R Is the New Black

Rating: 8/10 (12 February 2016)

Adhering to MPAA rules is killing creativity of US blockbusters, that is by now pretty certain. The rating system scares away almost any kind of risk taking when it comes to making expensive A-list films because film companies, naturally, want to see their huge investments returned by assuring the widest possible public appeal - but they don't want to p|ss off the censors. That's why it's ever easier to predict the plot and the stories are all looking blander and more and more alike. Any form of gritty realism, readily available on the Internet and TV-news, is a huge "no-no" when it comes to showing a cinematic work of art to a precious little teenager or an adult prude.
Films made upon comic books are particularly sanitized, given the nature and obscurity of the source, and they suffer for it a great deal. Enter "Deadpool" as one of the rare attempts to tackle the "R-rating". Not to fight the rating system itself but to sort of rehabilitate the "R" and make it lucrative again, long after the impact of "Pulp Fiction" and "Private Ryan" has been forgotten. It has been heavily marketed as "not for children" and it was implied that the filmmakers hope for a sizable money return nonetheless. There seems to be a growing intent to make comic book films more adult-oriented, and I'm certain a lot rides on the success of this film.
Since this is a sort of probe, it's obvious from the first minute that Marvel and Fox allowed filmmakers unusual creative liberties but, unsurprisingly, unusually low budget. A complete newcomer (when it comes to directing a feature film, that is), in form of Tim Miller, is put at helm, partly probably for fresh perspective, partly because he's expendable in case of failure. Expendable is also the main star, a handsome but down-and-out Ryan Reynolds. At this point he's got little to lose.
Apparently, Miller handled everything pretty well. From really impressive and hilarious opening shot, through solid pacing and good action scenes, to dynamic climax. Really, hardly anything to complain about there. Editing is also done well, although there are places where more trimming would be welcome. Screenplay is more of a two-way street, however, and it has its hits and misses. It's undoubtedly brave, not only with gratuitous and quite welcome profanities, sex, blood gore and dark humor, but with the concept of a downbeat main character itself and complementing mise-en-scène, as well as with the ending. There are many inventive visual gags and some verbal jokes really click, but a lot of them are overwritten, cheesy, too absurd or unnecessary so the reaction to them is more of a "meh" than a real amusement. But, I suppose that's what the character of Deadpool is all about - an edgy, nervy, blabbering sort of fellow, as the lore goes, a spitting image of Ryan Reynolds.
Yes, as it happens, Deadpool, a relatively new hero of Marvel universe, is fashioned after the guy that eventually got to play him twice by now on film. So Reynolds by definition does the character justice. But I did hope for something slightly different than Reynolds doing his usual hamming and nodding. He is surely a likable actor and carries the film well, but a comedian he isn't and he simply cannot find the right measure for his deliveries. So he's a hit and miss too, in this film as well as in his entire career.
I recommend "Deadpool" because although not brilliant, it's quite a fun watch. It's also an unrestrained celebration of the "R" and as such, hopefully, a small milestone in the future of filmmaking. I'd honor it here properly if IMDb allowed me to use the same words that were used in the film. Oh, IMDb, you're a walking piece of sh|t irony!