Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) Reviews: What Critics Said

Editorial note: This is a roundup of published criticism of Deadpool & Wolverine. Celluloid has not screened the film for this piece, and it carries no Celluloid rating. The critics are named and linked under Sources.

Is Deadpool & Wolverine worth watching?

Critics were genuinely split: admirers found it the funniest, most confident Marvel film in years, while detractors saw a crowded, self-congratulatory run of in-jokes. Most agreed that Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are the draw, and several felt Jackman brings real feeling to a returning role. The division is over whether the cameos, meta gags and multiverse plotting add up to a satisfying film or simply get in its way.

What is Deadpool & Wolverine about?

Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) has put his days as the mercenary Deadpool behind him and is drifting through civilian life. When his home world faces an existential threat, he reluctantly suits up again and recruits an even more reluctant Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). Emma Corrin plays the villain Cassandra Nova and Matthew Macfadyen plays Mr. Paradox, with Dafne Keen, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney and Leslie Uggams also in the cast.

Shawn Levy directs from a script he wrote with Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick and Zeb Wells. Released in 2024, Deadpool & Wolverine runs 128 minutes.

What critics praised

The strongest champion was Olly Richards in Empire, who felt Marvel had rediscovered its swagger. He found Reynolds and Jackman a dream double act, with Reynolds firing off jokes and asides to the audience while Jackman supplies both comedy and genuine emotion, giving the character a second worthy farewell after Logan. He credited Levy with a sure grip on tone and a brisk pace, said nearly all the gags land, and argued that the film takes care to bring along viewers who have not memorised every reference.

Ross Bonaime of Collider was similarly enthusiastic, judging Reynolds’ jokes tighter and funnier than ever and welcoming a harder-edged, more brutal Wolverine. He felt the film celebrates the Fox era of Marvel films, before the Disney takeover, in ways that are surprising and serve the story, was pleased that Deadpool remains as violent, foul-mouthed and irreverent as before, and ranked it among Levy’s best work.

Even less convinced critics found things to like. Tim Grierson in Screen Daily enjoyed the oil-and-vinegar chemistry of the leads, praised Jackman for returning to the mournful register of Logan, found some sequences surprisingly moving and thought Corrin a suitably menacing villain. In The A.V. Club, Jesse Hassenger found a real poignancy in Deadpool’s wish to reunite with Wolverine after their botched first pairing in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Where critics were divided

Grierson’s overall verdict was that the film underwhelms: bogged down by convoluted multiverse mechanics and drab fan service, crammed with one-liners and cameos, and less sharp than the earlier films because it has to serve Marvel’s wider story. Hassenger argued that Levy seems capable mainly of managing cameos and letting Reynolds joke, that the action, though amusingly bloody, arrives at erratic intervals, and that this Wolverine’s sorrowful backstory is a diluted echo of Logan. Even Bonaime admitted the fights can turn into an unfocused jumble of limbs and blood, and Richards felt Corrin is not given enough to match the leads.

David Jenkins of Little White Lies was more mixed still. He thought the nostalgia and the jokes about Marvel’s multiverse work better than expected, but found little chemistry between the two leads, whose styles barely mesh, and likened the humour to hit-and-miss sketch comedy with far more misses than hits. He also doubted the credibility of a corporate-sponsored rebel.

The harshest view came from Hafsah Abbasi in Paste, who dismissed it as a smug corporate product that mistakes self-awareness for substance. She found the jokes tired, the story overloaded with lore that demands homework, and the digital look ugly and over-reliant on computer-generated backdrops.

Who is it for?

On the critics’ evidence, this is best for viewers who enjoyed Deadpool and Deadpool 2 and have affection for Jackman’s Wolverine and the older X-Men films. The more Marvel lore you bring, the more the jokes will land: Richards thought casual viewers well looked after, but Abbasi warned that newcomers may feel shut out. It is rated R in the US and 15 in the UK, and critics noted its bloody violence, crude sexual jokes and foul language. More titles sit on the comedy shelf.

The critical verdict

Most critics agreed that Reynolds and Jackman make a lively pairing and that Jackman gives the film unexpected heart, though Little White Lies found the two poorly matched. Beyond that, they split sharply. Supporters saw a funny, confident and accessible crowd-pleaser, while sceptics found an overcrowded exercise in fan service that cannot escape the franchise machinery it mocks. The consensus is that enjoyment depends heavily on how much you already love these characters.