It may not be immediately apparent by the looks of its Rotten Tomatoes scores (79 percent approval rating for critics, 96 percent for audiences), but there’s been plenty of criticism lobbed in the direction of Deadpool & Wolverine.
Indeed, it may take pride in its tongue-in-cheek fun factor, but the film’s undeniable status as a meta-blockbuster — which chiefly uses fan service and references as a substitute for honest storytelling — has drawn the rightful ire of many a critic.
Luckily for both Deadpool and Ryan Reynolds, Canadians tend to look out for one another, and they’re nothing if not determined to return a favor in the best way possible. So when the one and only Nickelback, the Canadian hard rock band who have been embracing their “worst band on Earth” label for the better part of almost three decades, rolled up to defend Deadpool & Wolverine‘s honor, even the film’s worst critics probably couldn’t help but take great delight in the ordeal (guilty as charged).
Per the above TikTok, during Reynolds’, Shawn Levy’s, and Hugh Jackman’s interview with Canadian entertainment news program Etalk, it turned out that the interviewers received a message from Chad Kroeger and the boys of Nickelback specifically for the Deadpool & Wolverine brain trust, and for anyone who dared speak ill of their new movie. Namely, a $1.5 billion box office haul, two Critics’ Choice Awards, four MTV Movie Awards, one GLAAD Award, one People’s Choice Award, two Teen Choice Awards, and two Golden Globe nominations across the first two Deadpool movies. And just look at how handsome Ryan Reynolds is!
This, of course, was in reference to a scene in Once Upon a Deadpool, the PG-13 cut of Deadpool 2, which was centered around Deadpool reading a story to an adult Fred Savage as a parody of Princess Bride. In one of these scenes, Savage decides to roast Nickelback in the presence of Deadpool, inadvertently activating the Nickelback apologist sleeper agent who apparently resided in the mercenary this whole time. Fifty million albums sold worldwide, 11th-best-selling musical act of all time, six Grammy nominations, 12 Juno Awards, six Billboard Music Awards, two American Music Awards, and one People’s Choice Award later, and Deadpool rested his case.
Of course, Nickelback’s defense of Deadpool & Wolverine had nothing to do with the movie itself, and none of their points meaningfully run counter to the criticism that the film is receiving. Nevertheless, it’s a hilarious and endearing case of Canadians looking out for Canadians, and if we ever get Deadpool 4: Genosha Drift, we may just have to expect a soundtrack full of similar-sounding post-grunge anthems about getting blackout drunk.
Deadpool & Wolverine is now playing in theaters.