In this the third Deadpool outing, Ryan Reynolds’ meta-comedic antics remain amusing, if a bit tarnished by their lack of novelty. The pairing with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine-as-straightman creates an odd couple dynamic that is entertaining, but falls somewhat flat. Nor does it help that all this is set in a cinematic universe that is, at this late stage, utterly played-out and still scrabbling frantically for a second wind in the deflationary wake of the Infinity Wars saga.
Though Deadpool/Reynolds declares himself “Marvel Jesus”, simultaneously destined to save the in-world multiverse and the real-world cinematic universe franchise, this declaration is unconvincing in either reality. The story has too many factors undermining it to allow it to rise to the level of significance needed to matter much at all.
First, as mentioned, it is a somewhat tired threequel.
Second, it is encumbered by the ill-conceived multiverse cosmology. Granted, among the infinity of universes there is an alleged “Sacred Timeline”—the canonical version of events and characters about which we are expected to care. But there is no gimmick that can prevent the feeling of narrative enervation that inevitably arises the more you realize that nothing you are seeing really matters, not even in the confines of the fictional world. There are an infinity of other versions of this story and the characters that populate it, and the writers are free to dip in and out of that infinity at will. No death is final, no pain is real, no triumph matters. If your Deadpool learns an important lesson about heroism and sacrifice, there are a trillion other Deadpools who made the wrong choice, who failed to rise to the occasion.
Then there is the fact that though all super heroes are indestructible (barring a plot device that requires the inverse), these two are more invulnerable than most because they regenerate from virtually any injury, even (it seems) atomization. They are repeatedly shot, stabbed, gutted, crushed, etc. and hardly stop to take a breath. What dramatic tension can there be when they are facing down a street-full of deadly enemies when the only ill consequence they could possible suffer is merely being delayed (a little longer) in their plot-assigned task?
To top it off, most of the story takes place in the Void, a purgatorial wasteland where the refuse of “pruned” timelines is dumped and quirky reject versions of characters we know from other movies and comics go to wander around aimlessly and fight meaninglessly. Much of the runtime is spent watching these throw-away characters make throw-away sacrifices in a cosmic landfill full of recycled cliches.
Yes, yes, the writers contrive a way to raise the stakes and the villain of the piece has in her hands a device that can unravel all the real universes so that only the Void, the domain she rules, remains. And our heroic duo must work together to stop her. It is a plot we’ve all seen repeated in infinite variation, and this version does not bring anything particularly novel or interesting to the retelling.
Still, if you like Reynolds’ jabber-mouthed smart-ass comedy (as I do), you will find enjoyment in the experience, though it is over-long (and self-aware of this fact), and the super hero shenanigans are dull and a distraction from the self-satirizing comedy.
Rating: ★☆☆
(1 star: take it or leave it)