LOVE, IN THE TIME OF BULLETS // A FILM REVIEW OF "DEADPOOL"
It seems like you can't throw a stone nowadays without hitting a comic book movie. From Captain America: Civil War to Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice to Suicide Squad, 2016 alone has seven films on the docks (and that's just the major films being released). But possibly the only one to truly break the mold (unless Suicide Squad follows suit) will be DEADPOOL, the smart-alec, wham bam, fanboy's fever dream of a comic book movie starring Ryan Reynolds. It's not like ANY comic book movie you've seen before, and it shines from the parody of opening movie credits to the final tag at the end.
Several years ago the "Movie-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named" was released (aka X-Men Origins: Wolverine) and instead of making the Deadpool character (also played by Ryan Reynolds) look like...you know... DEADPOOL, they sewed his mouth shut and gave him claws. And no costume. So pretty much the EXACT opposite of what the character is. Reynolds wanted to make the character like he is in the comic, but the powers that be would have none of it (Congrats on that guys. You're now the proud creators of the most hated X-Men movie of all time). Test footage in 2012 was shot using Reynolds and making it exactly like the comics: violent, hilarious, and very foul-mouthed. Apparently the studio didn't bite (some sources say that studio heads said mostly "I don't get it") and it didn't come to be. Cut to 2014 and the internet. Someone leaks that footage online and it goes viral. Crazy viral. And that, my friends, is how the movie Deadpool became a reality. See, the internet IS good for something (besides lurking around The ArtsWire Weekly)!
Ryan Reynolds plays Wade Wilson, a former special ops soldier who likes to take on bad guys worse than him and getting paid for it. He hangs out at his buddy Weasel's (T.J. Miller) bar where he meets the girl of his dreams, the bad ass Vanessa (Morena Baccarin, who in the comics is also a mutant but here there's no signs of that). The two fall for each other until one day Wade finds out that he has a late-stage Cancer. So rather than have the love of his life watch him wither away, he agrees to an experimental procedure that promises to both cure his cancer and lock any dormant mutant abilities that he may have. Well, as you can guys, things are going to go very badly.
The two baddies heading the operation are Ajax (Game of Thrones Ed Skrein) and Angel Dust (Ex MMA fighter Gina Carano) and they put Wade through the ringer, each time proving unsuccessful until a desperate attempts leaves Wade horribly disfigured, but with a healing factor that has indeed cured his Cancer. He attempts to go back to his girlfriend but is fearful of what she would think of his now gnarly looks. So he makes a costume and becomes DeadPool, slowly going through one bad guy after another while hunting for Ajax, the man he holds responsible for it all.
What works so brilliantly is how well Director Tim Miller and screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick know Deadpool. He seems to literally jump off of the comic page in exact form, both in appearance, attitude, and humor. In the comics he breaks the fourth wall, talking to the reader and realizes he's in a comic book. He's foul mouthed, violent, and throws out jokes like they're the air he breathes. The Deadpool in this movie is exactly the same. He knows he's in a Deadpool movie, jokes about the differences of the actors playing Professor X, swears A LOT, and loves his violence. Reynolds was born to play Deadpool, and it's in large part of him that this film exists, and that this film succeeds as it does. He's always been a charmer on screen, but often is saddled with a film that doesn't meet him in terms of quality. Here he's finally got his due and shines in every moment. Baccarin is great in a role that is regulated slightly higher than just the typical girlfriend mourning role. She is a bad ass, so hopefully the sequel will explore that. Joining him in the fight are X-Men Colossus (motion captured but voiced by Stefan Kapicic) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) who run away with one of the best superhero names ever. Kapicic is spot on with Colossus and the filmmakers really capture the comic book essence of him through the motion capture work. Hildebrand delivers a fine, funny spunk as the gothic mutant teen, who has slightly different powers than she does in the comic (here she's basically Cannonball) which works just fine being that she's a barely known character anyway. As the heavies, Skrein has much more to do as Ajax and scene chews with the best of 'em. Carano looks great and is a striking force onscreen, even though she says very little. All in all, it's fun, filthy, hilarious, and (dare I say) a revolutionary move for the superhero genre. I hope filmmakers will walk away with the lesson that we need to respect the source material and trust that the fans are out there and will come, even without a $200 million dollar budget. But that's doubtful. The lesson they probably learned is that more things should not be Rated R and break the fourth wall! Which is not the lesson, but hey, if that's what it takes to get Deadpool and his sure to be franchise running, I'll take it.
MATEO'S GRADE: A-
Written by Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick Directed by Tim Miller Based on the character created by Fabian Nicieza & Rob Liefeld Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, Brianna Hildebrand, Stefan Kapicic, T.J. Miller, Gina Carano. Now playing
DEADPOOL OFFICIAL TRAILER
MATEO MORENO is an actor, writer, and a playwright. His plays Happily After Tonight, Bohemian Valentine, & Within Our Walls have been produced in NY and beyond (TBG Theatre, NY International Fringe Festival, Planet Connections Festivity, Boomerang Theatre, and FOHS Theatre). He most recently co-stared in the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway play City of Glass at The New Ohio Theatre. Mateo is also part of Athena Theatre's 2016 Playwrighting Group. He lives in Brooklyn.