When it comes to the vast array of characters within the
equally vast expanse of the Marvel universe, one major fan favorite has been
the character of Deadpool. Created by Rob Liefeld in 1991, mercenary Wade
Wilson, better known as the ‘Merc with a Mouth’, has been one of the most
popular Marvel characters amongst comic book fans, primarily due to his comedic
nature and frequent instances of breaking the fourth wall. However, when it
comes to Deadpool’s appearances in live-action films, he didn’t start off on
the best of notes. He first appeared in 2009’s ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’
played by Ryan Reynolds, who was actually referenced by Deadpool himself once
in the comics, prior to the film’s release, when describing his appearance. But
while Reynolds was certainly a good choice in the role, the character was
ultimately screwed over big time in that film as the writers did away with
pretty much everything that made the character who he is in the comics. After
appearing briefly in the opening action sequence, Wilson is then revealed to
have been experimented on by Colonel William Stryker and turned into ‘Weapon XI’,
a mutant possessing the abilities of other mutants that the character obviously
didn’t have in the comics. And to make matters worse, the ‘Merc with a Mouth’…
had his mouth sewn shut. So in short, the writers completely butchered one of
Marvel’s most popular characters in his big-screen debut, becoming one of the
many problems of that ill-fated X-Men spinoff. And for a while after that,
despite rumors of a Deadpool spin-off film, it didn’t seem like the ‘Merc with
a Mouth’ would get a chance to redeem himself on the big-screen.
But then in July of 2014, everything changed when a clip of
VFX test footage for the film was leaked online. Developed in 2012 by VFX
artist Tim Miller, who Fox had hired a year earlier to direct the film, this
turned out to be one of the rare cases in the film industry of a leaked product
actually having a positive outcome, as the footage proved to be a big hit with
fans. That enthusiastic response was what finally convinced Fox to go ahead
with a ‘Deadpool’ film, with Reynolds once again returning to the role that he
was pretty much born to play. Now obviously, ‘Deadpool’ is a much different
kind of superhero film compared to A.) its fellow Fox-produced Marvel films and
B.) the films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While those films are always
rated PG-13 and are intended for a wider audience, ‘Deadpool’ is decidedly a
much more violent and crude entry in the superhero genre. So obviously, it’s an
R-rated superhero film that revels in its violence, sex, and crude humor. And
while some may have originally viewed this as a ‘risky venture’ for that exact
reason, clearly that risky venture has paid off given the extremely positive
reviews that this film has gotten from both critics and audiences and its
record-setting $135 million opening weekend here in the U.S.. So with all of
that said, does Deadpool, and for the matter Ryan Reynolds given his previous
misfires in the genre, finally get the proper superhero film that they deserve?
Well, to put it simply, yes they do. ‘Deadpool’ is an extremely fun superhero
film that isn’t afraid to go places that other superhero films wouldn’t dare to
go. And for the most part that does make up for a few of the film’s
shortcomings.
As already noted, Ryan Reynolds stars as Wade Wilson, a
mercenary from Canada who spends a lot of his time protecting teenagers from
potential stalkers. One night, he meets an escort named Vanessa (Morena
Baccarin) and the two end up in a relationship. However, one year later, the
two learn that Wade has been affected with terminal cancer in multiple parts of
his body. Looking to find any possible way to overcome his new affliction, Wade
is approached by an Agent Smith-like recruiter (Jed Rees (And I’m not making a
joke here. This character literally is referred to by that moniker multiple
times in the film.)) who offers him a way to cure his cancer. Wade eventually
accepts the offer and is then subjected to torturous procedures as part of the
Weapon X program led by Francis Freeman AKA Ajax (Ed Skrein) and his partner
Angel Dust (Gina Carano). While his cancer does end up being cured as a result
of his newly gained abilities of healing, the process also ends up severely
disfiguring his face and skin. Left for dead by Ajax, who tells him that he has
the cure for his disfigurement, Wade survives and soon takes on the vigilante
persona of ‘Deadpool’ as he tracks down ‘Francis’ for revenge. Things get a
little more complicated when fellow mutants Colossus (voiced by Stefan Kapičić and performed via motion capture by Andre
Tricoteux) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) try to convince
Wade to join the X-Men and Ajax ends up kidnapping Vanessa.
Fans have been clamoring for years for a proper Deadpool
film and, more specifically, that it would be rated R so that it would properly
represent the fan-favorite mutant on the big-screen. And in that regard, this
film definitely succeeds in doing its title character justice. After the severe
misfire that was Deadpool’s characterization in ‘Origins’, the character in
this new film is very much the Deadpool that fans know and love. He’s
constantly cracking jokes, particularly fourth wall jokes, and massacring his
opponents in gory detail. The end result is one very hilarious film from
beginning to end, with loads of great jokes as well as some pretty darn awesome
action sequences that of course are much more violent than what we’ve seen in
other superhero films. But while the film is very much a no-holds-barred
R-rated superhero affair, admittedly it is a bit lacking in terms of being an
actual ‘superhero’ film. The humor and action may be superb, but at the end of
the day this is basically just a simple story of a man enacting revenge against
the man who ruined his life. Sure the film may subvert and poke fun at the
usual tropes of the superhero genre but other times it ends up doing those
exact same tropes so it doesn’t completely succeed in lampooning the genre.
Also I should probably note that while I did find the humor in this film to be
hilarious, its generally crude nature (in other words, a whole lot of sex
jokes) might turn off those who aren’t fans of this kind of humor.
Ryan Reynolds’ comedic abilities made him a perfect choice
for the role of Deadpool when he first took on the role all the way back in
2009 for ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’. It’s too bad then that he got screwed over
in that film just as much as the character did. Now that Deadpool has finally
been given a proper superhero film, Reynolds finally gets the chance to shine
in the superhero film genre and proves that he was the perfect choice for the
role of the wise-cracking mercenary. On the other side, though, Morena Baccarin
is severely underused as Deadpool’s girlfriend Vanessa. While the two do have
really nice chemistry, Baccarin spends most of the film as a damsel in distress
for Deadpool to save at the end. It’s even more disappointing because her
character is a superhero in the comics named Copycat. Maybe they’ll go that
route for the sequel but here she’s just the pretty face that has to be saved.
However, Deadpool does have a pair of memorable allies in the form of Colossus
and Negasonic Teenage Warhead or, as Deadpool puts it, ‘the only X-Men the film
could afford’. Colossus had previously appeared in ‘X2’, ‘X-Men: The Last
Stand’, and ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ but, with no disrespect towards Daniel
Cudmore (who played the character in those films), the Colossus in this film is
much more in line with the Russian metal man that fans know and love from the
comics while Brianna Hildebrand makes quite a great first impression in what
will no doubt be her breakout role as the character with one of the coolest
names ever. T.J. Miller also gets some memorable one-liners as Deadpool’s best
friend Weasel, who points out many examples of what Deadpool looks like with
his face all disfigured (e.g. an avocado had sex with an older avocado).
But memorable protagonists come at the expense of some very,
very forgettable villains. You know how a lot of people tend to criticize all
of the MCU villains that are not named Loki for not being as memorable by
comparison? Well, that doesn’t mean that ‘Deadpool’ is off the hook either
because its villains are arguably the biggest weak link of the film. Ajax is
basically just your typical evil British guy whose only real quirk is the fact
that his real name is Francis and Deadpool constantly mocks him for it. Ed
Skrein is fine in the role but the character really doesn’t do much to stand
out amongst the other villains of the superhero film genre, even the ones that
the internet tends to mock. The same can also be said for his assistant Angel Dust.
Pretty much all that Gina Carano has to do in this film is just stand around,
glare at people, and occasionally punch someone. Sure it may do well enough to
highlight Carano’s MMA experience but that’s really about it. So like how the
film occasionally slips into the same exact territory of the superhero films
that it’s poking fun at, it too suffers from one of the most common criticisms
that befall a lot of the films of the genre; dull villains. And as a result, the
film ends up feeling a lot smaller-scaled than it already is. There’s not a lot
of connections made towards the other ‘X-Men’ films which, while understandable
given the film’s more hardcore style and tone, still would’ve been appreciated.
I have the feeling, though, that we will be seeing Deadpool play a bigger role
in the X-Men universe in future films.
Now despite the criticisms that I’ve gone over in this
review, I want to make it clear that I did like ‘Deadpool’. It really is a very
fun superhero film and the filmmakers do deserve credit for not flinching when
it comes to giving the film a harder R-rated feel compared to other films of
the genre. But at the end of the day, I don’t think it’s that big of a
‘game-changer’ as much as others are saying it is. Really, all it does
different is just that; being an R-rated superhero film. Obviously, though, it’s
the first big R-rated superhero film of this current era of the genre and
because this film is definitely going to be a hit, that’ll most likely lead to
more R-rated superhero films down the road. And I can tell that this is
something that quite a few people will be happy with because let me tell you,
I’ve seen quite a few reviews that have compared this film to the MCU films and
have negatively referred to the latter as ‘toothless, watered-down mediocrity’.
Well you may think that but at least those so-called ‘toothless watered-down
mediocrities’ have more to offer in terms of plot, action set-pieces, and even
villains. Some say that this film set the bar for this year’s slate of
superhero films but at the end of the day I’m probably going to be talking
about films like ‘Captain America: Civil War’ and ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ more than
this one when the year’s done. To make it clear, I have nothing against there
being more R-rated superhero films. But just like how I don’t want to see
darker superhero films for characters that aren’t meant for darker storylines,
I don’t want to see certain superhero franchises get needlessly more R-rated
just because that’s what certain fanboys want more of. Again, I really did like
this film. I guarantee you that you’ll have a lot of fun watching it. But ‘best
superhero film of all-time’ as some are saying? Uh-uh…
Rating: 4/5
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