More so than any other comic book film that has been released during my lifetime, like The Avengers or X-Men or even The Dark Knight Rises, this is the one that I have been waiting for. Then again, given the character’s lauded reputation and fan base, I’m sure that that is true for most fanboys in the world. Deadpool is not only one of my favourite comic book characters, but might be one of my favourite fictional characters ever: His unique fourth-wall breaking personality probably gives the most freedom of any graphic novel character, almost like a living TARDIS in terms of story possibility. Just to be clear, this guy once mugged Queen Elizabeth for her clothing and teamed up with a group of robotic animals to take down an orca in a robot suit. Under regular circumstances, I’d say that this is that rare property that is impossible to screw up, but then again we all know far too well that someone managed to do just that. But, even with all the admittedly brilliant marketing behind it and the recognition it has already garnered from fans and newcomers alike, does this still hold up given how long we’ve been wanting this film to surface?
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is considered by many fanboys,
myself included, to be probably one of the biggest character assassinations
ever put to film. That, however, is
not that film’s biggest flaw, or what could have been its biggest flaw. No,
that spot is reserved for the fact that they cast Reynolds as Deadpool,
probably the best casting for the role possible, and utterly wasted him. Now,
in a less friendly world, that would be the end of it: They had a chance for
pixel-perfect casting and they blew it. However, this is a film that was meant
entirely for the fans, complete with a couple of fuck yous thrown in the fact
of not only the X-Men Origins approach to the character but also to Reynolds’
previous turn as a superhero in Green Lantern. This also means bringing back
Reynolds in the lead role, and he goes all-out to bring us the Merc With The
Mouth that we so desperately wanted to see. His delivery is as dead-on as his
character’s aim with just about any weapon he can get his hands on, and his
affinity for playing the likeable arsehole serves him better here than in
probably any other film he’s been involved in. Alongside him, we have Baccarin
actually managing to portray the kind of ‘perfect match’ for Deadpool without
it seeming like they’re reaching, Skrein actually doing pretty well as our
villain, Miller as Weasel is a little underutilised but still works really well
when he’s opposite Reynolds, Kapičić is decent as the boy scout of the film and
Leslie Uggams as Blind Al is a character I could definitely have used more of.
While a 58 million dollar budget may seem like a lot, this
is a comic book movie we’re talking about here. Nowadays, that’s the equivalent
of The Blair Witch Project. However, credit is definitely due in that
first-time director Tim Miller knew just how to use it. While the man’s
previous work may be of questionable merit, given how his only film credits are
for making opening credit sequences for other movies, he is still responsible
for probably one of the best opening sequences of any film with Fincher’s The
Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. That kind of approach with SFX is also evident
here, with quite a few shots that verge on being sore thumbs but are just slick
enough to go by largely unnoticed. Have to admit, given the ultraviolent legacy
behind the character, this film is a lot less Matthew Vaughn than I was
expecting. However, when this film takes time out for its action, it does revel
in the same kind of gloriously over-the-top fun that should be expected. Not
quite as gory as it could have been, but energetic all the same.
The spaces in-between the action scenes, though… okay, of
probably all the characters in the comic book canon, Marvel or otherwise,
Deadpool is probably the one who would benefit least from an on-screen origin story. Hell, in the comics, one of
the bigger running gags is how the guy has more character pasts than The Dark
Knight’s Joker. While I give legitimate props for how the romantic subplot was
handled, balancing twisted and sweet just right between Deadpool and Vanessa,
it still feels too… conventional for a film like this. This isn’t helped by the
main conceit of the film about how heroes come in all shapes and sizes, which
has been used to varying effectiveness already in bigger films like Guardians
Of The Galaxy. Don’t get me wrong, Deadpool is probably the best example of how
even the most unconventional arseholes can become heroes, but that doesn’t
excuse how it feels like the film is being distracted from himself for the sake
of being only slightly more palatable to mainstream audiences. Then again, in
terms of sappy character arcs in self-referential comedies, writers Rhett Reese
and Paul Wernick have pulled this same card before with Zombieland.
But, does this do Deadpool justice in spite of that? Honestly,
yeah. I mean, for every scene with him talking about how he has to save his
girlfriend, there’s a scene where he showing his ‘appreciation’ for unicorns.
Whenever this film feels like it’s getting too bogged down by standard comic
book fare that you’d think it would too busy making fun of to join in with,
something comes around that balances things out again. Whether it’s the chaotic
action scenes or the gleefully unhinged dialogue that doesn’t feel like blue
for blue’s sake, rather like this is just what these characters find humorous,
there’s a lot to like about this. This is definitely helped by not only how
well Reynolds plays the role, but also how the role is written. Yeah, his main
shtick is smacking the fourth wall in the face with his nuts, but that isn’t all that he’s given so it avoids
becoming completely monotonous. His love for supposedly ‘lame’ pop culture, his
God-level sarcastic streak, his hyper-agility; it all stays true to what the
people love about the guy. It probably helps that he is aided by Vanessa, who
gets her chance to subvert the traditional ‘damsel in distress’, the do-gooder
Colossus who provides great fodder for Deadpool, and of course the deliciously
90’s-sounding-despite-being-created-in-2001 Negasonic Teenage Warhead. And no,
this character was not created just
for the film, just so you understand the kind of world Deadpool regularly
inhabits.
All in all, while I will admit that I wasn’t completely
blown away by this film, I will also admit that this did meet my criteria for
what I want to see in a Deadpool movie: Good action scenes, funny dialogue,
tongue-in-cheek approach to its contemporaries and treating one of my favourite
fictional characters with the dignity (stop laughing) that they deserve.
Despite how corny it can get at times, it never once felt like it completely
betrayed any core aspect of what makes him so amazing to begin with. Sure, his
mental instability is pretty toned down but, honestly, it would take some
serious talent to be able to juggle not only Deadpool’s on-screen persona but
also the two voices spinning around in his head while he converses with other
characters and even the audience. Oh, and I am most definitely looking forward
to the follow-up, featuring a character I’m almost
surprised wasn’t in this one. Then again, that’s the thing about having a
smaller budget: You’re lucky to get even one
X-Man, let alone two.
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