Nothing can stop Hugh from being great
Hugh Jackman on Reviving Wolverine, the Iconic Yellow Suit and Potential Deadpool & Wolverine Cameos
Deep beneath all the layers of sarcasm and meta-jokes, the Deadpool movies' greatest strength has always secretly been emotional sincerity. It's also the biggest missing element from the latest installment, Deadpool & Wolverine. But what Deadpool lacks in heart this time around, Hugh Jackman more than makes up for as Wolverine.
Wade Wilson/Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) has a winning vulnerability in his first two film outings, even if he hides it under layers of snark. He loves his girlfriend Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). He appreciates his friends. He empathizes with Russell (Julian Dennison), a lonely kid with mutant powers. His heart carries the Deadpool movies and makes them more than a series of gags. The films main joke is that while all of this is clear, Deadpool himself would never really say any of it out loud, preferring to hide it under a mountain of sarcasm. In his first Marvel Cinematic Universe outing, however, the cynicism on the surface is as deep as the character goes.
Sure, the movie technically revolves around Deadpool trying to save his timeline so he can save his friends. But that motivation feels more mandatory than true character motivation. He talks about his friends when the plot calls for him to care, but the moments in between are too filled with irreverent banter and franchise IP jokes to make room for Deadpool to have any real emotions—or even a cursory mention of why he likes the people around him. Now that he's Disney's Deadpool, he saves people because that's what a Disney hero does, not because he actually loves them.
