Movie Review: Deadpool
What We Liked
What We Didn't Like
The New Year is just now starting to feel for real. Folks are remembering to write 2016 on the check they sign and, who knows, maybe even starting to pay attention to the upcoming election season. Well, maybe. But before we get too serious about life let us savor some silliness. Deadpool is a film about a seriously messed up dude named Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds). He was a soldier. Then he was a mercenary. Eventually he becomes the superhero called Deadpool – beloved by geekdom the world over. This film is his origin story.
Deadpool was written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, best known for Zombieland (2009), so they know the funny. It is based on the popular comic character work created by Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicleza. Tim Miller makes his feature film directorial debut here.
A story about a superhero that not only hates other superheroes but is also self-aware that he is a character, is not going to be an ordinary movie. This is evident from the opening credits where the entire main cast is mocked rather than introduced, including the director. Now before you start to worry that Deadpool goes of the meta deep-end, relax. It does not. But it does poke fun at itself wonderfully – which is exactly what a fourth wall breaking character should do.
We open with Wade Wilson describing himself as a bad guy that beats up, or does worse, to even worse guys. That is what he does – sort of the anti-Spider-Man if you will. Not a nice guy. He is an ex-special forces soldier that has moved into freelance mercenary work because he isn’t good at anything else and quite honestly cannot keep from running his mouth in any and all situations. That is not model employee behavior. No two ways about it.
Wade finds himself in a whirlwind romance – yes it is absolutely jacked up but is still nevertheless an actual romance – with a woman he meets in his favorite bar. Her name is Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) and she may or may not be a prostitute. Let’s assume not and be kind. Anyway their “courtship” is quite naked and hilarious, told in a series of montage shots that have to be seen to be fully appreciated but, by the end, they are a couple and that is the point here.
So, then life steps in and kicks Wade in his privates. He is diagnosed with cancer. That causes him to flee his relationship and seeks out an “alternative therapy” that is offered up by a shady ex-government spook type called the Recruiter (Jed Rees). The chance to get better is all that matters to Wade. That way he can get back to Vannesa. However, since he has cancer in a half dozen areas of his body, he is doomed and he knows it. This attempt to become a superhero is via a torture process devised by Ajax (Ed Skrein) who has gone through the process himself and has developed/mutated extra strength and an immunity to pain. Ajax is a Brit with an attitude and does not come to care for Wade’s endless verbosity at all.
Once the endless torture finally forces a mutation reaction in Wade he becomes an incredibly fast, strong fighter who, by the way, cannot die. He heals like Wolverine. In the comic origin story this change was done via experimentation with Wolverine’s blood. This route is different but there are several meta “shout outs” to Wolverine in the film that let the fanboy audience know that the filmmakers are well aware of the original story and essentially dare them to fight their retcon approach.
Wade escapes the torture/treatment center, after he is horribly scarred, prior to the healing factor kicking in unfortunately for him. So he is forced to done a mask, which is exactly what he does not want to do but he has little choice. Worse than that is the fact that he is unafraid of anything on this earth other than facing Vanessa as a mangled horror show. Life sort of sucks at that point. So Wade focuses himself on finding Ajax.
The trailer that you may have seen on television is a first meeting between Deadpool and Ajax. Which is a set piece dream come true for any comic-action fan. Amazing stunts. Naturally their meeting is interrupted by a couple of X-Men – namely Colossus (voiced by Stefan Kapicic) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand). Both want Deadpool to join their team, okay Colossus wants him to join NTW just wants to brood, and not endanger the public with a one man war on some local bad guys.
This sets us up for a re-match down the road. You can imagine how well that goes for Ajax, particularly after he kidnaps Vanessa and really pisses Wade off. The beauty of the film though is really in the reaction Deadpool has to the surrounding world. He is a mile a minute smart ass the whole way through and it is hilarious and on point the whole time. So sure, all us viewers want Deadpool to save the girl and ride into the sunset. The really enjoyable part is the journey that he has to go through to make that happen.
Reynolds truly redeemed his prior superhero exploits here. I remember Green Lantern and X-Men Origins: Wolverine and yet I forgive you. Reynolds excels at the smart-ass schtick. He also has the physicality to pull off the action stuff. Combine his roles in Waiting (2005) and Blade: Trinity (2004), sprinkle in the mutant factor and you get Deadpool. As much as Hugh Jackman clearly is Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds is Deadpool. Additionally, TJ Miller was excellent as a comic foil and best bud, Weasel the bartender.
Sadly the only thing to mar the film for me was the two dimensional Ajax. It was no the actor’s fault, as he appears to have tried to shine as much as he could. But without some further background on him there was little reason to feel anything for him at all. Just an obstacle in the hero’s way really. No Loki flare let us say. More Obidiah Stane.
That one element, the villain, is the only real drawback in what was otherwise a perfect origin for a very imperfect superhero. By the way, Deadpool is rated R. Very R. So that is another triumph in my opinion. Getting a story told in an adult fashion, and stuff blowing up real good, is a welcome fusion of awesome.
Steven Gahm
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