Deadpool & Wolverine & Doom

   Hey Bub. Have you seen Deadpool and Wolverine yet? Well, it made almost a quarter billion dollars in four days, so if not, you’re the only one. Yes, Ryan Reynolds is back with Hugh Jackman as Wolverine to pull off a magic trick and “save the MCU” just in time for Kevin Feige to announce RDJ is coming back but as Doctor Doom? Directed by the Russo brothers? Wait. What’s happening? Let’s talk about it.

  Let’s start with the good stuff. The third installment of anything is hard to pull off, especially in comedy. By the third time seeing a magic trick, you’re usually over it and asking, what else you got? (Not to contradict myself but there is literally something called the Rule of Threes in comedy. So maybe this point will be more salient when the enviable Deadpool 4 comes out) Yet, D&W mostly pulls it off. By all logic, Deadpool should be a character too shallow to maintain a franchise but Ryan Reynolds has found a way to elevate the crass, dick and balls humor do the turn of the century teen boy comedy into genuinely funny rapid satire. Reynolds has somehow evolved from Van Wilder to the Puck of the MCU.

  I think there are two aspects to D&W and the Deadpool movies as a whole that keep the magic alive and they may seem contradictory at first glance. Basically, the folks that made this movie do two things right, they don’t take things too seriously and the that Deadpool very seriously. 

  For the Merc with the Mouth, everyone and everything are a target for ridicule. The MCU and franchise film making in general need you to believe that each movie, show and connected installment is just as important as the last so you won’t skip a single one. But for Deadpool, nothing is sacred. So his movie has no problem pointing at the slumping box office numbers elephant in the room. At the same time, while it treats IP films as comedic foder, it serves as a send off of previous iterations of Marvel movies and realizes that while these films aren’t sacred, they are special to people. The pre-MCU movies worked their way through shitty movie execs, bad sets, early CGI and host of other problems to lay the foundation that the MCU would build its empire on. Hell, Kevin Fiege got his start working on some of those movies. 

  When it comes to what I didn’t like about the flick, there’s really not much. Some of the jokes are a little inside baseball but hey, I play this baseball. So it worked for me. (Another thing I didn’t like that has come up in the aftermath of this movie, and this relates to the rest of the video, is that after all the cameos went over so well, there are rumors galore of bringing actors back to play these characters again. I just wish execs could let things die and move on. Wesley Snipes was already Blade and the whole fucking joke was that Channing Tatum didn’t get to make that Gambit movie. Move on! I fell like I’m talking to an ex.) For a brief shining moment, it seemed like the MCU was back to taking chances and having fun. I’m sure you’ve seen the memes. But that new found faith was shaken once Hall H came around. 

  I want to preface this by saying, I love RDJ. I think he’s a great actor and could absolutely crush playing Dr. Doom. That is, he could if he hadn’t already played Iron Man for 10+ years. I know what some of you are saying, “In the comics Iron Man becomes Doom.” But that is a subversion of an already established Doom. A twist on a familiar character. Doom has yet to have that solid foundation in the MCU so it feels less like a twist and more like a step back. A retreat in perceived safety. D&W works because, while it’s a warm familiar vibe for Deadpool, it’s a fresh exciting feeling for the MCU as a whole. Whereas bringing back RDJ and the Russos feels less like an exciting story opportunity and more the decision of a scared executive hoping to get more milk from that cash cow. 

  I’m sure whatever meddling exec that backed up that money truck to bring back the dream team isn’t thrilled with the lukewarm response but in the end, all that matters to them is the boxffice. From my perspective, I wish Marvel would take the Tom Holland route more seriously often. No offense to Mr. Holland but, I had never heard of him before Spider-Man and now he is Spider-Man. Find young unknowns sign them for a decade of movies and nurture their talent (and bank accounts) to serve the character. Make the MCU into an incubator for gifted youths *Xmen theme* so they can hone their craft on a large stage, like SNL or The Daily Show. (I spent way too long learning that riff on guitar just for that bit) But that takes investment and long term thinking. Not exactly what movie execs are known for. (Just see the recent rumors about the final Spiderverse film. Fucking suits.)

  But I guess only time will tell. I hope it works out because I like these dumb movies and want them to be good. But at the very least, if it is bad maybe Deadpool can make fun of it in ten years. Until next time, death to the algorithm.