Nearly six years after ‘Deadpool 2,’ the self-proclaimed “Marvel Jesus” has returned to the big screen and this time, he brought his BFF Wolverine with him. Real-life BFFs Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman reprise their roles as Deadpool and Wolverine, respectively.
‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ finds Wade at a peaceful time of his life, retired from his usual superhero duties. All was well until the TVA came knocking on his door. Agent Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) reveals to him that his entire timeline and everyone he cares about will soon cease to exist due to it losing its “anchor being”. Deadpool travels to various timelines to find a Wolverine to replace the one that was lost in order to save his world.
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Director Shawn Levy (‘Free Guy’) is at the helm for the highly anticipated film. The movie features a slew of familiar Marvel characters, unexpected cameos, visceral fight scenes, and a fantastic soundtrack.
(L to R) Ryan Reynolds, Peggy aka “Dogpool” and Hugh Jackman attend the UK Fan Event of Marvel Studios’ ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ at Eventim Apollo, London on July 11th, 2024. Photo by StillMoving.Net for The Walt Disney Company Limited.
The film premiered at the David H. Hoch Theater in New York City on July 22, 2024. The movie was released domestically on July 26 in formats such as IMAX, RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema, and 4DX. Initially, ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ was set to release on September 6, 2024. However, the film moved up to its July 2024 release date following the end of the SAG-AFTRA strike. The movie has a total runtime of 2 hours and 8 minutes.
Did you miss it in theaters? You’re in luck! The movie became available for rent or purchase on digital on October 1. You can rent for $24.99 or purchase for $29.99 on platforms such as Amazon, Apple TV, YouTube, Vudu, and more.
After debuting at a staggering $636.6 million domestically, ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ surpassed the 2023 box office hit ‘Barbie,’ becoming the 12th highest-grossing film. Globally, the movie has earned over $1.3 billion. It currently holds the record as the highest grossing R-rated movie.
For physical media lovers, ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ is now available on DVD, Blu-Ray, and 4K Ultra HD. A steel book Blu-Ray edition is also available, and you can pre-order it at retailers such as Target, Walmart, or Amazon.
The Blu-ray and 4K version will include bonus features such as a gag reel, deleted scenes, commentary with director Shawn Levy, and stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, and featurettes such as:
Finding Madonna: Making the Oner
Practical approach: Celebrating the Art of Ray Chan
Watch the official trailer for ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’:
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The official synopsis for ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ is below:
Deadpool’s (Ryan Reynolds) peaceful existence comes crashing down when the Time Variance Authority recruits him to help safeguard the multiverse. He soon unites with his would-be pal, Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), to complete the mission and save his world from an existential threat.
Who’s In the Cast of ‘Deadpool & Wolverine
(L to R) Dafne Keen, Hugh Jackman, Channing Tatum, Wesley Snipes, Ryan Reynolds and Jennifer Garner in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’. Photo: Marvel Studios.
Available now on digital and Blu-ray and streaming on Disney+ beginning November 12th is the box office hit ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’, which is the third movie in the ‘Deadpool’ franchise and the first to take place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Dafne Keen attends the UK Fan Event of Marvel Studios’ ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ at Eventim Apollo, London on July 11th, 2024. Photo by StillMoving.Net for The Walt Disney Company Limited.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Dafne Keen about her work on ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’, how she found out she would be returning, returning to the character of Laura, how she’s changed since ‘Logan’, reuniting with Hugh Jackman, working with the rest of the cast, which scenes were improvised, the action sequences, the challenges of keeping her appearance a secret, collaborating with director Shawn Levy, what she learned from Ryan Reynolds, joining the MCU and the possibility of her appearing in future Marvel movies.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview.
(L to R) Dafne Keen in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’. Photo: Marvel Studios.
Moviefone: To begin with, when did you learn that you would be returning to play Laura / X-23 in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ and were you given the entire script to read before shooting?
Dafne Keen: I got a call from my agent to tell me, and then I had a FaceTime with Shawn, and I had a bunch of guy friends over at my house and I locked them outside in the garden while I was on the phone to Shawn. Then Shawn said to me, “All your scenes are with huge actors, but I can’t tell you who.” Then I got the full script, but it was so heavily spoiler free in the sense that they changed all the names for everything, but I understood the story. I just didn’t know who anyone was. So, watching the film was cool. I was like, “Oh, that’s crazy.” I kind of figured it out because I’d go into a costume fitting and I’d see a picture of someone on the wall and I’d be like, “Wait, who are they playing?” It was cool. It was fun and I’m happy that I got to read the whole script and it was exciting.
MF: What was it like working with Hugh Jackman again all these years after ‘Logan’?
DK: Yeah, it was weirdly, it was like no time had passed. We started acting and it was like we were doing ‘Logan’ yesterday. It was weird and wonderful.
(L to R) Hugh Jackman and Dafne Keen attend the premiere of Marvel Studios’ ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’. Photo by StillMoving.Net for The Walt Disney Company Limited.
MF: Can you talk about how Laura has changed since ‘Logan’ and did you create a backstory for yourself about how she ended up in the Void?
DK: I think as an actor you must. I think it was fun playing her as an older character, especially now because she’s got this sense of gratitude that she didn’t have in ‘Logan’. She’d been so wronged by men and by men, I mean humans. I think she had no faith in humanity, and I think Charles (Xavier) and Logan restored that in ‘Logan’. After losing them, she kind of has this sense of loss but still gratefulness for them and getting to have her reunite with Logan is such a huge thing for her and getting to play that felt like a big emotional beat for that character.
MF: As a comic book fan, I think ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ might feature the greatest superhero team-up of all time. What was it like for you to work with Jennifer Garner, Wesley Snipes and Channing Tatum and be a part of this incredible onscreen team-up?
DK: It was so cool and they’re just the most lovely, wonderful people. We had the best time and as a fan it was just crazy when you hear the superheroes you are sharing the screen with are Gambit, Elektra and Blade. Then you meet them and they’re the loveliest, most nurturing, funniest people, so we just had the greatest time on set.
(L to R) Hugh Jackman, Wesley Snipes, Channing Tatum, Dafne Keen, Ryan Reynolds and Jennifer Garner in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’. Photo: Marvel Studios.
MF: Famously, Ryan Reynolds loves to improvise on set. Did you have a chance to improvise with him in any of your scenes?
DK: I didn’t get to do as much, but I got to witness Channing and Ryan do a lot of it, which was fun. I felt like I was in a master class for comedy. It was really cool, and everyone was so talented, but they had a lot of comedic beats that I got to just stand back and enjoy.
MF: Can you give us an example of a scene that Ryan and Channing improvised?
DK: I think the line where we’re in the cave, and Channing’s like, “I shot out my mama and I said, What’s up, Doc?” That was an improv, and we were all dying. That whole interaction between Ryan and Channing was improvised. The “Who’s your dialect coach? The Minions”, I think that was an ad lib. It was so impressive, and it was cool to then be at the premiere and all their improvisations was getting so much love and laughter. It was exciting to know that it was all kind of in the script, but it was all like an ad lib variation of it.
Channing Tatum as Gambit in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’. Photo: Marvel Studios.
MF: What was it like filming the final battle sequence in the Void? How many days did that take to shoot?
DK: It took a while. It took a week I think, and I had to go back because I had all the wire work for climbing up the skull. I had to come back in the end of January, and it was so fun. We had the best time. It’s the most fun I’ve had doing stunts ever. To get to train with these people, it’s incredible. I came into training, and it was like Channing, Wesley, Jennifer, Ryan, Hugh. It was so cool, and we were all just so excited to be there and we all love these characters so much. We all felt so lucky to be there, which I think is such a rare thing. A lot of people are ready to go home and to wrap the day and we were all just happy to stay. If they’d ask us to do 20 hours of overtime, we would’ve all been like, “Yeah, I’m here and I’m so excited to do this.” It was cool. We were all kind of nerding out with everyone with their weapons. I had the claws back and I was so excited about the glasses. Channing was so excited about throwing the cards. He’d learned a bunch of impressive card tricks. It was very cool.
MF: Can you talk about the challenges of keeping your involvement in the movie a secret, especially when you were doing press for ‘The Acolyte’?
DK: I enjoyed it. It was quite fun. It’s cool to do these interviews and I got to be like, “It’s so sad. I’m not in it.” I knew I’d filmed it and we’d had a great time on set. Also, it felt exciting. It was a cool surprise for the fans, and it felt like such a special thing, and it was such a special thing for me. It was quite funny because my two co-stars and my very good friends, Amandla (Stenberg) and Charlie (Barnett) who were in the show with me knew. So anytime I’d get asked around them, they would giggle. So, if you look at the interviews, they’re trying to look down and trying to be nonchalant when we all knew it. So, it was quite funny.
Dafne Keen attends the premiere of Marvel Studios’ ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’. Photo by StillMoving.Net for The Walt Disney Company Limited.
MF: Is it true that you were added to the film’s final trailer specifically so you could attend the premiere without any questions?
DK: I don’t really know. Maybe. I was going to go to the premiere as far as I know in the capacity of, “Oh, Hugh invited me.” That was the original lie, and then they were like, “We’re putting you in the trailer, which means you can come to the premiere.” So maybe it was to come to the premiere. That was the original plan, and it would’ve worked because we’re buddies. It is exciting. I was happy I got to go.
MF: What is Shawn Levy like as a director on set?
DK: I love that question because I love Shawn. Shawn is one of my favorite people to ever work with. He’s such a wonderful human being and such an incredible director. He’s got such incredible dexterity and such an amazing range of talent that he can do. I’ve seen him directing the funniest, most absurd scene, and then I saw him directing us in the bonfire scene, which was a kind of heavy, hard-hitting thing. He was so incredible at the nuance and knowing when things had to be cool and big and what he was doing for the fans and when they had to be small and human and raw and when he had to do cuts and when he didn’t. He was so kind of gentle in his directing with us, but so honest and so specific with his notes in a really special way. He also loves making films, and I love making films, so it was so cool to be around someone who kind of loved it and was excited to be there. Like I said, we were all just so excited to be there and Shawn was the first one and he infected us all with this incredible joy and excitement for the project. I truly feel so honored to have worked with him and I think he’s already one of the biggest directors, but I think he’s going to go down in the history books for me.
MF: In addition to being an actor, Ryan Reynolds is also a screenwriter and producer, and basically the force that makes these ‘Deadpool’ movies possible. What did you learn from working with him that you will apply to your own career moving forward?
DK: I learned so much from observing Ryan on set. He’s such an incredible creative. He’s so dedicated and so hardworking and he’s got such an incredible mind. I was so impressed by how he was on everything. We’d be acting and he would be acting and improving while thinking about the script change for another scene that they were going to shoot three days later while thinking about producing. It was so impressive to watch him, and I think him, and Hugh and Shawn are such incredible hard workers that I honestly felt like I was in a masterclass the whole time and five minutes with those guys felt like 20 years of lessons. I think Ryan really taught me a lot and I got to really observe his process, even just as an actor, he’s so impressive. He’s got such incredible range. You see him in a character like Deadpool where he’s being so funny, and he’s got scenes where he is being hilarious, absurd, ridiculous and outlandish. Then you see him when he is talking about Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) in the film and it’s completely heartbreaking and devastating and you can really see that in his career and in the things he’s picked. You can see completely comedic characters and then you see the character that he did in ‘The Voices’. I’ve always just really looked up to him as a creative. So, getting to share the screen with him was huge.
MF: Finally, thanks to ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’, ‘Logan’ and the character of Laura / X-23 is now cannon to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. How does it feel to be part of that legacy and is it possible that we will see you playing this character again in the MCU at some point?
DK: I mean, even hearing you say that ‘Logan’ is canon is so crazy to me. I’m still kind of absorbing that and the possibility is so exciting. I mean, I’ve said this a trillion times. I would play Laura for the rest of my life, and I would be content. She’s the most incredible character to play and I have so much fun playing her, and I have so much love for her, and I have so much love for Marvel. So, I’d pay them to have me back, honestly, if I’m being completely honest. So of course, I really hope I get a call, even if it is to do another tiny little silly cameo in something. I’d be happy. Any chance I get to be here again and get the claws back on, I’ll take it.
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What is the plot of ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’?
Six years after the events of ‘Deadpool 2’, Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) lives a quiet life, having left his time as the mercenary Deadpool behind him, until the Time Variance Authority (TVA)—a bureaucratic organization that exists outside of time and space and monitors the timeline—pulls him into a new mission. With his home universe facing an existential threat, Wilson reluctantly joins an even more reluctant Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) on a mission that will change the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
(Right) Channing Tatum stars as Slater King in director Zoë Kravitz’s ‘Blink Twice’, an Amazon MGM Studios film. (Left) Kirsten Dunst in FX’s ‘Fargo’ season 2. Photo: Mathias Clamer/FX.
Preview:
Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst are starring in ‘Roofman’.
It’s the new movie from ‘The Place Beyond the Pines’ director Derek Cianfrance.
Channing Tatum at the Los Angeles premiere of ‘Blink Twice’. Photo Credit: JC Olivera.
‘Roofman’, co-written by Cianfrance and Kirt Gunn, follows Jeffrey Manchester (Tatum in the movie), an eccentric and charming serial robber who broke into more than 60 McDonald’s overnight via their roofs, then emptied the cash register in the morning after herding staff into freezers.
The former U.S. Army Reserve officer became known as the ‘Rooftop Robber’ or ‘Roofman’ and was known for his gentle demeanor and for rarely resorting to violence.
After he was caught and imprisoned in 2000, he escaped jail and then evaded capture by holing up for months in a Toys “R” Us and Circuit City store in North Carolina. He lived off baby food and would ride bicycles for exercise in the toy store.
After reportedly leaving his fingerprints on a ‘Catch Me If You Can’ DVD in the electronics store (irony alert!), he was recaptured and sent back to jail.
Dunst will play an employee at the Toys “R” Us who is struggling to make ends meet and to provide for her two girls. She has no idea that Jeffrey has been secretly watching her from inside the store and slowly falling for her.
When she meets him, she’s charmed and finds him endearing, and the two form a serious bond until she finds out the truth about him –– but even that can’t stop her for caring for him.
Where else will we see Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst?
Kirsten Dunst in ‘Civil War.’ Photo: A24.
Tatum will next be seen in Beth de Araújo’s drama ‘Josephine,’ about a young girl who witnesses a brutal attack in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, spurring a spiral of complicated behavior. The movie is now in post-production.
He’s also attached to a wide variety of projects, including new drama ‘Soundtrack of Silence’ and crime drama ‘Bloodlines.’
As for Dunst, she’s the subject of awards chatter for ‘Civil War,’ and has worked on a new drama called ‘Rhubarb,’ about adult siblings navigating the grief over their beloved pet’s death.
When will ‘Roofman’ be in theaters?
The film’s distribution rights are up for sale, so there is no news on a release date until it has found a home.
Ryan Gosling in ‘The Place Beyond the Pines’. Photo: Focus Features.
Channing Tatum as Gambit in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’. Photo: Marvel Studios.
Preview:
Ryan Reynolds released a deleted scene from ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’
The moment hints at Channing Tatum’s Gambit escaping the Void.
Tatum has been vocal about his desire to keep playing the character.
Once upon a time, Channing Tatum was going to be Gambit.
That time was 2014, and the actor was signed on to star in and produce a movie about the card-slinging, Cajun-accented X-Men character who had previously been brought to screen in animated form and by Taylor Kitsch in live-action for 20th Century Fox’s ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine.’
Of course, we all know what happened next… or rather, what didn’t happen. The ‘Gambit’ stand-alone lingered in development limbo as filmmakers came and went (Tatum, who later turned to directing, even offered to handle it himself if it would help), and by the time Disney bought Fox, the project was pretty much dead.
Until Deadpool. Yes, ‘Deadpool & Wolverine,’ one of the smash hits of the summer, the movie that has burned through multiple box office records (worldwide total at time of writing? $1.2 billion and counting) finally gave Tatum the chance to play Gambit on screen.
And now the movies’ star/producer/writer Ryan Reynolds has released some deleted footage to social media that offers a hopeful hint for Gambit’s future.
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What did Ryan Reynolds post about Gambit?
Ryan Reynolds attends the UK Fan Event of Marvel Studios’ ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ at Eventim Apollo, London on July 11th, 2024. Photo by StillMoving.Net for The Walt Disney Company Limited.
Quick spoiler alert for the four people who have yet to see ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’… near the end of the movie, it’s implied that Gambit, along with some other veteran characters, might have been swallowed by giant cloud creature Alioth.
But it appears that’s not the case for Gambit.
Taking to Instagram, Reynolds put up a snipped scene from the movie, which you can find below:
In the small moment, we see Gambit walking through the wreckage of Cassandra Nova’s (Emma Corrin) forces, and there is a distinct color behind him, which indicates the presence of a portal (or, as Reynolds puts it both on film and in his caption, a “Marvel Sparkle Circle.”)
What does that mean for Gambit? A potential escape from the Void where he was born.
What has Channing Tatum said about returning as Gambit?
Channing Tatum as Gambit in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’. Photo: Marvel Studios.
In an interview with Variety, Tatum said this about his hopes for returning as the character:
“I would do lots of terrible things to make that happen. I wanted it for the last 10 years. It’s in Bob Iger and Kevin Feige’s hands. I pray to God. Write it into existence, friend.”
He also wrote more directly on social media himself, thanking Ryan Reynolds for the chance to actually play the role, however briefly:
“I thought I had lost Gambit forever. But Ryan fought for me and Gambit. I will owe him probably forever. Cause I’m not sure how I could ever do something that would be equal to what this has meant to me. I love ya buddy…I’m so grateful to be in this movie. It’s a masterpiece in my opinion. And just pure bad ass joy. I was literally screaming in the theater.”
At the moment, our sad guess would hew closer to negative territory. Even given the popularity of the character and the reception for ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ overall, Marvel’s plans for the mutant characters have yet to be confirmed. So while we’d never say never, we’re also not holding our breath.
The cast of ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ at San Diego Comic-Con 2024. Photo: Marvel Studios.
Other Movies and TV Shows Similar to ‘Deadpool and Wolverine’:
Actors sometimes have trouble crossing over to take up a position behind the camera, but Zoë Kravitz seems to be making the transition effectively. ‘Blink Twice’ is a confident directorial showcase for the ‘Big Little Lies’ and ‘The Batman’ star: she may hit a few narrative and tonal bumps, but she stays focused on the story she wants to tell and gets the most out of a terrific cast while doing so.
‘Blink Twice’ starts off as a satire, not to mention a riff on the kind of setup we’ve seen before in movies like ‘The Menu’ and ‘Get Out,’ where the protagonist finds themselves in a remote, seemingly friendly (and luxurious) location before things start go off the rails. ‘Blink Twice’ tests the viewer’s forbearance for a chunk of its 100 minutes, but if you’re patient enough the ending should be rewarding in many ways.
Frida (Naomi Ackie) sits in her cramped apartment obsessing over tech-bro gazillionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum), who’s re-entering public life with an apology tour following an unnamed indiscretion (or series of them) that got him canceled. Frida and her roommate/bestie Jess (Alia Shawkat) are waitresses who manage to get work at a reception thrown for King, where they finagle their way into the VIP area and Frida gets a chance to meet-cute with the man himself.
The charming Slater and Frida hit it off right away, flirting furiously with each other until he invites her and Jess to travel with him and his entourage that night to his private island. Neither woman has packed a bag, but that’s no matter: once they get to Slater’s luxurious, decadent private resort, they are provided bathing suits and white linen robes to wear, even perfume to dab on, plus drinks and drugs aplenty along with fabulously curated meals prepared by star chef Cody (Simon Rex), all using locally farmed produce.
It’s the middle stretch of ‘Blink Twice’ that’s ostensibly the most troublesome for Kravitz and her screenwriting partner, E.T. Feigenbaum: the second act becomes a repetitive series of hedonistic montages punctuated like clockwork every now and then by a strange occurrence, as Frida and another guest, reality show veteran Sarah (Adria Arjona), compete for Slater’s attention and the rest – including Slater’s right-hand man Vic (Christian Slater), scuzzy hanger-on Tom (Haley Joel Osment), a couple of other party-hardy girls, and Slater’s perpetually flaky personal assistant Stacy (Geena Davis) – indulge in night after night of booze, drugs, and poolside languor until even the days seem to dissolve into each other.
We know this is not going to end well, but Kravitz makes us wait a bit longer than necessary. Perhaps the way in which she extends that wait makes the movie’s pivot that much more shocking even when you know it’s coming eventually. When things do turn, it’s quick: Frida discovers that Jess has gone missing, and not only does no one seem to remember that she was there in the first place, but Frida herself begins to realize that her memories of the past few days are murky at best and barely there at worst. With the help of a reluctant but increasingly trusting Sarah, Frida learns the horrible, toxic truth.
We’ll let you discover that truth for yourself, but it’s here that ‘Blink Twice’ makes its full turn from satire to horror to revenge thriller, with a final act that is both crazy in its sheer energy and bracing in its aggressive sense of purpose. It’s a tribute to Kravitz and her cast that the shift, while jarring at first, leads to a violently satisfying climax that makes the more morally ambiguous coda easier to swallow.
Whatever issues Kravitz may have with putting her twisty narrative through its paces, she doesn’t seem to have any with the technical aspects of directing. Under her command, the sound design is excellent, the soundtrack is popping (no surprise there, really), and the cinematography by Adam Newport-Berra captures the saturated excess of Slater King’s lifestyle, the foggy wooziness of what at first seems to be endless nights and days of partying, and the dark, bloody reality underneath. It’ll be fascinating to see what Kravitz does next.
We’ve only seen Naomi Ackie being largely underused in ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,’ but she did garner praise for 2022’s Whitney Houston biopic, ‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody.’ This is our first time watching her in a lead role and Ackie nails it easily. Her work as Frida is initially vulnerable and open-hearted, even if her obsession with Slater seems questionable. But she never fully trades in her self-respect, which makes her transformation from victim to avenging warrior all the more believable.
She also makes a great pairing with Arjona, who starts out as competitive and distrusting – especially with Frida – before recalling and embracing the time-honored (and perpetually true) maxim that women only have each other to look out for them in the end. Her arc here is better developed than Arjona’s last major role, as a femme fatale in ‘Hit Man,’ and she runs with it for all its worth, delivering an excellent performance that may mark her a star in the making.
Channing Tatum initially turns on the charm and faux vulnerability as Slater, a man who may be doing his best to appear humbled but never quite makes it seem genuine – underneath, he’s angry that he has to take responsibility for his actions. He says all the right things about therapy and rehab and spirituality, but Tatum’s essential blandness works for him in this instance, hinting at the emptiness that lurks inside Slater. Even his seeming interest in Frida curdles after a while, long before things really go south, and his air of entitlement during the film’s third act is as horrifying as anything else.
‘Blink Twice’ initially begins, somewhat eccentrically, as one of those poke-fun-at-the-super-rich send-ups that can easily become boring because the fruit is so low-hanging. But there’s just enough of a feeling from the beginning that something is out of sorts – even with Kravitz dropping clues throughout – to allow a sense of dread to creep into the proceedings. That still doesn’t prepare you for what the director has in store, and it’s refreshing that she’s not interested in returning to any satirical comfort zone once the mayhem begins.
There are no doubt some who will label ‘Blink Twice’ as “divisive,” but they’d be really missing the point about the systemic failure that keeps letting someone at a certain level of wealth and fame get away with the unspeakable just because he says he’s all better now. ‘Blink Twice’ is also a cautionary tale about what happens when too much power and opportunity is left in the hands of truly stunted personalities, and a rallying cry for people – especially women – to look after each other.
Kravitz certainly comes from wealth and fame herself, but she has almost certainly come up against those toxic types as well despite her privilege. ‘Blink Twice’ is a scream of rage on behalf of those who don’t have the resources to defend themselves, and while it gets messy and scattershot at times, it manifests a primal power that we’d like see Kravitz keep channeling.
‘Blink Twice’ receives 7 out of 10 stars.
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What is the plot of ‘Blink Twice’?
A starstruck waitress and her friend are invited to the private island of a billionaire tech mogul, where endless days and nights of debauchery and partying soon give way to the realization that something is very wrong.
And now, talking to Collider, he’s opening up about one that got away: Nicolas Cage. The actor played Johnny Blaze, AKA Ghost Rider, the stunt driver-turned-demonic vigilante in two Marvel movies produced by Sony, the 2007 original, simply called ‘Ghost Rider’ and 2011 follow-up ‘Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance’.
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Neither exactly wowed the crowds, but he’d surely have been another perfect nod to Marvel movies gone by. Not to mention how much fun Reynolds’ Wade Wilson could have had at the expense of the flaming-skulled warrior. Sadly, it was not to be.
What happened with Nic Cage and the Ghost Rider cameo?
Nicolas Cage in 2007’s ‘Ghost Rider’. Photo: Sony Pictures Releasing.
As Reynolds admits, the idea for Cage to return as Blaze got as far as them discussing it.
Here’s what Reynolds said about it:
“Yes. Came to a conversation for sure. Yeah, but no.”
So there you have it. No Cage for ‘Deadpool & Wolverine.’ Which feels like a missed opportunity, but you can imagine Cage having doubts about digging into that particular chunk of his cinematic past, no matter how much he seemingly enjoyed playing Johnny Blaze. And how willing he has been to poke fun at himself in the past, particularly via 2022’s ‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’. Cage’s AI-fueled appearance as Superman in ‘The Flash‘ may have also left a bad taste in his mouth regarding reprising his role in cameo in another legacy superhero movie.
Who else didn’t make it in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’?
Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier in ‘X2’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
It wasn’t just Cage who didn’t end up in the movie. According to ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’s co-writer and director, Shawn Levy, the character of Professor Charles Xavier, played on screen by Patrick Stewart and later James McAvoy was never seriously considered.
“Never even discussed. He was studied. Studied by Emma Corrin big time because the Cassandra sibling-hood to Professor X is really interesting to us. But no, never discussed. Never, never considered.”
Yes, Xavier is indeed the brother of Emma Corrin’s powerful mutant Cassandra Nova, who is the film’s chief antagonist. But it appears there were never plans for either Stewart (who reprised the Xavier role in a cameo for ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness‘) or McAvoy to show up, even given the Stewart version’s warm connection to Jackman’s Wolverine.
Still, both Stewart and McAvoy feature in the clip montage that provides an epilogue to the 20th Century Fox Marvel movie universe playing during part of the end credits.
What has Channing Tatum said about a Gambit movie?
Channing Tatum at the Los Angeles premiere of ‘Blink Twice’. Photo Credit: JC Olivera.
One person who most definitely shows up as a cameo is Channing Tatum, finally getting the chance to play fellow mutant Gambit, after his character’s movie was lost in development limbo when Disney bought Fox.
Talking at the premiere for new thriller ‘Blink Twice’, he expressed hope he might one day still get a stand-alone movie.
“I sure hope so. From your mouth to God’s ears. Write it into existence, Please. I’ve been saying I want it for the last 10 years. It’s in Bob Iger and Kevin Feige’s hands. I pray to God.”
Maybe he should be praying to Marvel Jesus instead?
What’s happening with ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’?
The superhero buddy comedy continues to soar at the box office and is expected to win the weekend once more on its way across the $1 billion mark.
The cast of ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ at San Diego Comic-Con 2024. Photo: Marvel Studios.
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Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking exclusively with editors Shane Reid (‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’) and Emmy-winner Dean Zimmerman (‘Stranger Things’) about their work on ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’, working with Shawn Levy, how they got involved in the project, making an MCU movie, creating a love letter to the Marvel Fox movies, the addition of pre-MCU characters like Blade and Elektra, Madonna’s editorial note, and cutting the Void and van fight sequences.
SPOILER ALERT!!! Major spoilers for ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ below. YOU’VE BEEN WARNED!!!
Moviefone: To begin with, Dean, you’ve worked with director Shawn Levy for a long time. What was your reaction when you heard that not only would you be working on a ‘Deadpool’ movie, but that Hugh Jackman was returning as Wolverine and that the film would take place in the MCU?
Dean Zimmerman: Here’s the ironic thing about this whole thing. The movie was dead. Ryan couldn’t crack the script. Shawn was attached, obviously, they were trying to come up with an idea. It wasn’t working. I was literally in the Hamptons cutting in a house that we were renting. He had a meeting with Kevin Feige and Louis D’Esposito at 2pm that day. We were literally cutting in the morning. He gets a call at 11am from Ryan Reynolds and says, “Hugh Jackman just called me and wants in.” Like that morning! So, the meeting was going to be, “Guys, we’re passing. We can’t crack it. We’re done. We’re not going to do the movie. We’ll come back to it later in time.” To, “We’ve got Hugh Jackman on board who’s going to put on the suit and be Wolverine. Does that work for you guys?” That’s literally how the meeting went. It was the craziest. It happened instantaneous, literally the moment Hugh said he was in. It was like someone lit a candle on a rocket. We were shooting within months of that. That’s how fast it all came together. The script essentially wrote itself. The fact that I was going to be doing this was … because there was such a lead up to doing this. It was like, “Oh, wait. We’re not going to do it.” So, the letdown was just dreadful and cutting with Shawn on this other thing, I was like, “Such a bummer. What are we going to do next?” The fact that that happened that day, the day I’ll never forget the rest of my life. I’ll always remember where I was and exactly what I was doing when that call came in. Obviously, it’s changed all of us. I got to meet Shane, which is now, he’s a lifelong brother and partner now. There are so many great things that happened, but at the end of the day, we told a great story, and we made a great movie. It’s what Shawn and I have been doing for 22-years and we’re going to continue to keep doing so.
MF: Shane, how did you get involved with this project and teaming up with Shawn and Dean?
Shane Reid: I hit the lottery in life, and I met Blake Lively doing a music video with her that she directed for Taylor Swift. She was a very fast friend and a fast creative partner, a wonderful person, and so generous. I got so lucky because Ryan and her are so involved in the work that they do with each other that I just got through proximity to get to know Ryan. I’d be cutting that video and then Ryan would be sending me a text message, like, “You’re the nicest guy in the world and I can’t believe what you’re doing. This was so awesome and she’s so happy.” It was like you’re all of a sudden involved in this relationship with the two of them and they’re such creative supporters of each other that when Ryan announced ‘Deadpool’ was going to happen, I was just like, “This is insane, but I’m going to ask Blake if she feels like there’s any position that I could have on this movie and if there isn’t, I get it.” It’s a big ask. I started talking to her and it was a little almost quiet for a minute. Then I didn’t realize that she was selling me through to Shawn and selling me through to Ryan and just really telling these guys, “This guy’s special. He is right up the alley of the creative collaboration that you and Dean and Ryan have assembled and is going to fit in with that and is going to bring you some ideas.” She was just such an unbelievable force in that way. So, I took a meeting with Shawn, took meetings with Dean and I think there was a little bit of a like, “Let’s just see how this goes.” I would say that the toughest thing for me going into the film and still the toughest thing to the end of it was that Dean and Shawn have this couple decade long relationship. When I first saw them on set together, I was like, “Oh, my god. These guys feel like they’re godfather and godson or something. They’re so tight and close and how do I possibly enter that and be respectful, additive, and someone who doesn’t become obtrusive or in their way?” Also, because I have a relationship with Ryan, how do I not show him stuff and respect Shawn’s position? It was a dance that was difficult, at first. They were so welcoming and warm and very much like, “Hey, man, you fly, and you do your thing, and we’ll see where this all fits.” It was just my luck that it all worked so well, and that Dean was such a generous person and Shawn a generous person and also people that expected a high threshold of turnaround and talent. I feel very fortunate to have met the requirements and now we’re all like a group of brothers.
MF: Dean, you spent a large part of your career working on the 20th Century Fox lot editing movies for that studio. ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ is very much a love letter to that company and particularly the Marvel movies that they made. Given that, how did it feel to work on this movie, and can you talk about the Fox outtakes sizzle reel that plays during the end credits?
DZ: So that was an idea that was spawned by Ryan. He wanted to do a love letter to Fox to thank them for all the opportunities that they gave him. Shane cut that. It was kind of all hands-on deck at 21 Laps. Shawn’s company sent us a zillion YouTube clips of behind-the-scenes footage, and poor Shane poured through hours and hours of footage to make this legacy reel. We had a song that we wanted to use, the Green Day song. So that was all done, but it was all spawned from Ryan’s appreciation and love of Fox. But for me, personally, it was the culmination of a legacy that no longer exists. It’s kind of a shell of what it used to be. When I saw it, it was very moving and very powerful. I knew even if people didn’t understand what was happening, they could appreciate what it was. Right? Which are these years of this iconic studio pushing out some of the biggest titles in the world. To be in the MCU and our first time working at Marvel and Disney, their not only willingness to be open to something like this, but their enthusiasm and support behind it all is really what made the whole experience even more special because it felt like we were going back home. Right? I felt like I was back on the Fox lot because they really embraced the same qualities and uniqueness that existed at Fox for so many of my early years. So, it was great, and it was fun. I hope for a long career at Marvel. I love them. I think they’re great. Again, the support they gave us on not only just that part of it, but the whole movie in general is what made this thing so special and unique.
The cast of ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ at San Diego Comic-Con 2024. Photo: Marvel Studios.
MF: Okay, let’s talk spoilers! Shane, what was it like editing the scenes with pre-MCU actors and characters, and which one surprised you the most and was your favorite?
SR: It’s hard to say which one is my favorite. They’re all so my favorite, but I think one of the things that Dean and I have not really talked about is what we all did with Chris Evans coming out as Cap, and then turning it into Johnny Storm, which was always one of our favorite surprises. In the boards, we had a little bit of an idea of how that sequence would end with Pyro (Aaron Stanford) extinguishing his flame, but we all built him hitting the tower and falling in post. It was a collaboration between the four of us and our pre-viz team and our visual effects team where we were like, there’s this tower just sitting here and there’s such a funny way to utilize it. So, it became about how do we have one of the biggest characters in movies, but completely flip the script on who he is and what the expectation of that character is by bringing back this other character and then just humiliating him in a very Deadpool way and leaving him as this broken person on the floor that they go, “We don’t even know who that dude was.” It was such a microcosm of what it’s like to be in a ‘Deadpool’ movie and how the characters are treated differently. I think it’s my favorite because Chris was so fun and funny. I think I was saying to people who love Chris as Cap, which there are quite a few, and he has had all these great sequences where he’s very serious and quite earnest, but now they get to add to their lexicon, a moment where he is having fun and in on the joke with everybody. So, we constructed that scene. I had found a YouTube videos of a drunk woman on her husband’s shoulders at a wedding who fell off and she sort of scorpions on the ground, and it was so brutal. We’re like, “Let’s do this to him at the end.” So, we built that from pre-vis, we would record a bunch of scripts on top of it, all the way to finishing it through in visual effects. So, that might be my favorite of all of them.
Channing Tatum as Gambit in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’. Photo: Marvel Studios.
MF: Dean, which surprise appearance was your favorite?
DZ: I will say Gambit, Channing’s character. Just because I really hadn’t known much of him, but that character I loved every second, every word it was amazing. The fact that Ryan just can’t understand him is I just thought brilliant and the casting was amazing. Channing just killed it. It was great.
Wesley Snipes in 1998’s ‘Blade’. Photo: New Line Cinema.
MF: Dean, what was it like seeing Wesley Snipes return as Blade and have a chance to shape his performance?
DZ: It was as rewarding as anything could be because obviously his movies I was watching as a kid, right? Now being able to cut something that he would be in was awesome. Just the presence and the power of his character. By the way, he’s such a sweetheart. In real life, you’re meeting your heroes. These are the guys, and you know how sometimes people are like, “You don’t want to meet your heroes because sometimes they’re not who you expect them to be.” You just can’t say that to anyone in this crew. There are actors I work with and I’m like, “Oh, man. What a bummer. They’re not who I was expecting them to be.” But then there’s the ones that you’re just like, “Oh, my god.” Every single person on this cast was just the most beautiful soul. They were all just there for the right reasons and they gave 110%. Everyone on that crew did. It was spectacular. I mean, it was one for the record books, for sure.
Jennifer Garner attends ‘The Adam Project’ World Premiere at Alice Tully Hall on February 28, 2022 in New York City. Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images for Netflix.
MF: Dean, was Jennifer Garner’s appearance as Elektra a result of you, Shawn and Ryan working with her on ‘The Adam Project’?
DZ: No. I think it was just kind of bringing in these legacy people. At one point we had Jen and Ben Affleck coming back as Daredevil. Obviously, there was some stuff. But it was funnier to just have the one and then joke about it, you know what I mean? So that kind of worked out that way and I think the relationship with Jen on ‘The Adam Project ‘pushed the cards to her side a little bit more, but either way it would’ve worked perfectly. But no, it was also just to have another female badass character come back and who better than Electra, like come on!
MF: Dean, Ryan Reynolds said during the press tour that he and Shawn had to meet with Madonna to get the rights to use ‘Like A Prayer’ in the movie. He also said that during that meeting, Madonna had a note about that scene that was eventually implemented. Can you reveal which scene that was and what was her suggestion?
DZ: The editorial note that she wanted to do was I think a tonal note, but I think that came off what was recorded. So, we were always going to do an orchestra accompaniment with ‘Like a Prayer’ and we did it. We recorded it in London. What her big note was, was that it wasn’t “urban enough”. It sounded like a group of 50 white British men and women singing and she wanted it more “urban”. She wanted a robust gospel choir and more soul. So, that forced us to re-record in LA with this gospel choir and thank God, she did it. It’s just her brilliance and her being around for as long as she has that made this happen and it literally took it to a totally different level. It was a headache to do because we were literally on the final mixing stage doing the mix on the movie, and to do all this stuff last second. Also, (composer) Rob (Simonson) had to write it. So, it was all, again, happening so fast. The whole thing did, the post schedule on this was nothing like I’ve ever seen as long as I’ve been doing this, 30 something years. I’ve never experienced a post schedule this quickly with this many visual effects and the amount of scrutiny and pressure to have this be as a massive hit because the industry was depending on it almost.
MF: Shane, can you talk about cutting the fight sequences in the Void between Wolverine and Sabretooth, and Deadpool and Wolverine?
SR: The void fight, it was the first fight sequence I’ve ever cut. I remember thinking, maybe there’s these tricks that I must know. Do I cut frames out? Do I add these speed effects? Like anything, it’s just a feeling. It’s just a flow and a rhythm. I mean, I will say that the choreography by our stunt choreographer and just Hugh Jackman, my God, the faces he would make, the performance that he gave. I think what it did was it effectively gave audience members a fight that they feel like they’re sometimes missing. It gave character performance and personality to a fight sequence, and it kept it really grounded. Everything that we did from the van fight and the Void fight with Sabretooth were very grounded experiences in real world locations with props that were real. I think it’s what allows people to connect a little bit more to the physicality of the film and the characters and make them feel more human. One of the things that I keep saying from the trailer, when we first did one of the trailers where Deadpool unloads all the bullets in Wolverine’s rib cage. I was thinking, “I think that we are underestimating how powerful these visuals are.” When have we ever seen a character in any movie that’s a human being take a rib cage full of bullets in a trailer or anything? It was one of the things I thought was most exciting going into this movie is that you have that ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles’, ‘48 Hrs.’, ‘Rush Hour’ tension that exists between two characters you want to see grow, but now you’ve weaponized them and they’re indestructible and they can take out that frustration physically. I think that’s the first time an audience has ever gotten to experience that take on it.
MF: Finally, Dean, what was it like cutting the incredible fight sequence in the van between Deadpool and Wolverine?
DZ: I mean, that sequence again was choreographed within an inch of its life because of the constraints of what it is, you’re fighting in a van! Deadpool couldn’t use his katanas, so we had to use the little knife that he had in his chest piece and his baby knife, where Wolverine just had these claws. So, it was always going to be a bloodbath. The biggest challenge was getting that sequence and then finding the right music to go to it. We obviously knew we were going to do the head against the radio with a full nod to ‘The Greatest Showman’ there. But then where do you go? What do you do? That’s where, again, Shane is so great with music. He picked the AC/DC song for the Void fight. I can’t remember what we came up with (for the van scene). (Note: It was “You’re the one that I want” from ‘Grease’). It’s just one of those things, like, “Let’s just put in this.” It’s like how do you do the contradiction of it? Make it weird and different but keeping it visceral and real. But again, where Shane was saying, having Hugh’s face and the anger and just the pure hatred for this character. Again, this is something that’s been built up for so long because in the press they (Ryan and Hugh) pretended they hated each other, even though they were best friends. So, it was literally both these fights were like this long time coming. To see that viscerally on Hugh’s face, and again, he went there because he was going through stuff emotionally, in his personal life as well as professionally. The performance he brought is what really made this all not only grounded and real, but just it brought it to the next level where you felt the palpable tension and you felt the hatred and you felt like, “Yeah. They’re going to fight, and they want to kill each other.” It was great. It was a little bit paint by numbers, but at the same time there were some things that wasn’t working, and we had the opportunity and luxury of having a production team very open and receptive to how fast that we work in the cutting room. Getting dailies and cutting them so quickly and showing Shawn and going, “We don’t think this works. Can we come up with something else better for this?” Then them just going out and doing it the next day. The other thing that I will say is all these fights, they were shot on location. They weren’t on a stage. They weren’t on a green screen or a blue screen. It was all out in the real world. That’s what makes this so different than a lot of these other sequences because they’re all CG. They drove the car! We trashed the van! All this stuff, we did in real life out in London, which Marvel doesn’t do because it’s all so secretive. So, it was a real testament to the lengths that they went to give us the support that we wanted to do, which was to make a real film out in the world. Yes, there were some leaks, and we had our trials and tribulations with paparazzi and all that kind of stuff, but we got through it, and it all worked hand in hand, and it made us better. I think what it showed is that we are doing something different and more unique than any other Marvel movie has done. I think that’s what audiences are enjoying more than anything, not knowing that that’s why it is because we did it for real in real life.
SR: I’ll just add one thing onto the van fight that I’m realizing I haven’t really commented on that notches up the performance and the joy of that scene, which was such a weird choice by Hugh to just start laughing while Deadpool’s on top of him, which is such a character moment of just like, “Come on.” Then Ryan had the idea to add some dripping blood onto his cheek and teeth, and it’s just such a weird piece of the puzzle that elevates sequences like that from a fight scene to like, “God, I’m getting story and character in a moment that should just be getting punches and kicks and flying around.” I think that’s the difference in this film is that you feel it everywhere.
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What is the plot of ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’?
Six years after the events of ‘Deadpool 2’, Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) lives a quiet life, having left his time as the mercenary Deadpool behind him, until the Time Variance Authority (TVA)—a bureaucratic organization that exists outside of time and space and monitors the timeline—pulls him into a new mission. With his home universe facing an existential threat, Wilson reluctantly joins an even more reluctant Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) on a mission that will change the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
The film will be based on Charlie Huston’s novel, which follows burned out former baseball pro Hank Thompson (Butler).
Hank’s neighbor, Russ, has to leave town in a rush and hands over his cat, named Bud, in a carrier. But it isn’t until two Russians in tracksuits drag Hank over the bar at the joint where he works and beat him to a pulp that he starts to get the idea: someone wants something from him. He just doesn’t know what it is, where it is, or how to make them understand he doesn’t have it.
Within twenty-four hours Hank is running over rooftops, swinging his old aluminum bat for the sweet spot of a guy’s head, playing hide and seek with the NYPD, riding the subway with a dead man at his side, and counting a whole lot of cash on a concrete floor…
Aronofsky has Huston aboard to adapt the book for the screen.
As for Kravitz, her role in the story has yet to be revealed.
‘Caught Stealing’: The Director Speaks
Director Darren Aronofsky on the set of ‘The Whale’ from A24.
The new movie finds Aronofsky in business with Sony, which picked up the book package and got the director interested.
Here’s what Aronofsky had to say:
“I am excited to be teaming up with my old friends at Sony Pictures to bring Charlie’s adrenaline-soaked roller coaster ride to life. I can’t wait to start working with Austin and my family of NYC filmmakers,” said Aronofsky.
And here’s what Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group president Sanford Panitch commented:
0“Darren is one of the most brilliant audiovisual storytellers in the world and adapting these wonderful books by Charlie Huston for Austin to star was too exciting an opportunity to not be a part of.”
Kravitz, who was last seen in ‘The Batman’ as Selina Kyle, stepped behind the cameras for ‘Blink Twice’, a new thriller she co-wrote with E.T. Feigenbaum.
It sees cocktail waitress Frida (Naomi Ackie) meeting tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum) and scoring an invite to his private island for what appears to be a dream vacation. One that quickly starts to feel more like a nightmare.
The movie will be in theaters on August 23rd.
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When will ‘Caught Stealing’ be in theaters?
With the movie still at a relatively early stage, Sony has yet to schedule a release date. But if it can be shot this year, it could be on screens later in 2025.
(L to R) Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum in ‘Fly Me to the Moon’. Photo: Columbia Pictures.
‘Fly Me to the Moon’ has ambitions almost as large as that of the men and women of NASA who are trying in the film to land a human being on the Moon. It wants to be a rom-com. It wants to be a screwball comedy. It’s kind of a conspiracy thriller. And it’s a sweeping historical drama about the effort to send the Apollo 11 mission into space – and it’s that last version of the film that works best, when it gets its turn onscreen.
The problem with this enjoyable but uneven movie from director Greg Berlanti (perhaps best known as the architect of the now-defunct Arrowverse) is that it never fully decides what it wants to be, and its best parts battle for space with the parts that don’t work as well. Yet it’s still fun in a lot of spots, with great work from Scarlett Johansson and scene-stealing performances from Woody Harrelson, Jim Rash, and the second plucky cat we’ve seen in a major summer movie following the debut of Frodo in ‘A Quiet Place: Day One.’
Story and Direction
(L to R) Scarlett Johansson, Woody Harrelson, director Greg Berlanti and Channing Tatum on the set of ‘Fly Me to the Moon’. Photo: Columbia Pictures.
It’s the 1960s (Shane Valentino’s production design is spot-on) and NASA has been having trouble getting it up – a rocket into orbit, that is. The Soviet Union is beating the U.S. in the space race and the government (transitioning from Lyndon B. Johnson to Richard M. Nixon) is desperate to show up the Russians even as Congress is threatening to defund the space agency. The Apollo 11 mission to send three astronauts to the Moon is a last, best hope, and no one is more acutely aware of this than stiff-necked, square-jawed launch director Cole Davis (Channing Tatum), who is racked with guilt over the deaths of the Apollo 1 crew years earlier.
Enter marketing genius Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson), who we first meet as she shows up a roomful of auto execs with both her knowledge of their vehicles and the way to sell them – all doing this while wearing a fake baby bump no less. Kelly, it seems, is okay with bending the truth to get her message across – a skill that has come to the attention of the government in the person of Moe Berkus (Woody Harrelson), a clandestine fixer-type who, on the orders of the president, wants Kelly to take over public relations for NASA and Apollo 11.
She dutifully heads down to Florida, where she first encounters Cole in a meet-cute in a bar, neither knowing who the other one is until she turns up the next morning at NASA, ready to work. And work she does, nabbing brand sponsorships for the mission from the Tang juice drink (which was actually on Mercury and Gemini missions) and Omega watches, while getting Congressional money flowing again.
She also hires actors to do TV interviews pretending to be the more camera-shy and awkward NASA employees, including Cole’s right hand man Henry Smalls (Ray Romano) and Cole himself. Cole is opposed to all this, of course (“I’m not letting this mission be turned into a commercial”), but eventually comes to admire Kelly’s abilities to get the public’s interest in the mission reignited, while admiring Kelly herself.
(L to R) Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson in ‘Fly Me to the Moon’. Photo: Columbia Pictures.
Their flirtation – and everything else about their relationship and the mission – is put to the test, however, when Moe gives Kelly new orders: as a backup plan in case the landing goes awry, she is to produce a staged fake landing. Although she’s dubious, Moe has enough leverage over her about her past that she has to move forward, hiring the director she uses for ads (Jim Rash, doing a kind of Stanley Tucci-on-steroids from ‘The Devil Wears Prada’) and recruiting Moe’s government spooks as actors. Cole is kept completely in the dark – especially when Moe commands that the fake landing will be what the public sees whether the real one is successful or not.
The mechanics of how this will work or not (“I should have hired Kubrick,” says Kelly at one point, a knowing in-joke about the legendary director’s alleged participation in just such a scam) make up both the screwball and conspiracy thriller portions of the film, swinging wildly in tone but perhaps offering up the funniest material. Then there’s the rom-com aspects, which don’t provide Johansson and Tatum with enough room to build any real chemistry, pushing them together more because the script demands it.
Finally, there’s the historical drama. A lot of this film stretches what little truth is in it to the breaking point, but it still feels like the story Berlanti really wants to tell. The pressure, determination, and sheer scale of the Apollo 11 mission are well-captured, along with sweeping, even awe-inspiring shots of the rocket and the launch gantry both before and after the powerful launch sequence.
This is the part of the film that works best, that we wanted more of. But ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ is programmed very much to entertain us from all angles, and the script by Rose Gilroy shoves four different movies into the film’s (far too long) 132 minutes even if the other narratives are not as solidly satisfying. It’s a lot of movie, and we can feel it trying to be greater than it is, but it doesn’t always get there.
The Cast
(L to R) Woody Harrelson, Scarlett Johansson and Jim Rash in ‘Fly Me to the Moon’. Photo: Columbia Pictures.
Scarlett Johansson cuts a ravishing, commanding figure in her tight skirts and ‘60s hair, and her Kelly Jones is a more complex character than the movie initially allows her to be. But she successfully pulls back Kelly’s layers, showing us both her fearlessness and agency, while also hinting at a darker past that has blurred the lines between truth and fiction both in real life and in what she does for a living. She has the most resonant emotional arc and it looks like the actor is having a ball throughout the film.
We wish we could say the same about Channing Tatum, but we don’t know if it’s the way his Cole Davis is scripted or that he might not be the best fit for the part. For reasons unexplained, Davis is the only NASA employee who doesn’t wear a button-down shirt and tie; even though he’s supposed to be kind of a nerdy, socially awkward scientist, he’s still in the body of hunky Channing Tatum. The character either comes off as brooding or pissed-off; we don’t remember seeing him crack more than a hairline smile. The initial parallel between Cole and Kelly – both of them loners who live for their work – is nicely handled, but he doesn’t develop the spark from there to match Johansson’s natural allure.
The scene-stealers are Woody Harrelson as Moe Berkus and Jim Rash as director Lance Vespertine. Harrelson plays Berkus with both an air of menace and his own personal brand of kooky conspiracy-theorist energy; when Kelly asks Moe if aliens have landed on Earth (after he hints at such), he intones ominously, “They walk among us.” As for Rash, his Lance fires off demands, insults, and biting observations at a steady, sarcastic clip, treating everyone as his subjects despite his lack of any notable filmmaking credits. When one fake astronaut blows a rehearsal and dangles helplessly from a wire, Lance scolds hilariously, “I’m just going to leave you there to think about what you did.” Rash and Harrelson easily get the biggest laughs — along with the cat, whose part in all this we’ll leave undisclosed.
Final Thoughts
(L to R) Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum in ‘Fly Me to the Moon’. Photo: Columbia Pictures.
It seems to us that the marketing for ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ has been somewhat misleading, emphasizing the rom-com aspects of the movie over the more compelling space-race drama and the funnier (if way more far-fetched and barely believable) conspiracy hijinks.
Moviegoers coming to see a snappy, sexy romantic joust between Johansson and Tatum may be a bit disappointed – although they may also be pleasantly surprised by just how gripping the space drama can be. ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ does feel too long at times and doesn’t always juggle its many narrative strands well, but it does do its best to entertain – and when it works, it lifts off and soars.
‘Fly Me to the Moon’ receives 6.5 out of 10 stars.
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What is the plot of ‘Fly Me to the Moon’?
As the U.S. races to get to the Moon before the Russians in the 1960s, marketing specialist Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson) clashes with Apollo 11 mission director Cole Davis (Channing Tatum) over how to rebuild the space agency’s image. As a romance also sparks between the two, the government secretly tasks Jones with staging a fake “Moon landing” in case the real one fails.
Who is in the cast of ‘Fly Me to the Moon’?
Scarlett Johansson as Kelly Jones
Channing Tatum as Cole Davis
Jim Rash as Lance Vespertine
Anna Garcia as Ruby
Ray Romano as Henry Smalls
Woody Harrelson as Moe Berkus
(L to R) Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum in ‘Fly Me to the Moon’. Photo: Columbia Pictures.
Channing Tatum is one of the most popular actors working today.
The dancer turned actor first gained attention for his work in ‘Step Up’ and has since gone on to star in the ‘G.I. Joe,’ ’21 Jump Street’ and ‘Magic Mike’ franchises, as well as acclaimed films like ‘Foxcatcher,’ ‘The Hateful Eight,’ ‘Hail, Caesar!,’ ‘Logan Lucky,’ and ‘The Lost City.’
From the Egyptian desert to deep below the polar ice caps, the elite G.I. JOE team uses the latest in next-generation spy and military equipment to fight the corrupt arms dealer Destro (Christopher Eccleston) and the growing threat of the mysterious Cobra organization to prevent them from plunging the world into chaos. Starring Tatum, Ray Park, Dennis Quaid, Sienna Miller, and Marlon Wayans.
Longtime friends Ronny (Vince Vaughn) and Nick (Kevin James) are partners in an auto-design firm. They are hard at work on a presentation for a dream project that would really launch their company. Then Ronny spots Nick’s wife (Winona Ryder) out with another man (Tatum), and in the process of investigating the possible affair, he learns that Nick has a few secrets of his own. As the presentation nears, Ronny agonizes over what might happen if the truth gets out.
A rookie cop (Tatum) is assigned to the 118 Precinct in the same district where he grew up. The Precinct Captain (Ray Liotta) starts receiving letters about two unsolved murders that happened many years ago in the housing projects when the rookie cop was just a kid. These letters bring back bad memories and old secrets that begin to threaten his career and break up his family. Also starring Katie Holmes, Juliette Binoche, Tracy Morgan, and Al Pacino.
Small-town boy Shawn MacArthur (Tatum) has come to New York City with nothing. Barely earning a living selling counterfeit goods on the streets, his luck changes when scam artist Harvey Boarden (Terrence Howard) sees that he has a natural talent for streetfighting. When Harvey offers Shawn help at making the real cash, the two form an uneasy partnership.
Based on a true story, in which Richmond High School head basketball coach Ken Carter (Samuel L. Jackson) made headlines in 1999 for benching his undefeated team due to poor academic results.
In a universe where human genetic material is the most precious commodity, an impoverished young Earth woman (Mila Kunis) becomes the key to strategic maneuvers and internal strife within a powerful dynasty. Also starring Tatum, Sean Bean, and Eddie Redmayne.
Three years after Mike (Tatum) bowed out of the stripper life at the top of his game, he and the remaining Kings of Tampa hit the road to Myrtle Beach to put on one last blow-out performance.
A veteran soldier (Ryan Phillippe) returns from his completed tour of duty in Iraq, only to find his life turned upside down when he is arbitrarily ordered to return to field duty by the Army. Also starring Tatum, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Timothy Olyphant and Abbie Cornish.
While Sergeant John Tyree (Tatum) is home on two weeks leave from Germany, he meets Savannah (Amanda Seyfried) after he dives into the ocean to retrieve Savannah’s purse that had fallen off a pier. John eventually falls in love with Savannah, who promises to write to him until he returns from overseas.
The journey of Manolo (Diego Luna), a young man who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart. Before choosing which path to follow, he embarks on an incredible adventure that spans three fantastical worlds where he must face his greatest fears. Also featuring the voices of Tatum, Zoe Saldana, and Ice Cube.
After making their way through high school (twice), big changes are in store for officers Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Tatum) when they go deep undercover at a local college. But when Jenko meets a kindred spirit on the football team, and Schmidt infiltrates the bohemian art major scene, they begin to question their partnership. Now they don’t have to just crack the case – they have to figure out if they can have a mature relationship. If these two overgrown adolescents can grow from freshmen into real men, college might be the best thing that ever happened to them.
A bright young yeti (Tatum) finds something he thought didn’t exist—a human (James Corden). News of this “smallfoot” throws the simple yeti community into an uproar over what else might be out there in the big world beyond their snowy village.
Depression-era bank robber John Dillinger’s (Johnny Depp) charm and audacity endear him to much of America’s downtrodden public, but he’s also a thorn in the side of J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) and the fledgling FBI. Desperate to capture the elusive outlaw, Hoover makes Dillinger his first Public Enemy Number One and assigns his top agent, Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale), the task of bringing him in dead or alive. Tatum plays Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd.
A woman (Rooney Mara) turns to prescription medication as a way of handling her anxiety concerning her husband’s (Tatum) upcoming release from prison. Also starring Jude Law and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Framed for crimes against the country, the G.I. Joe team is terminated by Presidential order. This forces the G.I. Joes into not only fighting their mortal enemy Cobra; they are forced to contend with threats from within the government that jeopardize their very existence. Starring Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis, Ray Park and Tatum.
In 140 AD, twenty years after the unexplained disappearance of the entire Ninth Legion in the mountains of Scotland, young centurion Marcus Aquila (Tatum) arrives from Rome to solve the mystery and restore the reputation of his father, the commander of the Ninth. Accompanied only by his British slave Esca (Jamie Bell), Marcus sets out across Hadrian’s Wall into the uncharted highlands of Caledonia – to confront its savage tribes, make peace with his father’s memory, and retrieve the lost legion’s golden emblem, the Eagle of the Ninth.
Happy young married couple Paige (Rachel McAdams) and Leo (Tatum) are, well, happy. Then a car accident puts Paige into a life-threatening coma. Upon awakening she has lost the previous five years of memories, including those of her beloved Leo, her wedding, a confusing relationship with her parents, or the ending of her relationship with her ex-fiance (Scott Speedman). Despite these complications, Leo endeavors to win her heart again and rebuild their marriage.
Everyone deserves a chance to follow their dreams, but some people only get one shot. Tyler Gage (Tatum) is a rebel from the wrong side of Baltimore’s tracks and the only thing that stands between him and an unfulfilled life are his dreams of one day making it out of there. Nora (Jenna Dewan) is a privileged ballet dancer attending Baltimore’s ultra-elite Maryland School of the Arts.
Capitol Policeman John Cale (Tatum) has just been denied his dream job with the Secret Service of protecting President James Sawyer (Jamie Foxx). Not wanting to let down his little girl (Joey King) with the news, he takes her on a tour of the White House, when the complex is overtaken by a heavily armed paramilitary group. Now, with the nation’s government falling into chaos and time running out, it’s up to Cale to save the president, his daughter, and the country.
‘Dog’ is a buddy comedy that follows the misadventures of two former Army Rangers paired against their will on the road trip of a lifetime. Army Ranger Briggs (Tatum) and Lulu (a Belgian Malinois dog) buckle into a 1984 Ford Bronco and race down the Pacific Coast in hopes of making it to a fellow soldier’s funeral on time. Along the way, they’ll drive each other completely crazy, break a small handful of laws, narrowly evade death, and learn to let down their guards in order to have a fighting chance of finding happiness.
Brilliant, but reclusive author Loretta Sage (Sandra Bullock) has spent her career writing about exotic places in her popular romance-adventure novels featuring handsome cover model Alan (Tatum), who has dedicated his life to embodying the hero character, “Dash.”
While on tour promoting her new book with Alan, Loretta is kidnapped by an eccentric billionaire (Daniel Radcliffe) who hopes that she can lead him to the ancient lost city’s treasure from her latest story. Wanting to prove that he can be a hero in real life and not just on the pages of her books, Alan sets off to rescue her. Thrust into an epic jungle adventure, the unlikely pair will need to work together to survive the elements and find the ancient treasure before it’s lost forever. Also featuring Brad Pitt.
A cooler-than-ever Bruce Wayne (Will Arnett) must deal with the usual suspects as they plan to rule Gotham City, including the Joker (Zach Galifianakis), while discovering that he has accidentally adopted a teenage orphan (Michael Cera) who wishes to become his sidekick. Also featuring the voice of Tatum as Superman.
In high school, Schmidt (Jonah Hill) was a dork and Jenko (Tatum) was the popular jock. After graduation, both of them joined the police force and ended up as partners riding bicycles in the city park. Since they are young and look like high school students, they are assigned to an undercover unit to infiltrate a drug ring that is supplying high school students synthetic drugs. Also starring Brie Larson, Dave Franco, and Ice Cube.
The greatest Olympic Wrestling Champion brother team (Mark Ruffalo and Tatum) joins Team Foxcatcher led by multimillionaire sponsor John E. du Pont (Steve Carell) as they train for the 1988 games in Seoul – a union that leads to unlikely circumstances.
Mike (Tatum), an experienced stripper, takes a younger performer called The Kid (Alex Pettyfer) under his wing and schools him in the arts of partying, picking up women, and making easy money. Directed by Steven Soderbergh, the film also stars Joe Manganiello, Matt Bomer, Riley Keough, Olivia Munn, and Matthew McConaughey.
