Deadpool & Wolverine Review

07/31/24 • 152 min

LFG!!! Deadpool & Wolverine has slashed its way through multiple box office records. Its opening weekend has made more money than any other R-rated movie, and it’s currently in sixth place for the highest-grossing weekend of all time. Will it have the summer movie legs to join last summer’s winner, Barbie, in the billion dollar club? And what does this success signify? Does it portend anything for the future of the MCU? Or is it more a testament to Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman’s collective star power?

In this episode of The Long Take Review, Colby Mead of The Colbycast joins us to debate these questions, as well as respond to complaints from the critics who aren’t exactly screaming LFG. We consider who this movie is for, what it’s about, and how much prior knowledge is actually required to appreciate the jokes and story. We share all our favorite moments. We may have even stumble upon a working thesis. This recording was longer than the movie itself, but you’ll want to stick around to hear Colby’s brilliant thoughts about Marvel hero history, P.T.’s explanation of how the multiverse works in this film, and Jen’s pitch for an Alpha Flight movie (well, maybe that last one’s not worth sticking around for).

You can listen to The Long Take Review on Substack, Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Image Credit: LA Times

Movie News Update: We react to big MCU news coming out of San Diego Comic Con and Deadpool & Wolverine’s box office boom. 4:03

The Short Take: Our spoiler-free review of Deadpool & Wolverine. 30:54

The Recommendation Algorithm: Who should go see Deadpool & Wolverine? What do you need to have seen (and how old do you need to be) to deeply appreciate the humor in this film? 35:44

SPOILER MODE: Does this movie have a story? What’s the thesis of this movie? Then we share our favorite cameos, jokes, fight scenes, etc. 50:28

Our favs/superlatives. 1:41:00

The Rhetorical Situation: How do feel like this film engages with the history of these characters and the history of comic book movies? 2:10:27

All music licensed through Epidemic Sound.

Logo art: Illustration 73265080 © Worldofvector | Dreamstime.com

Get full access to The Long Take at thelongtake.substack.com/subscribe

You can listen to The Long Take Review on Substack, Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Image Credit: LA Times

Movie News Update: We react to big MCU news coming out of San Diego Comic Con and Deadpool & Wolverine’s box office boom. 4:03

The Short Take: Our spoiler-free review of Deadpool & Wolverine. 30:54

The Recommendation Algorithm: Who should go see Deadpool & Wolverine? What do you need to have seen (and how old do you need to be) to deeply appreciate the humor in this film? 35:44

SPOILER MODE: Does this movie have a story? What’s the thesis of this movie? Then we share our favorite cameos, jokes, fight scenes, etc. 50:28

Our favs/superlatives. 1:41:00

The Rhetorical Situation: How do feel like this film engages with the history of these characters and the history of comic book movies? 2:10:27

All music licensed through Epidemic Sound.

Logo art: Illustration 73265080 © Worldofvector | Dreamstime.com

Get full access to The Long Take at thelongtake.substack.com/subscribe

Previous Episode

Twisters Review

Look. We know that Deadpool & Wolverine is about to take over theaters and probably dominate the summer box office narrative. We, too, are excited to see the merc with a mouth team up with everyone’s favorite clawed hero. But, what we fear may get lost in the MCU shuffle is another fun summer blockbuster already out in theaters: Lee Isaac Chung’s Twisters.

This sequel to the 90s hit that put disaster movies on the map stars Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos, and a slew of other up and coming actors who all give charismatic performances. The story follows Kate (Edgar-Jones), a former tornado chaser and meteorologist who reluctantly returns to her home state of Oklahoma and finds herself going head-to-head with Tyler the “tornado wrangler” (Powell), a showboating YouTuber who thrives on danger.

In this episode of The Long Take Review, Greg, P.T., and I share what we thought was fun about Twisters, while acknowledging what doesn’t work and doesn’t make sense. We dissect the film’s themes, identify places where we see Oscar-nominated director Lee Isaac Chung’s influence coming through, and debate whether or not this should actually count as a sequel to Twister. Why did Jen regret not wearing a sweatshirt to her screening? Why does P.T. feel the need to get on a soapbox? What’s Greg’s genius movie pitch to Universal Studios? Tune in to find out. And stay until after the outro for not one but two humorous clips Jen had to edit out of the main show.

You can listen to The Long Take Review on Substack, Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Image Credit: People

Movie News Update: We check in on the summer box office. 2:56

The Short Take Our overall impressions of Twisters. 18:04

The Recommendation Algorithm Do you need to have seen Twister (1996) before Twisters? Do you hate fun if you don’t like this movie? 29:05

SPOILER MODE What surprised us? What let us down? How does this film intersect with its predecessor? To what extent does Twisters engage with political/social commentary? 38:14

The Rhetorical Situation Does Twisters actually count as a sequel? How do we define a sequel? 1:18:35

Oscars Watch Can Twisters get sucked up by the Oscar vortex, or will it dissipate into the atmosphere? 1:41:24

All music licensed through Epidemic Sound.

Logo art: Illustration 73265080 © Worldofvector | Dreamstime.com

Get full access to The Long Take at thelongtake.substack.com/subscribe

Next Episode

Star Wars Spotlight: D23 News and The Acolyte Season Review

As summer blockbuster season winds down and awards season just starts to warm up with a flurry of fall film festivals, P.T., Greg, and I thought it would be a great time to nerd out about Star Wars. First, we react to some recent news coming out of the D23 Expo (including a movie! finally!), and then we review the entire season of The Acolyte that concluded on Disney+ a few weeks ago. That naturally brings us to a ranking exercise. We debate, negotiate, and conciliate to put all the Disney+ Star Wars series in order from best to worst. How will our takes and favs line up with yours? What fan edits would P.T. make to The Acolyte? And how many times can Greg crack jokes about Jude Law’s filmography? Search your feelings, connect to The Force, and join us for a fun conversation.

You can listen to The Long Take Review on Substack, Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Image Credit: StarWars.com

[SPOILER ALERT: Unlike our regular reviews, this will have spoilers for all of Star Wars from the very beginning.]

Movie News Update: We react to Star Wars news coming out of D23. When is the next time we’ll see Star Wars on a screen, both big and small? 3:58

The Short Take: What were our impressions of The Acolyte, now that we’ve had a few weeks to sit with it? This also kind of free flows to a capacious discussion of The Acolyte in general. 44:30

Our Disney+ Star Wars Rankings We try to come to a consensus on how we should rank all 8 series. 1:52:48

All music licensed through Epidemic Sound.

Get full access to The Long Take at thelongtake.substack.com/subscribe