Review
DEADCOOL
Deadpool & Wolverine review: A self-aware spectacle that packs both action and laughs
Plus, scroll down to read about a new take on the classic story of Robin Hood
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
(15) 127mins
★★★★☆
HE’S brash, crass and infuriatingly quick-witted.
The foul-mouthed mercenary Marvel superhero Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) is finally back but this time he’s not alone.
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He’s brought along Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.
While it’s no secret that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has struggled lately to replicate earlier box office successes, it’s easy to see why Disney would be banking on this to lure MCU fans back to the fold with the promise of more anarchic high jinks.
Six years since the events of Deadpool 2, Wade Wilson is attempting to live a normal and quieter life.
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But then rogue TVA agent Mr Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) warns him the world is facing annihilation.
Desperate to save the day, Wade hatches a plan to bring Logan/Wolverine back from the dead to prevent the universe from ending.
Writer-director Shawn Levy, in collaboration with Reynolds, delivers a riotously self-aware spectacle that manages to gleefully parody the superhero genre, while still delivering the adrenalin-fueled action MCU fans have been craving since Avengers: Endgame.
The film is a masterclass in self-referential humour with Reynolds constantly winking at the audience.
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Levy balances the comedic elements with thrilling fight sequences.
With cameos aplenty and an array of Easter eggs that will delight even the most hardcore Marvel fans, Deadpool & Wolverine revels in its comic book origins, while subverting them.
But it is the undeniable chemistry between Reynolds and Jackman that is at the heart of the film.
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The partnership is “buddy movie” gold, as they effortlessly bounce off each other.
Jackman looks to be having a ball as he steps out of Logan’s taciturn demeanour to embrace the chaos.
The Crown’s Emma Corrin impresses too, in the role of Cassandra Nova.
Nova is a mutant with telekinetic and telepathic powers, the twin sister of Charles Xavier.
Taking on the mantle of the film’s primary antagonist, Corrin delivers a performance that is both menacing and captivating.
The portrayal is a stark departure from previous roles, showcasing range and depth of talent.
See it on the biggest screen you can find . . . but one to avoid if you’re easily offended.
MOUNTAIN QUEEN: THE SUMMITS OF LHAKPA SHERPA
(12A) 103mins
★★★☆☆
5
MOUNTAINEERING movies are like Everest climbers – there’s a queue of them waiting to shout about their achievements.
But no matter how many tales of endurance on inhospitable peaks I hear, I never tire of them.
This Netflix docu is about the woman who has scaled the world’s tallest mountain the most – Lhakpa Sherpa.
What makes her all the more remarkable is that she grew up impoverished in a Nepalese society that didn’t let women climb.
Lhakpa had to pretend to be a boy to get jobs carrying equipment.
Getting pregnant out of wedlock and being illiterate further restricted her.
Having become the first woman from Nepal to summit Everest and survive, she went back again and again as a guide.
British director Lucy Walker follows Lhakpa on her tenth attempt, where the mountaineer tries to convey the spiritual element of climbing to her westernised daughters and recounts the horrors of her abusive former husband.
But this mountain queen takes a regal approach to opening up to audiences – she doesn’t – hindering Walker’s expedition.
- By Grant Rollings
ROBIN AND THE HOODS
(PG) 100mins
★★★☆☆
5
THIS version of the timeless outlaw adventure focuses on the importance of child play and imagination.
Starring Bond actress Naomie Harris and Game Of Thrones’ Gwendoline Christie and directed by Phil Hawkin, it is soon to be airing on Sky Cinema.
Fired by her imagination, Robin (Darcey Ewart), the bright-eyed leader of a group of kids, is about to go to secondary school.
But this means that under the rules she and her friends abide by, she will lose the leadership of her gang, The Hoods.
While their biggest concern is a rival clan looking to take over their domain, things get more complicated as an unscrupulous developer is planning to turn their playground into a new leisure facility.
Faced with the ruthless spokesperson, Clipboard (Harris), Robin and friends must find a way to save their play area before it is too late.
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This is a charmingly nostalgic film, harking back to the golden days of made-for-TV kids’ movies.
Writers Stuart Benson and Paul Davidson inject just the right amount of adult in-jokes to the proceedings to make this a heart-warming adaptation of a much-loved tale.
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