The Merc with a Mouth is back, and he’s brought an adamantium-clawed friend along for the ride. “Deadpool & Wolverine” could be the shot in the arm the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) needs right now, and based on pre-sale tracking, it's essentially guaranteed to be the biggest blockbuster of the summer movie season.
“Deadpool 3” lands in theaters this Friday (July 26), and its review embargo has just dropped, letting lucky critics who got to see the comic book flick early give their thoughts. At the time of writing, “Deadpool & Wolverine” holds a strong 81% score on Rotten Tomatoes. This score comes from 145 reviews and has earned the movie a “Certified Fresh” seal.
However, while the early reviews have got many people in my social circle eager to catch Deadpool’s latest adventure over the weekend, I’m feeling a little more skeptical. That’s because, if you look at “Deadpool & Wolverine"'s Rotten Tomatoes score based on reviews from publications the review aggregate site deems to be “top critics,” the story is quite different.
Filtered by “top critics," “Deadpool & Wolverine” holds a 64% score (from 39 reviews). While this isn’t disastrous, it’s lower than the relatively recent MCU entry “Black Widow” (it scored 69% from “top critics”) which isn’t exactly a flattering comparison — Widow’s solo outing was super bland.
It’s also lower than “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 (67%) and "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (75%), though at least it beat out "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," which holds a rotten 59% score from “top critics” on Rotten Tomatoes.
This weaker “top critics” score suggests the 81% overall score could come from higher average scores awarded by enthusiast and hobbyist press. However, it should also be noted that a review from a “top critic” is not necessarily more valuable than any other score.
Here’s what “top critics” say about “Deadpool & Wolverine”
Diving into the reviews from “top critics” on Rotten Tomatoes and you’ll quickly stumble upon a whole lot of critics who were not especially impressed with the Marvel threequel.
Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph was especially cutting giving the movie just a single star and labeling it a “simpering, smirking movie that feels like a spiritual dead end for the franchise.”
Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney wasn’t much kinder: “For the core audience, the gags will be reward enough, even if the rest of us might squirm as the sloppily staged action grows repetitive, the plotting haphazard and the humor so self-aware the movie threatens to disappear up its own ass.” Meanwhile, Rafer Guzman of Newsday said, “I’d rather just watch a movie than be pandered to by one.”
Perhaps one of the most negative write-ups came from William Bibbiani of TheWrap. “A shameless piece of self-congratulation, fueled by self-cannibalism, as the studio which built its identity on superhero crossovers finally abandons the pretense of trying to justify them dramatically,” said Bibbiani in a review that Ryan Reynolds probably won’t want to read twice.
Of course, there have been plenty of more positive reviews from “top critics”. David Fear of Rolling Stones praised the movie for embracing its “meta-aspects to an absurd degree” while Liz Shannon Miller of Consequence called it “serviceable in its worst moments and a lot of fun when it’s really cooking.” The Guardian simply called it “amusing and exhausting.
Regardless of reviews, I reckon most superhero fans (and general movie watchers) will want to judge “Deadpool & Wolverine” for themselves. Despite my newfound concerns due to these less-than-positive opinions, I’ve still got my opening weekend ticket booked and will make my own judgment in the end.
