[four-star-rating]Ryan Reynolds, Ed Skrein, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Leslie Uggams[/four-star-rating]
We knew we were in for something twisted. In early promos last year, Deadpool said, “Crime’s the disease; meet the cure! Okay, maybe not the cure, but more like a topical ointment to reduce the swelling and itch.”
The film Deadpool delivers! (I’ll even use the rare exclamation point.) It’s likely to fill current addicts to the brim with sick, bubbly joy, as it adds a few more adherents. This gory, action-packed flick punches home the perversion – clearly a niche missing from the current pantheon of noble comic book films.
He’s the great antihero of the Marvel comic book world, so fans had a lot riding on this movie. Deadpool survives by his quick tongue, his fantastic healing ability, his super strength, his lightning–fast reflexes, and a certain debauched creativity. He breaks the fourth wall, replete with curse words and disgusting insults. Fan deeply love and revere him; people even get tattoos.
Wade Wilson (Reynolds) is a skilled mercenary and a bit of a jerk. Shock of shocks: he finds a woman (Baccarin) nearly as crass and rough-hewn as he is. It seems mere moments after he falls in love that he also discovers his body riddled with cancer.
He’s not hopeful: “Cancer’s only in my liver, lungs, prostate, and brain. All things I can live without.”
An evil, underground doctor (Skrein) tells Wilson he can be cancer-free – and not only cured, but made into a superhero like the mutant X-Men. What once-handsome Wilson doesn’t know is that he’ll become the physically and mentally deformed Deadpool. Now he wants revenge.
It’s an origin story, sure, but one that messes around with chronology. We start when he’s already kicking ass. While flying through the air, he decides to pause the action and tell the audience – directly – how he got here. A full 45 minutes of flashback may not be the most efficient storytelling, but at least it’s entertaining!
Ryan Reynolds finally gets to be a successful man in costume – every so often even poking fun at himself. After the first Wolverine movie with Reynolds screwed up Deadpool, fans were outraged, much of their ire falling on Reynolds. “How could he let them do that to our guy?” Hell, even in the comic books, DP said Reynolds should play him. What a disappointment!
Then, Reynolds took a short and unsuccessful sojourn into DC comic world to portray Green Lantern in one of the clumsiest comic book flicks ever made.
Bringing Deadpool back to life isn’t the only risk Marvel and Twentieth Century Fox took. They bet on Reynolds again and won this time.
[rating-key]
The producers also hired a rather inexperienced director: Tim Miller, better known as a special effects supervisor on films like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. His effects amaze in this bloody and bloody fun film; Miller exhibits a great sense of editing for comic timing.
Deadpool ain’t the deepest body of water. Also, there are a couple points where the action and comedy lag for a few moments. Mostly, though, this inappropriate man in red gropes the funny bone while snapping limbs. Fans will cheer; others will laugh. This incarnation does this sicko justice.
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