Ben Crombie

A terrifically silly and rude romp, with some surprising emotion at its core. This is a return to form for the MCU, ironically featuring no major MCU characters. Fans of the previous Deadpool films should enjoy this just as much as past outings, though diehards may be a little disappointed to see that Cable and Domino don't make a return here. Ryan Reynolds is once again on top form firing off jokes left and right, nothing is sacred here, and that's a good thing. And while the MCU has oft been criticised for overuse of humour, here it works, that's what the character is about after all. Silly fun. Hugh Jackman brings every ounce of stern badassery and sad, grizzled lone wolf he can muster. This is probably the best version of an 'in his prime' Wolverine we'll ever get in live action. And there are a couple scenes where the man is really acting his butt off. Plenty of fun and unexpected cameos make treats for the devoted comic book nerds. And while I'm not usually a huge fan of meta-narratives, it makes perfect sense here in a Deadpool movie. I feel like there's an underlying commentary on how big studios discard or undervalue characters that I found surprisingly compelling. This obviously doesn't mean the MCU is 'saved' but who the hell cares? Grab some popcorn and have fun with it. Deadpool doesn't have to matter in the grander narrative, and that's what makes him work.