**Review of Deadpool & Wolverine**

At a certain point while watching *Deadpool & Wolverine*, my patience started to wear thin. It's not that the film lacked the humor typical of the previous Deadpool installments. The movie still delivered on its promise of winkingly self-aware humor, with plenty of fourth-wall breaks, over-the-top violence, and a schoolboy’s love for inventive profanity (the kind that throws together random curse words and bodily functions in an amusingly chaotic mix—I'll admit, it did make me laugh).

Directed by Shawn Levy and written by Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Zeb Wells, and Shawn Levy, the film achieves exactly what it sets out to do. It features all the comedic elements you’d expect, giving Reynolds (whom I like!) ample opportunity to showcase his trademark smarm (which I enjoy!). The plot, as promised by the title, brings Deadpool and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) together as frenemies on a grand adventure.

This adventure involves the Time Variance Authority (TVA), a familiar entity for Marvel fans from the Loki series, tasked with managing alternate timelines. The TVA's involvement is crucial because Deadpool needs to navigate the multiverse to find a Wolverine to team up with—since the Wolverine in his universe perished in *Logan*. If this plot sounds coherent to you, *Deadpool & Wolverine* will likely be just what you’re expecting and enjoying. If not, I'm not sure why you're still here.

Anyway, Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) of the TVA possesses a device capable of erasing Deadpool’s universe. Naturally, Deadpool opposes the device’s use. To prevent Deadpool from interfering, Mr. Paradox uses a high-tech cattle prod to send Deadpool and Wolverine to the Void. The Void is a time-worn dumping ground for variants the TVA needs to expunge from the timeline, and it’s ruled by Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin), an evil female counterpart to Charles Xavier (or at least as bald as he is).

The Void is where things start to get complicated for me.

Here, it becomes clear that all the MCU lore and even the pairing of Deadpool and Wolverine are just surface details. The real purpose of this film is to serve as a 127-minute farewell to the 20th Century Fox Marvel movies. This film isn't just about the Marvel movies produced by Fox, nor is it about the Marvel/Disney MCU films, or even the Spider-Man series from Sony (except when Marvel needs Spider-Man or Sony needs Doctor Strange). This distinction—the separation between these different Marvel movie franchises—hits home if, like me, you've spent the past quarter-century delving deeply into the intricacies of these corporate giants.

So, this film isn’t just bidding farewell to 20th Century Fox’s X-Men and related characters, like X-23 (Dafne Keen) and villains such as Sabretooth (Tyler Mane) or Pyro (Aaron Stanford), all of whom make cameo appearances. It also marks a goodbye to Johnny Storm (Chris Evans) from the Fantastic Four and Elektra (Jennifer Garner) from Daredevil. The film delves even deeper with a running joke about a character who was rumored for years, had a film in development for nearly a decade, had an enthusiastic star lined up, but never actually materialized. This gag is one that only lands if you’ve been following the behind-the-scenes drama of these movies closely, like if you grew up devouring Wizard magazines.

When I immediately got the joke, I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of mild self-loathing. It didn’t help that I actually laughed—because I found it funny, thanks to the actor being so perfectly cast for the absurd role. Damn his charming smile and sparkling eyes! The strangest thing about *Deadpool & Wolverine* is how it manages to have it both ways: it pokes fun at Disney/Marvel and corporate shenanigans, while its characters battle beside the shattered 20th Century Fox logo. The film wraps up with a credits montage that nostalgically honors a quarter-century of 20th Century Fox movies, set to the most sentimental pop song you can imagine. Seriously, if you can name a "sentimental montage song designed to tug at the heartstrings of Millennials," you’ve probably hit the mark. Chances are, you heard it at more than one school dance if you were in school after about 1997.

I’m sorry for turning this into a self-reflective rant; thanks for bearing with my therapy session. *Deadpool & Wolverine* achieves what it sets out to do. Reynolds and Jackman are exactly who the film needs them to be, though the jokes about Jackman continuing in this role until he’s 90 come across more as a threat than a playful jab. It made me laugh, even if Deadpool’s self-aware humor is starting to feel a bit overplayed. The film manages to deliver a touching eulogy for an entire superhero universe, although it somewhat undermines the aloof tone this series has established. Yet, despite its success, I couldn’t shake a peculiar sense of discomfort.