DEADPOOL: THE REVIEW
An Introduction, Of Sorts
Welcome fellow movie goers, to what will be the first of many movie and TV show reviews of the highest quality for those interested at an in-depth analysis of current film.
Deadpool: A Comic Book Reader's Wet Dream
First appearing in Marvel Comics New Mutants #98 in 1991, Wade Wilson and his wacky alter ego Deadpool quickly became a fan-favorite for many due to his quirky, sadistic, but lovable antihero persona. Heavily relying on his ever famous "4th Wall Breaks"(A form of communication in which a character directly refers to the audience as to his situation, or anything of that nature). Deadpool's origin isn't very complicated; the character coming to fruition as that of a cancer-stricken ex-military man whose idea to volunteer for an experimental treatment left him with a completely disfigured physical body, albeit with the extreme benefits of becoming, well, invincible. It's his personality, and the way he handled the kinds of abuse and neglect he suffered from that won the hearts of readers, interestingly enough. As his popularity grew however, so did the demand for more than just his appearance in the comic book scene.
A Complicated Film History
Deadpool's had a very complicated film history. Production and film ideas were bounced around as far back as the early 2000's, but the demand for a hard R-rating for the mercenary with a cult following constantly became a roadblock for the bad-mouthed killer. Finally however, Deadpool made his first appearance on the big screen in Gavin Hood's 2009 Origin movie for the fan-favorite character Wolverine. Unfortunately, studio conflict(and some questionable studio decisions) led to the movie bombing with critics on a ridiculous level, receiving a meager 38% on Rotten Tomatoes, and seemingly ruining the character of Deadpool for fans and the general audience by not only sowing his mouth shut, but straying just about as far from the source material as you could. After a questionable box office performance, many believed that that was that for the merc with the mouth, including any other X-Men related spin off franchises 20th Century Fox (the right owners) were planning.
A Fresh Start
...Until somebody leaked test footage made by the actor campaigning for years to be Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) along with the director on board for directing it (Tim Miller) in 2014. Assuming that that footage never made it out of the storage room, we might have never gotten this movie. But we did, and it was that sly action that led to the media, and the general public praising the animated footage for its unique take on the superhero genre. It was that positive response that eventually led to Fox greenlighting the movie(with a moderate budget) and allowing Reynolds and Miller the chance to show the world what they've been missing out on. Fast-forward 2 years, and here we are.
But Was It Worth The Hype?
Many things can be said about this movie, but you can't say it didn't service its hardcore fans to the best of its abilities. Following a somewhat linear plot line, the movie revolves around(minor spoilers ahead) an ex Special Forces soldier turned mercenary named Wade Wilson who falls in love with a hooker named Vanessa, gets cancer, gets super powered up by an experiment, and goes to save said hooker from some british psychopath named Ajax alongside two X-Men characters named Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (yes, that's her name). Simple enough, right? Well yes, actually. The basic enough plot allows for the stand out humor and violent nature of Deadpool to shine in many different ways. Miller does an excellent job of "showing, not telling" a lot of the film, instead using said filler dialogue to fire off an unfiltered number of jokes, and pop culture references by the second. There's something to be said about a film that's unapologetic in its style, dialogue, or sense(at times), and still manages to create a thrill ride.
...It Was
Miller excelled in creating an ambience of total disregard for consequences in Deadpool's world. Although loosely connected to the X-Men universe started in the early 2000's, Deadpool comes into its own with its titular character blatantly making it known that "this isn't your typical superhero movie". Making references several times to his failed outing in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Wade Wilson doesn't dwell too much on the past, keeping his 4th wall breaks to a sensible minimum as he spends most of the movie refusing side characters Collosus and Negasonic Teenage Warheads constant offers to join the X-Men while trying to save his precious Vanessa. It's Ajax's (the man who turned him into well, what he looks like now) kidnapping of her in an attempt at ending the long gestating rivalry started in the beginning of the movie that eventually pushes the plot into gear as Deadpool chases after him, thirsty for revenge, and a way to return himself to what he used to look like.
Morena Baccarin does well with what shes given, doing her best to bounce off Reynolds quick fire humor and persona, and fit right in with the rest of the cast, like TJ Miller's Weasel. Some minor complaints mainly revolve around the movie's disregard for a stronger plot, something that for many, is a make or break. In this movie's case however, it became nothing more than a backdrop for an excellent(and humorous, very, very humorous) and simple thrill ride of a movie revolving around an extremely questionable super powered individual fighting for nothing more than the acceptance and love of the only woman he's ever felt passionate for. Deadpool, in many ways, was smart to come out on Valentines Day Weekend.
At the heart of this quirky, dirty little superhero flick, Deadpool is, at its core, romantic in nature. It doesn't try to reel you in with big budget fight scenes, or the typical(and overused) "humanity in peril" plot point. Its crude and outrageous humor is the only real thing telling you that this movie is worth watching, and it most definitely is. Deadpool was a long time coming (and needed), with Miller and Reynolds possibly having just completely changed the way big studios look at the superhero genre. As its box office numbers continue to break records, and audiences and critics alike both praising its uniqueness, Deadpool was worth the wait, and worth the watch.
