Deadpool & Wolverine

Deadpool and Wolverine doesn't want to be taken seriously, but it puts all its money, muscle and, because it's Deadpool, into ensuring that you damn well do.

The plot feels aimless at points toward the end, with one cameo-saturated battle scene resolved in a way that leaves audiences wanting. However, the bloody but comedic final fight scene is enough to perk viewers back up for the last act, solidifying the film's identity as a fun, generally well-made summer movie.

Deadpool & Wolverine is a superhero version of a memorial service for a studio and the various franchises and undeveloped projects that were discarded or decommissioned when it was bought.

Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are a dream together, both immensely comfortable in their respective characters and apparently willing to do just about anything to give the audience a laugh. Despite a few early narrative bumps, it's hard to imagine what more you could want from a movie with this pairing. Marvel has found its mojo again.

It's amusing and exhausting. Reynolds is often funny, sometimes very funny, periodically entirely unbearable, often a weird and interesting mix of the three.