'Deadpool & Wolverine' movie review: Fox's last dance, Deadpool & Wolverine bromance

Superhero fatigue is real. With no good movies recently, Marvel has lost its course. But brace yourselves — straight from 20th Century Fox, sorry, Disney — a hero makes his grand MCU entrance. He’s the messiah, the merc with a mouth; he is… The Marvel Jesus. Buckle up, peanut, because this isn’t your average cape-and-tights movie — or is it?

Directed by Shawn Levy (‘Free Guy’), this third instalment is a hot mess —kind of like Wade Wilson himself on a bad hair day. Just as the world’s falling apart (again), the Time Variance Authority’s Paradox (Matthew Macfyden) recruits him to put his timeline out of its misery. Deadpool refuses and drags the worst variant of the Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) out of retirement to help stop this crazy scheme. They are sent to the ‘Void’ — yes, the same one from ‘Loki’ season one, episode five, now ruled by Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin), Professor Charles Xavier’s evil twin.

The film takes you on a wild ride with surprise appearances from the Fox Universe. The plot is a bit shaky with jokes that sometimes fall flat, but it’s saved by some really cool action sequences, with slow-motion effects set to popular ’90s tunes. It’s a fun, if messy, farewell to the Fox universe, offering a peek at what mutant battles might look like in the MCU — and it doesn’t look too bad. Ryan Reynolds keeps it lively with his snappy humour, and Hugh Jackman proves yet again why he’s the ultimate Wolverine, leaving us with a touching montage of his ‘X-Men’ moments during the end credits.

So, does this Marvel messiah live up to the hype? Well, yes and no. Deadpool doesn’t exactly ace it. He’s the irritating but quirky hero we didn’t even know we needed, flipping the MCU on its head and turning multiversal crises into comedy gold. Marvel dug deep into the Fox universe, like scraping the last bits of chicken from a biryani pot.

The movie might do well at the box office, but they really need to sort out their timelines (pun intended) before they kick off the Mutant Saga.