?

Fan service is weaponized here – relentless and exhausting, rather than used to enhance the story. The film leans heavily into cameos, references and multiversal chaos. It often forgets to be a story in its own right. If Spider-Man: No Way Home is the gold standard for using fan service, it serves a compelling narrative. In contrast, Deadpool & Wolverine serves as a cautionary tale. It shows what happens when a film relies on nostalgia without earning it.

The Lack of Stakes in a Multiverse

The multiverse is both the film’s biggest hook and its greatest flaw. The idea of Deadpool jumping across universes is inherently fun. But it quickly becomes an excuse to throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. This leads to a chaotic and unfocused narrative where stakes are nonexistent.

The problem is exacerbated by Wade and Logan’s near-invulnerability. The best fights in the Deadpool series work. They are effective even though Wade Wilson can heal. The violence has weight, impact, and consequence. Here, the excessive mutilation crosses the line from darkly humorous to grotesquely pointless. Watching Deadpool and Wolverine repeatedly slice each other to ribbons loses its appeal. Neither of them is ever truly in danger.

The TVA’s (Time Variance Authority’s) presence, lifted from Loki, is another example of a narrative decision that removes tension rather than adds to it. When the film leans into the TVA’s metaphysical mechanics, it feels less like a Deadpool film and more like a Loki spin-off trying too hard to justify its own existence.

Masked Background Talent

One of the film’s most frustrating elements is its over-reliance on masked, faceless background actors. This was a glaring issue in Deadpool & Wolverine’s fight sequences, where an army of generic, masked goons serves as cannon fodder.

The overuse of these faceless enemies undercuts the impact of the violence. There’s no emotional connection, no investment—just a barrage of blood and limbs flying in every direction. Compare this to the fights in Deadpool 2, where every enemy had a personality, and the difference is stark.

The Absence of Romance

One of the most glaring omissions in Deadpool & Wolverine is the near-total absence of Vanessa, whose presence was instrumental in grounding the first two films. Deadpool’s love for Vanessa provided an emotional throughline that gave weight to his irreverence. Deadpool 2 even hinged its entire premise on him trying to reunite with her in the afterlife.

Yet, in Deadpool & Wolverine, Vanessa is barely acknowledged. The opportunity to expand her presence – to use her as a counterbalance to the multiversal chaos – is completely squandered. Without this emotional core, the film feels hollow, transactional and overly fixated on spectacle.

Predictably Nice

One of the film’s few memorable bits involves “Nicepool,” a version of Deadpool with an uncharacteristically gentle demeanor. Ryan Reynolds delivers a strong performance in these scenes, showcasing his comedic range. But the film leans too heavily into predictability. The moment Nicepool appears, it’s obvious he won’t have a healing factor, leading to his predictable demise. Deadpool’s humor thrives on subverting expectations. But here, the setup itself is the joke. Making it feel less like a clever gag and more like a telegraphed punchline.

The Deadpool franchise thrived on subverting expectations. Here, the beats are too obvious, the punchlines too telegraphed. The film feels less like a chaotic force of nature and more like a carefully constructed, over-calculated product.

Final Verdict

Deadpool & Wolverine is a deeply frustrating experience. It has flashes of brilliance but is ultimately weighed down. By its own excesses, an overreliance on fan service and overall lack of a compelling narrative. It mistakes more for better, flooding the screen with references, blood and CGI without providing a reason to care.

Deadpool was always about controlled chaos – this is just a mess.

★★★★

Briefer takes at IMDb & Letterboxd.

Check out my review of Endgame for more teleportation complaints.