Sunday, February 14, 2016

Deadpool Review

Deadpool
Director: Tim Miller 
Cast Headliners : Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccrin, Stefan Kapcic, Ed Skrein, etc
Original Release Date : February 12th, 2016

  There's been a lot of dream movies lately and coming,and Deadpool is without a doubt one of them. It's been a crazy journey. First the character finally appeared but was ruined in 2009's X-men: Origins : Wolverine, which contained a decent brief Wade Wilson but a terribly mis-adapted “The Dead Pool”. Since then rumors of a version that did the character justice have floated around and it seemed to be in production forever. Now, finally, several X-men films and a timeline reboot later, the time has come to deliver on the promise, and it certainly wonderfully does and is the movie a fan would always want and offers a fantastic starting point to this character even if meeting him for the first time.

As fitting for the character, the movie starts off in media res and plays around with time (amongst many other twisting of film conventions and 4th walls!) as it goes on. Right from the first moment we meet Wade Wilson aka Deadpool( Ryan Reynolds, reprising his role from 2009 but damn awesomley right this time) as he goes on hillarious, action-packed rampage tracking down someone named Francis/Ajax (Ed Skrein). The movie's incredibly hillarious and unique sense of humor is noticeable from even the opening credits and its a nonstop ride of blood and laughs over the next couple hours ahead.

Deadpool is the film's title and protagonist but its an understatement that he's the shining blazing wonderful highlight of the film as well. He has a cool perfectly-comics accurate costume (aided by subtle CGI) that luckily stays on for the main majority of the film and he has a regenerating mutant ability that puts Wolverine to shame (and is used in some hillarious moments). These make for incredibly awesome action scenes (aided by the frenetic craft of director Tim Miler) and also give him a sense of immortality not quite like any other super”hero” to grace cinema. But he's no hero, and that's a brilliant point. Deadpool, once he gets his powers, has an insanity to him and a willingness to murder that sets him apart. This leads to plentiful moments that have a combination of badassness, humour, and even a bit of a comment on the way other heroes do things. And all along the way Reynolds fully embodies the character's personality. From his voice , wacky lines, and even the way he moves he's LITERALLY as perfect to the comics as can be. This is true even whether he's in the full costume, unmasked with his mutated makeup face, or pre-powered. This role was the actor's destiny to play, and his wonderfully hillarious perfection in it definitely heals the wounds of his previous X-men appearance and even attempts at other comic movies like Green Lantern, RIPD, and Blade 3. Of course the first two on that list are mocked many times through the film which is another great example of the movie's wacky meta-ness. Everything is something the character would have done on the original iconic pages.

The humor beams out of the amazing central star but it comes from nearly every corner of the world around him as well. The movie is so fortunate to have been rated R as it wouldn't have worked so well as it does without it. The jokes are often dirty, vulgar, and extreme but always hillarious whether referential or uniquely slapstick. The swears and pop culture come constant, fast, and fitting. While one constantly enjoys the Merc with a Mouth's presence the supporting cast has some great lines as well. There's Deadpool's friend Weasel (TJ Miller), roomate Blind Al (Leslie Uggams) and the prime X-men connection that comes in a perfectly comics-accurate, overly noble, and properly Russian recast Colossus (Stefan Kapcic) and his trainee Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand). The character's share the films snappy pace and writing on their own and are magnified when interacting with Deadpool. The X-men connection is prime for some referential jokes but also the movie firmly stands alone as somehthing stand-alone and arguably more fresh and superior to its parent franchise.
Now it takes a bit for this portion to happen and its interestingly mixed with the above but there's also the film's aspect as a origin story and main motivation. Wade Wilson falls in love with Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) in his pre-mutated days. The romantic plot is of course very R-rated , but actually Vanessa and Wade's romance is surprisingly great as well. Baccarin does a great job as the very kind of person Deadpool would find interest in, and their moments together are humorously , darkly charming and memorable. She is arguably one of the best “love interests” around in this genre. Wade seeks a treatment for a immense cancer that develops, and his dark experience and her subsequent kidnapping is what sets the full plot full circle and provides a touching tone at parts.

If anything does not match the fireworks of bloody laughs and fun that is the rest of the film's quality, it's the villians and their role to the plot. Skrein's prime antagonist Ajax is ...there but utterly generic aside from being a pain in Deadpool's side enough to act as a catalyst ( a point which the film itself even mocks). Gina Carano's Angel Dust character is around for fierceness and a couple comedic moments but similiarly fades away in the tapestry of mania that is the rest of the experience. One never feels that anyone Deadpool faces is a threat, and they wouldn't be, but it adds to the aspect of the movie having a very simple plot and progression of events compared to its shenangins elsewhere. But when a person, hardcore comics fan or newcomer, comes to see a Deadpool movie its HIM that counts and it delivers on that. The rest of the opposing force and villians are just a excuse for fun antics, and maybe that's in itself another meta point.


Overall, and this is coming from someone who views Deadpool as one of their favorite comic “characters” (he's not exactly a hero and knows it) , it is nearly a perfect dream come true. This is mainly in the plentiful fun moments and Reynold's starring role. But even in its metaness, insanity, musical choices, and remix of superhero staples (there's a Stan Lee cameo of course) it is exactly the movie it should be and is. More than perhaps a few exceptions in film history, it feels like one is reading a Deadpool comic book that's come to life on screen. That aspect is what counts, and one cannot wait to see where this character goes because it starts of to an amazingly unique, fresh, and yet warmly familiar to hardcore fans start. The newcomer will love it as wel as it just bleeds fun in addition to its red. They made the chimichanga no doubt. 9 out of 10

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