The last time Marvel’s merc with a mouth was on the big screen was 2009’s , “Wolverine: Origins” movie. Not exactly a faithful representation. In fact it was almost the opposite of anything close to a faithful representation. One thing that most fans agreed on was the casting of Ryan Reynolds.
It seems that “Wolverine: Origins” allowed Reynolds to channel enough of Deadpool to allow fans to accept his return to the character in this year’s version, simply titled ” Deadpool”.
So how does Fox’s second crack at this character hold up?… Thankfully, much better, but let’s dive in deeper.
The Story:
This is a tricky one to tackle. There are pro’s and con’s that must be discussed. The plot itself, is very weak. It’s almost too straightforward. It goes from A to B to C etc. If that movie wasn’t so fun I guess that would be a much larger problem. This movie is almost totally character driven. They give you Deadpool in spades and damn, if it isn’t entertaining. It’s a far cry from almost any comic book movie that’s ever been done. It’s very self aware and does not hold anything back. Seriously, they went for it. It makes fun of everything including itself, all while leaving behind a trail of blood and guts. In a way, this is the kind of movie that the over saturated world of comic movies needed. Like a big kick in the nuts.
One important note: This is NOT for kids. It’s R rating is well deserved. Swearing and nudity are aplenty here along with said blood and guts.
The dialogue is cutthroat and delivered with wit and confidence. Deadpool is a snarky ex mercenary who kills with gleeful abandon. In other words, he’s exactly s he should be. Not only is the costume right, he’s right, which let’s many comic nerds breathe a collective sigh of relief. The movie’s sharp script made it endlessly quotable. after the movie was done, my friends and I began shooting off our favorite lines from the movie. I will say that it has a dark humor to it that may put off some, but if that’s your thing you’ll find it hilarious. I guess the best way to describe the story is by saying that, while the story is simple and predictable, the execution is not. The journey to get there is fun and different enough to look past it’s narrative deficiencies. Don’t expect anything deep and thought provoking.
The Action:
This is a definite plus for this movie. Most of the time it’s simultaneously brutal, visceral and funny. Sort of like the movie ” Kick Ass”. When I think about it more, its the corporate version of that movie, which almost makes it more impressive because it’s playing with a lot more fire. Nevertheless, back to the action.
It’s well choreographed and the stunts are impressively executed. Deadpool’s gross out fighting style works well for him but he’s not invincible. Well, due to the nature of his powers, he kind of is, but what I really mean is that he can get hit. Oh yes, he gets hit, stabbed, blown up, maimed, you name it. He’s like an annoying version of Wolverine!
It has a hint of old school martial arts film styles to go with it’s modern sensibility. It’s over the top, with a ton of sword play. Overall, “Deadpool” is Fox’s best movie for action to date.
The Villain:
We get to the achilles heel of almost any Marvel, or Marvel related production, although this time it could be worse.
I actually found the villain, simply called ” Francis”, quite effective in many ways. Very hatable and just intimidating enough. His motivations were very weak and his back story was as generic as it gets but I could live with him. I wish they would’ve plucked someone with a little more comic ilk behind him. In the end he didn’t really feel like a match for the titular character.
Overall, not bad, not great. Just, okay.
The Acting:
While it’s fair to not expect Oscar caliber acting, no movie gets a pass for this in my book. I am happy to say that the acting here was fairly strong and enjoyable. There are a lot of outlandish things the actors have to say and do. This requires good chops and a hell of a lot of conviction. Is is a home run every time? No, but it’s pretty consistent.
Ryan Reynolds is the clear star here, carrying the movie on his shoulders. Really, if his performance wasn’t good, this movie would crumble. At times he reminded me of Jim Carrey. I could easily see Carrey in the role when he was younger.
Deadpool, as a character may get tiresome and annoying at times, but it’s not totally due to Reynolds. Well, sometimes it is but not MOST of the time. To be fair, I was never a big fan of his, so I may be a tad biased,
The rest of the cast is pretty solid. They all play there parts convincingly and support Reynolds very well. My favorite character in the movie other than Deadpool, has to be Colossus. I think they nailed him here! He looked great and he they finally gave him a thick Russian accent. It was like watching an adult version of the 90’s X-men cartoon come to life. So delightfully chessy, but in a good way. Take note, Bryan Singer, this is how Colossus should be! Of course, I would like to see a deeper side to him but perhaps the X-men movies will give us that.
Overall, 2016’s Deadpool is a fun raunchy comic book romp that is sure to please Deadpool fan boys. Will it make my favorite comic book moves of all time? Probably not. It’s lack of depth and fairly mundane plot are enough to prevent it from being a ” great” film. I understand it’s not meant to be, but I have to find a connecting point when it comes to these movies. I couldn’t totally connect with Mr. Wade Wilson. That has more to do with the movie itself. The fact that I’ve never really connected to Deadpool as a character is likely more the reason. I take these characters seriously, and a movie like this tends to bother me at times, but maybe thats the point. To not take these, over the top goofy characters so seriously. Have fun with them, exploit them even. But I fear that going to far on those ends risks discrediting all the material besides Deadpool, as simple comic book fluff. Will The person watching a Captain America film, now see it in the same way? I don’t have the answer but let’s hope there’s room for all types of comic book movies out there. So go take it for what it is and see for yourself. You’ll enjoy the hell out of it more if you do.
loved this movie. managed to watch it a couple of weeks back & it was awesome! I went into it blind – or at least as much as I could by avoiding any reviews or writeups & while I’d seen some of the previews, here too I tried not to let it influence me. I’m really glad I did as while I knew a little bit about the character – he’s not one of the ones I ever collected – he was primarily brand new for me and I really, really, really enjoyed Ryan Reynold’s portrayal of the “merc with a mouth”.