DEADPOOL is Almost Everything I'd Hoped it Would Be

Rating: 8/10 (15 January 2017)

It might sound cliché now because the market is being flooded with the character but Deadpool has been my favorite comic character for a while. I've wanted the Merc with the Mouth to get his own big screen movie for years, thinking Ryan Reynolds would be perfect for the role since his performance in BLADE TRINITY as wisecracking Hannibal King. I was excited for Reynolds to assume the role of Wade Wilson in X- MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE and devastated when the character was mutilated by the studio. I'd come to accept the fact that we'd probably never see a true Deadpool cinema incarnation and, lo and behold, Reynolds and crew come through in 2016. DEADPOOL wasn't just a fun, relatively faithful adaptation of my favorite Marvel character but a much needed break from comic book movie routine with the film's proud embracing of the R-rating and utilization of the Deadpool comic tropes we'd come to expect but assumed studios would nix for being "too weird" for general audiences. In an effort to reeducate the unknowing masses, DEADPOOL serves as an origin film, explaining to those unfamiliar how Deadpool came to be horribly scarred, certifiably crazy, and essentially immortal. Wade Wilson (Reynolds) is a mercenary for hire who, shortly after finding his soul mate in equally damaged working girl Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), is diagnosed with terminal cancer. With limited options, he turns to the mysterious Ajax (Ed Skrein) who claims he can heal Wilson of his disease. And an antihero is born.
DEADPOOL gets a lot of things right and a few things, well, not so much wrong as poorly handled. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy this movie and I'm psyched at the level of success this little "comic book movie that couldn't" has achieved. It was a stroke of luck that the movie ever saw production and the love of audiences to the tune of almost $800 billion in worldwide gross box office all but guarantees we won't have to fight so long to see the continuing adventures. Reynolds is exactly as perfect for the role as we'd all known he would be. He gets the character and truly brings him to life with all the wisecracks, juvenile humor, and bloody violence we'd hoped to see. The costume is fantastic, staying incredibly faithful to the comics and even giving his mask expressive eyes to bring it to life. I also loved the inclusion of T.J. Miller to the cast as Deadpool's buddy Weasel. I've been a fan of Miller for a little while and figured his absurd brand of improvised comedy would be an apt fit in the world of DEADPOOL. The two of them ensure that DEADPOOL is just as much a comedy as it is an action movie, which is exactly as it should be. Deadpool doesn't bring the senses of dread or stoic heroism that comes with the usual X-Men film. In DEADPOOL, our hero puts bullets in brainpans and turns violence into insane performance art.
Deadpool is, of course, a character from the X-Men universe and as a result we get a couple of cameos to establish this. As to which X-Men cinematic universe we're rooted in, it confuses even Deadpool himself ("McAvoy or Stewart? These timelines can get so confusing."), but he's given the chance to fight alongside fan-favorite and criminally-underused Colossus and his current mutant trainee Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand). These two act as the straight-edged, voices of reason to Deadpool's fourth-wall-breaking craziness in his search for revenge against Ajax. I loved both of them, especially Negasonic. We don't get much out of her character but her angsty teenage persona sets Deadpool up for some fun punchlines and her explosive powers come in handy during the final battle. Colossus is here to give valuable life lessons to Deadpool in hopes of swaying him to the forces of good. I enjoyed the odd-couple pairing of Colossus and Deadpool but I imagine we'll get better banter in the sequel where the end credits coda promises we'll be introduced togo watch for yourself. No spoilers here but it should be obvious to fans. Meanwhile, Colossus serves the role well even if he is comically preachy in his heroic speeches. I love that we finally get an accurate on-screen portrayal (huge, muscular, and Russian) but the CG wasn't always the greatest. It's easily forgiven, and still pretty impressive, considering the limited budget. It makes one hopeful we'll get to see Deadpool's unique brand of crazy interact with other X-Men in future installments.
DEADPOOL isn't without its flaws. The plot is disappointingly simplistic. It's your average origin tale intermixed with a revenge plot, but at least it uses nonlinear storytelling to break it up a bit. Most of the origin element is given through flashbacks over the course of a freeway chase/battle that fills the first hour or so of the movie. Plus everyone beside Deadpool is relegated to two-dimensional characters who only exist to serve a plot purpose. Ajax, Vanessa, Weasel, and especially Ajax's second-in- command Angel Dust (Gina Carano) are pretty thin characters. DEADPOOL is pretty much a one-man show with the Merc with the Mouth taking center-stage and everyone else taking a backseat to his showboating. It's fine though. It's fun. And pretty violent so, you know, leave the kids home for this one. As Deadpool would tell you, he's the best there is at whatever Wolverine does. Wolverine never quite got to cut loose in the X-Men films to the extent Deadpool does here and, superhero or not, this is not a family film. The R-rating should've been a dead giveaway but I'm amazed at how I saw kids at my first screening. In short, DEADPOOL is a comic book movie for people who are tired of comic book movies, while still stumbling into same pitfalls of franchise-opening comic book movies.