I don’t know about “The Godfather,” “X-Men,” and “Shrek,” but turns out with “Deadpool” the third time is in fact the charm.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” is the third film of the “Deadpool” series, and features Ryan Reynolds reprising his role as the Merc with the Mouth while Hugh Jackman picks up his claws once more in his iconic Wolverine role. In the film, Deadpool must recruit a reluctant Wolverine to help save his dying universe. Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Aaron Stanford, and Matthew Macfadyen also star, while Shawn Levy directs and co-writes.

I am lukewarm on the Deadpool films. The first film is pretty fun, but as both I and the film grow older the immature humor is less entertaining and more tedious. The 2018 sequel (and especially its PG-13 alternative cut) was pretty rough, with a lot of jokes and fourth wall breaks that didn’t land, but it still has its charm. I was looking forward to “Deadpool 3” since the character is now owned by Disney (so ipso facto, the MCU), and I was interested in seeing how they would explain the cinematic merger. Turns out the end results are quite fun, with a lot of fan service and a surprising amount of respect paid to the bygone era of the 20th Century Fox superhero movies, even if the cameos and colors will be too much (or rather, not enough) for some audiences.

I used to be a big Ryan Reynolds fan before he blew up with “Deadpool,” but in the eight years since he has essentially played the same version of himself in every film (though to his credit, I thought he was a bit subdued in this year’s “IF“). Reynolds obviously is going to Deadpool it up in a Deadpool movie, but I do think he and director Shawn Levy took *some* notes from the internet and toned down the annoying factor a touch (Reynolds has proven he has good comedic timing, and he delivers some good jokes thanks to a funny script, which he also co-wrote).

Reprising his most famous role of Wolverine (despite dying in 2017’s “Logan“) is Hugh Jackman (hey, if I was offered $20 million to memorize some lines and stand in front of a green screen, I’d do it too). The way Levy and his team handle bringing Wolverine’s character back without ruining the legacy of “Logan” and Jackman’s 17-year run is pretty sensitive, and I don’t think it softens the impact of that film or the original X-Men series at all. Nerds have waited for years for Wolverine and Deadpool to face-off/team-up (since both are essentially unkillable), and the fight sequences we get are great fun. Jackman is clearly enjoying being able to swear and actually draw some blood in an R-rated film, and the duo share some solid bromantic chemistry together.

The concept of the multiverse has grown stale in many people’s minds, with multiple films and franchises trying to exploit the concept for nostalgia or lazy screenwriting purposes. Marvel isn’t safe from the accusations, because while the idea of different versions of cherished characters felt fun and fresh in 2019, the (generally speaking) subpar films we’ve gotten as of late have soured the appeal. Still, while “Deadpool & Wolverine” has cameos a plenty, they actually lend themselves to the story and aren’t just a cutaway to a Kevin Hart-type so the audience points to the screen and says “hey, I know that actor!” Some moments actually make you feel nostalgic for the old pre-MCU Marvel properties, and just like how “Spider-Verse” and “No Way Home” recontextualized how we view old Spider-Man films, this makes you look on old characters, some of them over 20 years old, in a new light. I managed to only have one of the cameos spoiled for me before going in, and I’m thankful because two in particular were fantastic, and I love how Disney has made previous superhero franchises like the X-Men and Spider-Man different “timelines” that still exist in the context of the MCU.

The action here is pretty satisfying, though it does suffer from the modern blockbuster problem of “ok, this is clearly a green screen.” Levy isn’t new to big budget films but he is to superhero movies, and I think he does a good job helming the action and actually having the audience understand what is happening on-screen. It does get a little “our heroes fight a faceless CGI army” in act three, but at this point in the Marvel machine you should know what you’re signing up for.

If you hated the first two “Deadpool” films then this isn’t different enough to convert you, but if you were even kind of entertained by them like me, enjoy most MCU products, or grew up in the early 2000s with X-Men and the post-“Spider-Man” genre boom, then this is a fun love letter to some B-list heroes. I had a great time in my theater, and it was really the first time since “Spider-Man: No Way Home” back in December 2021 that an MCU release felt like an actual cinematic event. Just like “Avengers: Endgame” and “No Way Home” I’m sure some of “Deadpool & Wolverine” allure will wear off without crowds and knowing the surprises, but reviewing my experience after watching the film for the first time… it honestly is some of the most fun I’ve had watching a movie in a while.

Critics Rating: 8/10