In a world where some things have always been together – from cheese and onion to black and white – there is now a new cinema combination: Deadpool & Wolverine.
More of that in a minute, but while we’re on the subject of pairs, what belongs side by side on Westside?
Well, you could begin with our brilliant 12-screen multiplexes, Cineworld Broad Street and Odeon Luxe Broadway Plaza, whilst The Rep and Crescent make another great pairing for theatre lovers.
For Wetherspoon fans it could be Figure of Eight and Soloman Cutler on Broad Street – or how about Legoland and Sea Life in Brindleyplace if you love to visit Merlin’s family attractions?
Since opposites also attract, there’s the Hall of Memory and Symphony Hall which face each other across Centenary Square, one a sombre reflection of the price of war, the other a joyful centre of musical excellence.
Now then, where were we…?
Deadpool & Wolverine (15, 128 mins). Buddy movies like 48 Hours have generally gone out of fashion, but Deadpool & Wolverine serve each other well in what is incredibly the 24th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
Ryan Reynolds plays Wade Wilson in his third Deadpool adventure, whilst Hugh Jackman is back as Logan / Wolverine for the 10th time (including two cameos) since helping to launch the franchise with X-Men at the turn of the century.
Failing to become a member of the Avengers sees the now used car salesman Wade later bringing Wolverine back to life to counteract the claims of Paradox (Matthew Macfadayen) that Deadpool’s timeline is deteriorating thanks to Logan’s death.
Other leading characters include Emma Corrin as the bald twin sister of Charles Xavier. A string of cameo performances include Jon Favreau (Happy Hogan), Wesley Snipes (Blade), Henry Cavill (Wolverine Variant), Chris Evans (Johnny Storm), Jennifer Garner (Elektra), Matthew McConaughey (Cowboy Deadpool) and Channing Tatum (Gambit).
Verdict: *** Putting Deadpool and Wolverine together in one film freshens up the characters at the same time, but the truth is Keanu Reeves’ John Wick would smash them both.
Not least because new corporate parent Disney relentlessly pokes fun at these characters having previously been with the rival – but now consumed – 20th Century Fox. And that’s right from the opening voiceover.
Directed by Night At The Museum’s Shawn Levy, the good thing about Reynolds’ performance here is that he’s surely too annoying to ever be let out on his own again as the wisecracking mercenary.
After saying he would never play Wolverine again, the now 55-year-old Jackman is literally eating his own words – with an 8,000 calories per day physical performance.
In the first 15-rated MCU movie (as per both previous Deadpool releases), the language is industrial strength (including the most hated word).
The ultra-violence includes decapitations and relentless stabbings, surely an abhorrent form of mainstream ‘entertainment’.
Fine for an age-restricted audience in cinemas, but once this film is streaming on a loop on big tellies, heaven knows what impact it will have on impressionable young ‘Marvel’ minds.
Although the plot will make little sense to non-fans, and the film has an exhausting desire to keep referencing its own DNA, the bonus is that its energy overcomes the script’s inertia.
The score is decent and with anthems by the likes of AC/DC and Madonna integrated into the soundtrack, it’s almost as if this is the first Marvel multiverse musical, too.
NB: The featured dog is called Dogpool… as in Dogpool Lane, Selly Park!
