Deadpool: Chimichangas For Everyone! (Movie Review)
I’m sure it’s part of my nature, but I think was one of the most pessimistic people going into the Deadpool screening this past Thursday evening. It’s not because I feared that every funny, ludicrous moment was probably played out in the trailers, but instead overtime I think of Deadpool I think of that terrible X-Men Origins: Wolverine outing. Now I dot know about you, but that first solo Wolverine film always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. However, since this particular Deadpool film has been blessed with a glorious R-rating and some sweet marketing to boot. I’m all about second chances and forgiveness in 2016. So what the hell?! The over-the-top stunts and chaotic action pieces in the trailers kind of left me reminiscent of one of my favorite films from the mid-2000s, Crank. I realize that may be a giant stretch, but dammit…this is my Deadpool movie review, not yours!
Let’s first take a look back at who/what the character of Deadpool is. I guess you could call him a fictional antihero in the Marvel Comics universe. I had to research this, but from what I found online he (real name Wade Winston Wilson – following Marvel’s naming convention) first appeared in The New Mutants issue #98, cover-dated February 1991. The weird thing about him is we was first established as a super villain, but as you can clearly see in the film’s trailers he has since evolved into the role of an anti-hero. How or when that transformation happened is beyond my scope of knowledge on the subject matter at hand. I just felt all you newbies should know that because personally I always thought he was a villain too.
You’ll find out why in the film, but Deadpool is disfigured and he’s also a mentally unstable mercenary with the superhuman ability of an accelerated healing factor. In the comics he is known as the “Merc with a Mouth” because of his chatty nature, “dark, twisted” sense of humor and his tendency to break that dread fourth wall, which writers employ to exploit the comedy of the situation. Make no mistake, the filmmakers here embrace that rather comfortably. Awkwardly Ryan Reynolds portrayed the character in the 2009 film X-Men Origins: Wolverine and he’s back here to reprise the role. But wait! Didn’t he die in that Wolverine film? I thought he got decapitated. All this damn research I did made me revisit the post credits scene from that crappy project and realize oh yeah, he survived!
So I guess if you’re counting and it counts in the timeline, which I’m not really sure of to be 100% honest with you, Deadpool is the eighth installment in the X-Men film series. The film is directed by Tim Miller, with a screenplay by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. This antihero flick obviously stars Ryan Reynolds in the titular role, but also Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, T. J. Miller, Gina Carano, Brianna Hildebrand, Stefan Kapičić and Leslie Uggams. The picture follows cancer patient Wade Wilson (Reynolds), who after being subjected to an experiment that leaves him with new abilities hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life and the love of his life. Sounds simple enough, right? Really! It is!
For me, Deadpool was very satisfying. The raunchy comedy and unflinching Rated-R action are what make it a viewing pleasure, but in all honesty it harkens feelings of affinity for another mature comic property I adore, Kick-Ass. It’s very much pop culture and because of the fourth wall being broken even two-fold it’s very self-aware. Like we already stated, that’s the allure and appeal of the Deadpool character and property.
To break it down even further Deadpool has a little something for everyone in it. Sure it’s a comic book property deeply rooted in its X-Men mythology, but it’s also so much more. It could be construed as a monster/horror movie for many reasons that we won’t go into spoiler territory over, but also it’s a story about a girl. Think Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, but with a Beauty and the Beast twist to it all. Whatever you feel it is, Deadpool just works on all accords. However, let’s face reality. It’s his wise-cracking, sarcastic, pop culture savviness and quips that make Deadpool so enjoyable. There are so many F-bombs throughout that this old man did become a bit desensitized, but there’s also nudity to accompany it all so I guess you can say the raunchiness balances itself out over the course of Deadpool’s runtime.
I appreciate that hardcore film properties like this are even made for mainstream consumption and that the studio actually believed in the property enough to green light it. Thank you! And thank you to Ryan Reynolds who relentlessly campaigned over the years to get this made. Much credit is his as I think this feature has a good a chance as any of achieving enough critical/fanfare acclaim and financial rewards to warrant a sequel. It will be interesting to see what the box office take home is on this one. Whatever the case, I love seeing hard R films like this not only being made, but paving the way for more to come because of its success. I miss that of the 80s and today’s watered down PG-13 outings. And using the 1980s as a nice segue or springboard, the soundtrack of Deadpool sucks you right in just like it did years ago in The Guardians of the Galaxy. What more can you ask for? Chimichangas for everyone! Music roots this film and whatever you do include Deadpool is your Valentine’s Day plans. Just frickin’ do it!
Brian White
Owner/Writer/Reviewer/Editor, Dreamer, Producer, Agent of Love, Film Lover, Writer of Screenplays and a Devoted Apostle to all things Ford Mustangs (the real ones with V8's!). Some of my favorite films include FIGHT CLUB, MOULIN ROUGE, THE DARK KNIGHT, STAR WARS alongside television shows such as SEINFELD, 24, SANFORD & SON and even the often loathed in the geek community BIG BANG THEORY. Outside of my three lives I live I also enjoy spending time with my girlfriend and our three girls (of the furry kind).
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