In Deadpool's first Marvel Comics storyline he got his butt
whupped by the militant mutant team X-Force so badly that they literally boxed
him up and shipped him away. Not the kind of start anyone would expect for what
would turn out to be Marvel's most popular character and the star of their
latest movie franchise, but then Deadpool isn't your typical superhero and his
movie totally kicks your typical superhero movie's ass.
Deadpool has been my favorite Marvel
character since his debut. When I purged my massive comic book collection years
ago, some of the few issues I kept were Deadpool's earliest appearances and his
brilliant limited series, 'The Circle Chase', which defined who the
Merc-with-a-Mouth is today. Elements of that storyline are present in the
gloriously R-rated and explosively funny movie, which stars Ryan Reynolds in
the role he was born to play.
Reynolds, who showed a knack for playing
irreverent superheroes in Blade:
Trinity and a dire inability to do so in Green Lantern, is actually
reprising the role of Deadpool from X-Men
Origins: Wolverine, a film nobody wants to acknowledge even exists, and
that goes for Deadpool director
Tim Miller and writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, who take every opportunity
to make fun of that awful movie whenever possible. But they also aren't shy
about making fun of themselves and the entire genre of comic book films,
beginning with a brilliant slow-motion credits sequence ("Produced by
Asshats", Featuring "a Gratuitous Cameo") that shows off
its sense of humor and over-the-top comic violence. The story is essentially
one long joke wrapped around a lot of flashbacks, and if you were curious why
so many of the teasers seemed to take place on that same stretch of road, it's
because much of the story takes place there.
Deadpool, aka Wade Wilson, is cutting a
bloody swath through a bunch of armed goons (which he easily dispatches in
awesome, stylized fashion) in order to get to their leader, Ajax (Ed Skrein),
and settle some grudge. We learn that underneath his red leather suit
Deadpool is hideously scarred, a side effect of the brutal testing he underwent
that gave him his powers. Testing performed by Ajax and his powerhouse
right-hand-lady Angel Dust (Gina Carano), under the guise of curing his terminal
cancer. Further flashbacks, in which Deadpool often breaks the fourth wall and
talks directly to the audience, take us back to his happily psychotic
relationship with Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), until the disease tears them
apart.
While there have been other R-rated comic
book movies and even superhero sex scenes (hello Watchmen!), none revel in it
quite like Deadpool does.
Anal sex, gratuitous, splattery violence, comic abuse of the deaf (Leslie
Uggams plays Deadpool's blind "roommate" Blind Al), and multiple
references to Deadpool's junk are all on the menu and it's exactly what fans of
the character would want and more. We even get a look at the new X-Men
continuity post X-Men: Days of
Future Past as Deadpool trades punches and snarky one-liners with Colossus
(Stefan Kapicic) and the disaffected Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna
Hildebrand) who play a much larger role in the film than expected. And if you
think it's a little weird more X-Men aren't around, well Deadpool's noticed it,
too.
Deadpool sprays jokes as rapidly as it sprays bullets, and
while most of them hit the mark, there are a few dry spells. TJ Miller is
perfectly cast as Deadpool's pal, Weasel, but their scenes together, which
mainly consist of trading nasty insults, come across as forced. Wade's
grim origin also proves to be a buzzkill that's a little tough to bounce back
from as the film takes some sharp turns tonally. While the locales are pretty
flat and unimpressive, Tim Miller proves his mettle with some truly creative
action sequences, pumped up by a soundtrack that makes great use of WHAM!'s
"Careless Whisper" and DMX's "X Gon' Give It To Ya".
Unafraid to rip the very genre it's now a
part of, Deadpool is
the ballsiest comic book movie any studio has dared attempt. Hopefully it will
be rewarded with a big enough audience that this won't be the first and last
time we see the infamous merc on the big screen.
Rating: 4 out of 5
