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Ron: Hello and welcome to Season 5 of Stereo Geeks. We’re kicking off this season with one of the most highly-anticipated films of the year: Deadpool & Wolverine. I’m Ron.

Mon: And I’m Mon.

Mon: For our review of Deadpool & Wolverine, we’re going to start with a non-spoiler review and then move into spoilers. We’ll let you know when the spoilers are coming. 

Ron: Shall we open with our anticipation levels for this film? I was filled with trepidation.

Mon: I was stoked. I mean, I knew what I was getting into — R-rated, lowbrow humour, a lot of gore, generally silly stuff, but I guess I was really missing seeing a Marvel movie on the big screen for this long, so I was excited!

Ron: I’ve found that over the last few years, I just don’t have the stomach for certain kinds of humour. I will turn it off. I found the humour in Deadpool 2 so cringe and the jokes dragged on for so long, it was honestly frustrating. I was concerned that this film would do the same, hence the trepidation.

Mon: I feel you. Deadpool 2 was bad. It was dull and boring, and the humour didn’t work. So, that was a concern going into Deadpool & Wolverine. Also, Ryan Reynolds now has so much clout that I had a feeling it would impact the quality of the end product. 

Ron: True. Reynolds does get in his own way. Having said that! I really, really, really, really wanted to see Wolverine. Especially in that gorgeous yellow suit. I rewatched all the X-Men films last year, except the Deadpool films, and I finally saw the appeal of Wolverine. Wolvie starts off as this gruff man with no interest in connections, and he slowly transforms into a man who cares too much—about Jean, Storm, Charles, Rogue, even Scott in some way. I don’t think I appreciated that before because I was more interested in everyone else but Wolverine. But yes, by the time I finished Logan, I was a certified fan and completely in my feels. The thought of seeing Wolverine again after so many years, I honestly couldn’t wait.

Mon: I really should have re-watched the X-Men films, because I think the moment’s gone now, especially with X-Men ‘97 Season 1 stealing my heart. I was interested in seeing Hugh Jackman back as Wolverine, for sure — maybe not as excited as you though.

Ron: Right. I don’t think anything X-Men-related has captivated us like X-Men ‘97 has. But did Deadpool & Wolverine meet your expectations, if not your hopes?

Mon: Yes and no. As I said, I knew I was going into an irreverent film with lots of bawdy humour and violent action. That’s what we got. But I expected to bawl my eyes out at the sight of any X-Men, and that didn’t happen. That’s on me, why did I think a Deadpool film would make me cry?

Ron: Ohhhh. I didn’t expect that at all so I saved myself that disappointment. It wasn’t like watching Days of Future Past where I was losing my mind every other second. It didn’t help that I found the first half of this film so very slow. It dragged, honestly. There were so many scenes that felt overlong—the same problem that I had with the second film! The whole focus of this film was to get to Wolverine but it took so long to get there. The moment Wolverine appeared, the dynamic of the film changed. There was an energy to it and Deadpool finally had someone to riff off of who wasn’t going to take his nonsense.

Mon: I’m sure there was more improv in this film than they’re letting on, because my word, every joke started off ok and then was dragged to death, which not only kills the humour, but brought the pace to a stuttering halt.

Ron: Agreed. At numerous points, I was like, please just get on with it. Or, we get it, you’re trying to make this joke. There’s repetition for humour, and there’s repetition because you’ve run out of ideas. This film thought it was doing the first, but kept doing the latter.

Mon: Any momentum the action scenes gave us just disappeared because of the extended stand-up routines interrupting them. And like, the action here is brilliant! It’s some of the best we’ve seen in the MCU in a long time. Slick and sexy — great camera angles, perfectly edited, and they conveyed a lot about the characters’ personalities despite essentially being a gore fest. 

Ron: The action was amazing in this film. It starts off with a huge action scene. I know Deadpool 1 did that, and really set the tone for that film. I can’t, for the life of me, remember if the second film did the same. Also, Deadpool dancing during the opening fight scene made me very happy. I love dancing and somehow seeing a superhero dance warmed my heart.

Mon: I love the opening credits fight scene. It’s definitely a thing in the trilogy, but this one looked particularly fantastic. And Deadpool’s suit — chef’s kiss to the design team!

Ron: Good point. I’m so in love with Wolvie’s suit, I didn’t even think to mention that Deadpool’s suit looks stunning.

Ron: One more thing to add about the opening sequence. Do we all remember the vitriol about She-Hulk dancing? Do you recall people responding, saying if Deadpool was doing this, people would be claiming it as the best thing since sliced bread? That’s exactly what’s happening! People are loving Deadpool dancing. I want to give Marvel credit and believe that they added it in just to highlight this dichotomy in reactions but I don’t think that’s what’s happened. But the sexism amongst fans is just infuriating.

Mon: She-Hulk does everything that Deadpool does but without the gore. But because she’s a female character who was introduced later in the franchise, she is criticized instead of lauded. It’s sexism and misogyny plain and simple. Fact is, She-Hulk broke the fourth wall in comics before Deadpool was even a thing. It doesn’t help that she was highly sexualized — because dudes created her — so she didn’t find her audience properly till later on.  

Ron: True. True. We’ve probably got to mention that Deadpool & Wolverine is extremely gory. Like, whoa, from the opening scene, it’s just blood and guts everywhere. 

Mon: Too much gore. 

Ron: Did the gore bother you?

Mon: Uh… not to the extent that I had to look away. Because I was expecting it. I get gratuitous violence is the thing that Deadpool fans are looking for, but I wouldn’t have minded them toning it down a tad bit. 

Ron: Right. I expected it to be much worse than it turned out to be. I tell ya, some of the preview trailers before the movie started grossing me out, which is probably why Deadpool & Wolverine didn’t bother me. 

Mon: Ah! You were inured to the actual film by then, huh?

Ron: You could say that! Also, I’ve spent this year watching stuff like Shogun; I should be used to gory scenes by now.

Mon: You know what actually annoyed me? The dick jokes. Ufff… that was really too much. Like, get over it, man! Enough with the butt shots and the butt slapping, etc. Who in this film wasn’t making some weird joke? At least, they could have varied the types of jokes. You can tell that 5 dudes wrote this film. There are a lot of in-jokes and references, but other than that, it’s a 12-year-old boy’s idea of being edgy. 

Ron: I know we’re expecting Deadpool to be foul-mouthed, but this movie pushed the limits for me.

Ron: But speaking of dick jokes, this film leans into homoeroticism. Lots of scenes with Deadpool and Wolverine physically close together. Male and female characters show romantic interest in both Deadpool and Wolverine. What did you think about that?

Mon: I clean forgot about the homoeroticism. It’s again, very much in the vein of hint-hint-wink-wink, we’re being naughty because we can, and very little to do with actually appealing to queer audiences. 

Ron: Yes. Despite Deadpool being hailed as a pansexual character, he’s really not been great representation for the queer community.

Mon: Exactly. So, what did you really like about this film? 

Ron: Wolverine. I’m very distracted by his presence. But if I look past Wolverine I think I liked that this movie reiterates that people can be better than their worst day. It’s the one bad day idea from Batman, isn’t it? Joker has one really bad day and becomes a villain. Bruce Wayne has one bad day and he becomes Gotham’s hero. It’s similar here. Wolvie had a bad day and made a terrible decision but that doesn’t mean he can’t be a hero. It’s about the choice to do good.

Mon: Yeah. I really liked the theme of the story — it’s not about what a hero is or wants, but why a hero is. I loved that. It gave Deadpool a roundedness that I didn’t know I wanted to see. I also loved how the film uses the ending of Logan as a foundation for telling the story, as well as saying goodbye to pre-/non-Disney Marvel films.

Ron: I realise I wasn’t concentrating on Deadpool at all. I’m going to have to go with your summation. 

Mon: I really loved Hugh Jackman stepping into the role of Wolverine like he’d never left. He loves this character and we love him playing Logan. I did feel he wasn’t moving as well as before, which is expected since he’s a lot older, but man, the pathos, the burden, the complicated tragedy of being Wolverine in any world, but especially his world, it all came across with little to no context. The writing and acting shine when it’s centred on Wolvie. 

Ron: Not moving as well? What? He was great. He looked great. He fought well. I know he’s been working out like a mad man. And he’s going through a divorce. None of that came across. He was great! The lovable grumpus to Deadpool’s sometimes annoying goofiness. Standard roadtrip fare except with spandex. 

Mon: There were definitely one or two scenes where Jackman wasn’t moving that well so we can agree to disagree. My last thought on this is — it takes a lot to keep a straight face and look grumpy when you’re in a goofy movie with a goofy co-star, and Hugh is so dang good at doing that in this film. 

Mon: Before we start on spoilers, do you have a one-line review that audiences should consider before heading into this film? 

Ron: Go for Wolverine, patiently wait for Wolverine, enjoy watching Wolverine.

Mon: For me, I felt like there was a perfect film about what makes a hero hiding beneath the surface of Deadpool & Wolverine, one that got drowned out by the terrible quip-fest created by the egos involved. 

Ron: Wow, we went for completely different vibes with our one-line reviews.

Ron: Anyway. Let’s move into the spoiler section of this review! If you haven’t seen the film yet, please watch it now because we will spoil everything!

Mon: Deadpool & Wolverine is about Deadpool trying to save his world from temporal annihilation and he needs to find Wolverine, any Wolverine, to ensure his world’s survival.

Ron: Please explain to me why we’re following Deadpool from Earth 10005? There’s no Deadpool on Earth 616? And who is his Wolverine? Not the one from Logan, right? I got confused because I thought the TVA was after Deadpool because he went back in time to change his past and save Vanessa, played by Morena Baccarin in a tiny, thankless role again. But that’s not why the TVA wants Deadpool; it’s so that he can save the anchor person, a new concept introduced in this film.

Mon: Ok, so it seems that the Fox X-Men franchise (and the rest of the 20th Century Fox superhero movies) are set in Earth-10005. Hence, Deadpool is from that universe. Logan is also set in that universe, so Deadpool’s universe is disappearing because of Wolvie’s sacrifice. But, Mr. Paradox, played by Matthew Macfadyen, wants to speed up the destruction of Earth-10005 and hence he brings in Deadpool. 

Mon: There’s understandable confusion about where Deadpool is from because early on in the movie he’s on Earth-616, talking to Happy Hogan about joining the Avengers. It seems like he used Cable’s time-traveling device to get to the Sacred Timeline. Time travel and dimension-hopping aren’t one and the same, and I don’t remember exactly what rules the previous film established about the device, but we do know that Deadpool came to our Earth, in the past, and shot Ryan Reynolds in the head so he wouldn’t make Green Lantern — so we know he can dimension hop. Now, how he knew about 616 and the Avengers, I don’t know. This is more a nod to Deadpool idolizing Steve Rogers in the comics than a fleshed out story idea. 

Ron: Thanks for the explanation! But I am confused about one other thing. Deadpool and Wolverine get sent to the Void by Mr Paradox, who uses a time stick to disintegrate them. We’d been to the Void before, in Loki Season 1.

Mon: Yeah, that’s odd for me too. Because, wouldn’t that mean a lot of dead people in the Loki show are actually alive and wandering the Void aimlessly? 

Ron: Exactly. And why are so many mutants there? Cassandra Nova apparently was kept there since childhood, but Psylocke, Toad, Deathstryke, Sabretooth? What did mutants do to deserve this?

Mon: Variants, mate. Notice how most of these mutants/Morlocks don’t look like the ones we’ve met in the films before. 

Mon: There are some aberrations in the mutants, obviously, like Dafne Keen’s Laura, Aaron Stanford’s Pyro and Tyler Mane’s Sabretooth. 

Ron: Yes, exactly! That’s what confused me. I was also wondering about Johnny Storm. He mentions that Reed had a theory about the Void, so did the 2005 cast get yeeted to the void when Fan4stic came out?

Mon: I didn’t think of that, but that makes so much sense. 

Mon: Essentially, the creative team are telling us that these people, especially the ones we recognize, are part of worlds that no longer exist — because the Fox era has now ended. That’s also the same for the unproduced and finally cancelled Gambit film, so we see Channing Tatum here, and the wish fulfillment one like the Cavrilline with Henry Cavill. It’s all symbolic, mate. 

Ron: Okay, that makes so much more sense now. I couldn’t figure out why these characters had been banished to the Void. Please explain the Cavillrine to me. What the hell is this?

Mon: So, the Cavillrine — you know how the internet latches on to good-looking white guys who they feel have been hard done by? Well, Henry Cavill is one such guy. Look, he’s been through the wringer with Warner Bros. He was Superman in some of the worst Superman films out there. Then the whole Snyderverse nonsense that heralded the end of the DCU. But then he showed up in Black Adam and it seemed like he was back. Except, he wasn’t. It must have been pretty humiliating for him to announce his return as Superman, only for the rug to be pulled from beneath him. Sure enough, the moment the DC door closed on him, the internet fancast Cavill as every single superhero you could think of — one that caught some steam was Henry as Wolverine. Till this movie, I couldn’t see it, but you know what, Henry looked kinda cool as Wolverine here. But it only works as a two-second gimmick, I don’t think he could carry a franchise as Wolvie. 

Mon: Did you figure out who it was before he turned? I knew it wasn’t Hugh Jackman, because we initially only saw him from the back, but I really couldn’t have guessed who it was till I saw Henry. 

Ron: No, absolutely not. It looked like Wolverine from Origins, especially with the bike. So I was wondering what Deadpool was making such a fuss about. And then he said ‘Henry’, and when Cavillrine turned around, I realised who it was. But I had no idea that Cavill as Wolvie had been on anybody’s wishlist so it was just an odd moment for me. Also, the editing was weird because they were trying to drag out the moment.

Mon: Yo, let’s not skip over Channing Tatum as Gambit. Can we talk about it? I was so disappointed to see Tatum, I thought it was Taylor Kitsch reprising his role from X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but it turned out to be Tatum. Booo. I don’t think he did a bad job — he works as a joke. But this isn’t our Gambit, is it?

Ron: I don’t really know what to say about Tatum as Gambit. It was a joke. It was meant to be a joke but I don’t understand how a film can have a Gambit, any Gambit, and not give him some level of pathos. Such a strange choice. Moving on!

Mon: Let’s also talk about the anchor being concept. Was it even needed? Some people are getting upset about this concept because it means that some lives are more important than others. This is a completely new thing introduced in this film — while I don’t know if we can take it seriously because this is a Deadpool film, some people are saying it’s already been hinted at being used in the next phase of the MCU. 

Mon: Either way, here’s my thought. Don’t take things so literally, people. The concept is introduced as symbolism for how Fox pinned their hopes on Wolverine launching a franchise, and for a bit it worked. Bad writing, bad studio decisions, then took it all down. 

Even beyond that, the idea that the universe is rigged so that the majority are doomed because of one white guy is… hilariously on point and a reflection of the real world. In truth, some lives are treated as more important than others and it’s horribly unfair. I don’t think the film is trying to be that deep, but it sure feels that way. 

And finally, the main reason for Earth-10005 dying is that Logan was never supposed to die. He acted against type, against nature, and that’s why things changed. We explore a similar theme in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, but there it’s the canon events, and it’s more personal. This isn’t a hugely original idea, but it certainly works for the symbolism of this film. 

And it’s very clever to bring in the TVA and have B-15 from the Loki show connect to the events of the Loki finale. It’s utterly poetic — Loki, a villain, makes a heroic sacrifice which saves the multiverse, here we learn that a hero, Wolverine, makes a heroic sacrifice that leads to the destruction of his universe. And a hero and villain combined then save it. It’s wonderful! 

Ron: Thank you for tackling the anchor being idea. I was not bothered by it but I guess others were.

Mon: I know we’ve critiqued the pacing already, but I need to emphasise just how disappointing the pacing in this film makes the viewing experience. 

Ron: But somehow The Marvels was the end for all women in superhero films? I can’t help but compare this film with the ones that we loved and were vilified. People complained about Eternals being slow and full of exposition, to the point where we will never see those characters again, apparently. But this film is packed with exposition and nobody’s complaining about that!

Mon: Oh, I agree with you. Seems like the MCU dies every time a non-white non-male person comes near it, but it’s saved when the white dudes are involved. Quality be damned.

Third act

Mon: Let’s chat about the third act of the film because I think this is the best part of the film — good execution, pacing, and some surprising heartfelt moments. It’s not all perfect, there’s still way too much unnecessary silliness, and yes, it’s super gory, but it was also riveting. 

Mon: That denouement, especially, really got me. They really play with your emotions because we think Wolvie is going to make the big sacrifice play, which makes sense for him having lost everyone, but then Deadpool decided to be the better man and swaps places with Wolvie so he can finally matter. And then, Wolvie joins Deadpool, because Deadpool didn’t think things through and couldn’t reach the other MacGuffin. I mean, I loved it.

Ron: I don’t mean to be a spoilsport but the denouement felt silly to me. 

Mon: This is an outrage. How are we not aligned on this film?

Ron: I agree with everything you’ve said, I just don’t think the film had to go there. Obviously there was only going to be one way to save Deadpool’s universe and he had to be the one to do it because this movie is called Deadpool & Wolverine, not the other way around. So why not make the sacrifice play together in the beginning? Cement the relationship that we’ve spent two hours watching unfold.

Mon: You make a really good point. They were trying to up the drama. 

Ron: Indeed. But again, my struggle with this film and the second film was that it kept adding in extra beats that weren’t necessary. Destroys the emotional heft and slows the pace.

Ron: Now, you and I have always had our ears out for film scores. The last few years, the scores have left us wanting. There might be a theme or two that stands out but the entire album? Not so much. I did like some of the score for Deadpool & Wolverine, though. Deadpool has a new theme which sounds epic, though I’m confused about the cat screech in between. There are no cats in this film.

Mon: I didn’t clock much of the score while watching the film, except the end credits music which sounded cool. I’ve heard the score album now, and I kinda dig it. Though the cat screech still gives me pause.

Ron: What about the soundtrack? I know you have thoughts!

Mon: Most of the song choices seemed totally incongruous to me. Some of them are such meta jokes, that it’s lost on the average viewer. For example, there’s apparently a song from The Greatest Showman in here, which is an obvious nod to Hugh’s role in the film, but  I don’t know how many people would even recognize it. The first fight scene between Deadpool and Logan in the Void is set against AC/DC, and I’m like AC/DC, again? Give me a ruddy break. They’ve been done to death in the MCU, look for someone new. I mean, look at the number of awesome songs and artists we’ve learnt about and listen to because the music supervisors on Black Panther and Birds of Prey looked beyond the usual.

Ron: Lets not forget the soundtracks of the Spider-Verse films. Those are incredible.

Mon: How could I forget the Spider-Verse films. I play those albums on loop. 

It wasn’t all bad with Deadpool & Wolverine, but I didn’t find the soundtrack all that memorable. The one song choice I did like was Bye Bye Bye by *NSYNC. I do enjoy the song, but this is another meta joke. In X2: X-Men United, when Wolverine is rescuing Rogue, Iceman and Pyro, Pyro puts the car radio on and it blasts Bye Bye Bye. It’s a hilarious moment that cuts the tension and solidified my love for the song. So, of course a film re-introducing Pyro should have that song. Except, they don’t play the song in relation to Pyro. Like, why? Imagine if Pyro had driven in with this ruddy song playing? Oh my word, we would be on fire! This film, I swear, is so frustrating. 

Ron: Madonna’s Like A Prayer playing over Logan’s abs though. That was perfection. 

Mon: Music aside, you can feel the too-many-cooks-in-the-kitchen feeling whenever Dogpool shows up, or the fact that Dogpool showed up at all. What is Dogpool trying to show us here? It’s just a funny bit. That time could have been spent with Wolverine and Laura, because if you want us to see that Logan’s walls are coming down, him opening up to Laura and coming to fight by her side would have done a much better job of that than a dang dog. 

Ron: I could have done without the dog. 

Favourite Cameos

Ron: We’ve got to talk about all those cameos because Deadpool & Wolverine was packed with them. For me, the numerous Logans were great to see. The brown and yellow suit Wolverine, I would’ve loved to see more of him.

Mon: I did not know that Deadpool & Wolverine was Fanservice: The Movie, but I loved seeing the different versions of Wolverine. Honestly, could have done with a few more of those variants — I don’t think that would have been overlong. I loved that they included Age of Apocalypse Wolverine, but I wish he’d been a tad more sinister. 

Ron: You know who wasn’t a cameo in this film? Taylor Swift as Dazzler. That is the only thing I’ve heard about for months and it didn’t even happen.

Mon: Thank Uatu! I don’t think I could have dealt with that. 

Ron: The survivors of the Void were probably the biggest cameos for me. Seeing Jennifer Garner as Elektra and Wesley Snipes as Blade, unbelievable that they came back for this movie. Which is essentially a farewell to these versions of the characters. I’m assuming we’ll get to see Elodie Yung’s Elektra in the MCU. No idea about Mahershala Ali as Blade because Marvel would rather give 80 million bucks to RDJ than make a Blade movie apparently.

Mon: Yeah, and Wesley Snipes says in this film that there will only ever be one Blade, so I’m guessing Mahershala Ali’s chance is gone. Why don’t they just announce it and leave him be. Marvel’s pulling a DC on Mahershalla. 

Mon: Ok, please explain why we didn’t get any other X-Men characters from the Fox films? Someone, anyone would have done. Worst Wolverine has this heartbreaking flashback, and he’s next to memorials with no names, he’s talking about incidents we can’t see. Listen, Hugh sells it, I’m not saying he doesn’t, but given that the film was packed with cameos, some utterly useless ones, Wolvie interacting with the people he loved would have taken the emotions to the next level! 

Ron: I know! Halle Berry is right there. Especially during those emotional scenes from Worst Wolverine. We should have got a flashback to him seeing the X-Men.

Ron: I guess we should mention Johnny Storm. Or rather Chris Evans. Because that was not Johnny in the film. It was Chris Evans with flame powers. Ever since Endgame, I’ve felt that Evans has struggled with his acting. Ghosted was funny but terrible. You watched that film at TIFF last year where you couldn’t tell if it was the character or Chris Evans you were watching.

Mon: Yeah, Chris Evans is forgetting how not to be Chris Evans, which is not great. The TIFF film, for our listeners, is Pain Hustlers, and it’s not a good film. Chris Evans’ acting is the least of its problems.

But, on to Johnny Storm. I 100% knew Evans was going to show up. I didn’t know before the film, of course, I wasn’t expecting any cameos in the film. But, when Deadpool is shown the Avengers highlights reels by Mr. Paradox, there was a lot of Steve Rogers in there. Now, this is a nod to comic book Deadpool’s love for Steve, but as soon as I saw them playing that much Evans footage, I was like, he’s going to show up.

Ron: When the hooded figure showed up and Deadpool was talking about he was the hero of all heroes, I was so lost. Who is this? Definitely not Captain America. And then Evans shows up. But as Johnny. The bait and switch wasn’t bad but Evans acting didn’t work for me.

Mon: It didn’t? But he was so fun! You can tell Evans is having the time of his life with this take on Johnny Storm. I genuinely did not realise the Human Torch, of all characters, would be resurrected. He was incredibly fun to watch. I loved seeing Evans back in the MCU, even if it was for a brief minute.

Ron: Not resurrected for long, sadly. While we’re talking cameos, which characters deserved better in Deadpool & Wolverine? Shatterstar, surely? Why can’t Hollywood give Lewis Tan better roles. He has no lines in this film! And Shatterstar is such a fan-favourite character.

Mon: Shatterstar! I love him. I can’t believe Lewis Tan was dragged back to sit in the background. He deserves so much better than Hollywood will ever give him. But, you know what, after the dumb dig about how the X-Force team not testing well (apparently), I was glad to see Shatterstar, even for a little bit.

Ron: And why did Cable get the blame for Deadpool 2 not working out? He wasn’t the problem! Deadpool was the problem. Sheesh. 

Mon: Please, I’m glad we didn’t have Cable in this film, but why did Domino get short shrift? 

Ron: What’s worse, though? Domino sitting in the background somewhere with no lines, like Shatterstar, or us imagining she’s living her best life without Deadpool in it?

Mon: You have a point. I also wish the main franchise cast had been involved in the main story more. Negasonic, Yukio, Vanessa, Dopinder, CGI Collussus, Blind Al, why were they forgotten? This was Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania all over again. Like literally - Deadpool is even stuck in a different world like in that film and forms different teams. The MCU is running in place, mate!

Ron: Yes. Agreed. You can’t just drop the core cast you’ve been building up for a trilogy. I’d also say I was expecting more Pyro in this film. Aaron Stanford was clearly excited to be back and he’s been posting about it. He’s in the opening credits as well. But Pyro’s role was so small! And I’m not entirely convinced this wasn’t James Cole with the ability to control fire. 

Mon: Pyro! I thought I’d cry when I saw Pyro, but I didn’t. And then it turned out he was again a double-crossing baddie? Again, everything about the writing in the MCU, especially by majority white creatives, is running in place. Imagine Pyro getting a heroic sacrifice here? Considering we see no one else from the Fox films, I feel like the treatment of Pyro is a testament to Marvel Studios basically dunking on the original franchise.

Ron: Pyro being a turncoat isn’t a big surprise. Stanford sold it well. He was quite amusing in his final scene.

Ron: But what about Cassandra Nova, the actual villain of this story? First of all, where were the women in this film? We got a bit of Elektra and Laura but wow, this movie is just screaming that it’s only for dudes. Wolverine is probably as popular as he is because of female viewers, but this movie clearly doesn’t want to acknowledge that. 

Mon: But this lack of regard for the female characters and heroes from the Marvel films is signposted from the start. Happy Hogan’s office is filled with Avengers memorabilia, as long as the memorabilia belongs to Iron Man and Captain America. Is there more? Can’t see it because the camera doesn’t focus on them. Let’s be honest, Marvel doesn’t care about the ladies, they never have, and it’s little more than lip-service nowadays, irrespective of how wonderful the stories about the ladies are, they’ll be forgotten by the powers-that-be.

Ron: Yes. The only meaty non-dude role was Cassandra Nova. I thought Emma Corrin turned out to be a great choice. I felt like I could almost see Charles Xavier in Cassandra.

Mon: I know nothing about Cassandra Nova, and I was concerned about them casting such a young actor to play the character. Isn’t Nova elderly? 

Ron: Nova is Charles’ twin but she’s… there’s some weird stuff about her birth, or lack thereof. So she’s quite wrinkled but not elderly. She’s definitely not as beautiful as Emma Corrin. 

Mon: Ah. Kinda weird how all these films keep turning wrinkled ladies into gorgeous women – Madame Web, Cassandra Nova. 

Ron: How can dudes have an ugly woman in their film? The more we’re talking about this film, the more annoyed I’m getting.

Mon: Anyway, Corrin did great. They channeled both Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy to make us believe that Nova is indeed Xavier’s twin. I loved that they had a binder on and got to proudly show it off. And the binder also gives their outfit an X shape, which is a nice nod to Nova’s X-Men connection.

Ron: Yes. I did like the nod to Corrin’s non-binary identity in Cassandra’s uniform. Underneath her signature long coat, Cassandra wears a binder. And it’s not hidden. Emma Corrin has spoken about the importance of visible identity and has taken intimate portraits of themself in a binder. So that was a great nod.

Mon: We’ve talked about a lot but was Deadpool & Wolverine a good farewell to the franchise that introduced us to the Marvel world of superheroes? 

Ron: Good question! It’s making me remember something. When we first got into the X-Men comics, we absolutely despised the Avengers. They were always awful to the X-Men. The fact that we enjoyed the Avengers films at all is a miracle. But here’s the problem. The MCU is driven by the Avengers. Are they going to have the understanding, the compassion that comes from loving the X-Men? We’ve got X-Men ‘97 that’s such a love letter to mutantkind. It isn’t afraid to lean into the fears of life as a mutant and the intense bigotry that mutants face. Is the MCU going to understand that? Or are mutants going to be the punching bag of the MCU?

Mon: So, where are we going with the mutants? Let’s look at the future of the MCU now. Will the over-reliance on multiverse plots and meta-stories end? Will we ever escape the need for cameos? Will we get creators who aren’t white men behind-the-scenes to build our future?

None of this will happen soon. They need to get these gimmicks and novelties out of their system — it’s fun, I do like it, but I’m missing meaningful stories and storytelling. We see what shows like X-Men ‘97 and The Acolyte can do because they ground their stories in real-world issues and dynamics. The MCU has become very much about pandering and fan-service. Again, that’s not to say I don’t revel in that charm, but we need more!

Apparently Ryan Reynolds first approached Jordan Peele to work on the film but he couldn’t fit it isn’t his schedule. I wonder what that would have been like — what layers Peele would have brought to something that’s so much in his wheelhouse. In another universe, perhaps. 

Ron: A Jordan Peele-MCU film? I would like to see that. You know, we’ve had quite a few hints now that the mutants are in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Kamala Khan, aka Ms Marvel, has been deemed a mutant. Monica Rambeau is in a universe with Beast and Binary. Wolverine is in this film. So, when are we getting an X-Men film? And are we going to see any of the incredible female mutants who are honestly carrying the comics franchise?

Mon: The best X-Men are women, yeah? But, that’s the problem isn’t it? Marvel is going backwards in its thinking. Are we going to see the Marvels again and the universe Binary is in? Are we going to see any ladies leading? Any people of colour writing and directing? I don’t know, man. The best we’re going to get with the Avengers films is to bring back the Russos and McFeely? Deadpool & Wolverine could hardly contain its fat-shaming but it kept it to the minimum. Are we going to now double down on it with the Infinity War and Endgame people back in the saddle? Are we going to sideline the characters of colour because the white directors don’t understand how meaningful these heroes are to an underrepresented demographic? 

Ron: You’re talking about Black Panther and Captain Marvel being underused in the latter part of the MCU Phase 3. The Russo brothers et al apparently didn’t expect these two characters to be popular. Because I guess they forgot people of colour and women exist, let alone watch movies?

Mon: Yes. It’s infuriating. Because what happens now? Are we going to kill off the last few female heroes because otherwise the plot won’t move? I can’t deal with that — and yet we’re stuck. Feige and team have only heard the loudest and worst of the criticism and taken it to mean the white guys must be our saviours, no one else will do. 

Ron: I don’t think watching this film following the SDCC announcements has endeared me to Deadpool & Wolverine or the next phases of the MCU much. Because Marvel seems to be saying this is what we’re going to get more of. We tried ladies in the lead and people of colour in the lead. But that didn’t work (because a small group of loud sexists and racists said so) after generations of not trying it anyway. So let’s just go back to the status quo. They’re pandering to the lowest common denominators, again, and giving us the white dude superheroes who make dick jokes. This is a really dour note to end the review on but I’m not feeling hopeful for the MCU. It doesn’t look like it’s interested in us as audiences anymore. 

Mon: I agree. As much as we enjoyed parts of Deadpool & Wolverine, it gives us little hope for the future of the MCU. It’s not saved, it just refuses to move forward.

Ron: You’re right. You know what, let’s go rewatch The Marvels.

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Mon: You can find us on social media @Stereo_Geeks. Or send us an email [email protected]. 

Mon: The Stereo Geeks logo was created using Canva. The music for our podcast comes courtesy Audionautix.

Ron: Don’t forget to rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts. See you next time. 

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