3 thoroughly-enjoyable-departures-from-convention out of 4
I’ll be perfectly frank from the outset by stating that I utterly enjoyed Tim Miller’s Deadpool. There was little doubt in my mind that Ryan Reynolds would be able to capture the psychotically comedic essence of the merc-with-a-mouth—and after his near-decade of lobbying for the role, one shouldn’t be surprised.
The film stars Reynolds in a true interpretation of the character that he played in the poorly received X-Men Origins: Wolverine. In stark contrast to the previous imagining of Deadpool, this time Wade Wilson is not only a mercenary proper, but he retains the full use of his vocal capacity throughout the entire film. Indeed, it is Wilson’s mouth that truly speaks to his character, and a script by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick takes every opportunity to inject Deadpool’s dialogue with something mindlessly vulgar, yet unequivocally comedic. To turn a phrase, Deadpool’s demeanor is damn disgusting. Combined with an inspired use of computer effects, Miller’s film maintains Deadpool’s comedic streak by simply manipulating the character’s mask to snidely reflect every ostentatious remark. The plot features the merc-with-a-mouth attempting to rescue his fiance from the clutches of the very man responsible for Deadpool’s birth as an immortal—yet hauntingly terrifying— freak of science. To put it simply, this is an origin film. Though the film does defy genre trappings, it’s difficult to ignore the fact that, over the course of this swift 108-minute thrill-ride, the audience is subjected to yet another man gaining the skills and psychological makeup required to survive a battle against the forces of evil.
In a sense, however, it’s unfair to compare Deadpool with other superhero films. The film’s meager budget specifically prevented its creators from indulging in glamour and a large spectacle; instead, Miller is forced to rely on character and plot to engage with his audience. Deadpool might be hyper-violent and obsessive, but at his core, his monstrous lack of empathy makes for an incredibly compelling protagonist. One would argue that Deadpool feels a certain glee in literally eviscerating his enemies, and it’s strange that such a brutal character is one of the most interesting superheroes in recent memory.
[pullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]…to create strong character-driven action films.[/pullquote]
To quickly return to the subject of finances, there is no small amount of irony in the fact that smaller budgets are leading blockbuster filmmakers to create strong character-driven action films.
If one must lobby any complaint against Miller’s film, it’s that there’s a strong sense of cautious inevitability that permeates every character interaction and every scene in the movie. To say that the film establishes multiple conditions for a franchise is a true, but unfair criticism; after all, the post-credits sequence unabashedly hints at a potential sequel. Instead, it’s more accurate to state that Deadpool is yet another film in a now seemingly endless line of chess pieces slowly ambling towards a large-scale multiple property checkmate.
Through the presence of Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Deadpool firmly establishes that it takes place in Fox’s X-Men universe. Indeed, with a finale taking place aboard a familiar Marvel landmark, Deadpool might even hint at greater cross-studio unity. Today’s comic book films make no point in concealing the desire to expand properties into larger multiple character franchises, and Deadpool is simply an indication of that line of thinking.
For a moment, one considers Deadpool’s personal reaction to being in a film alongside other X-Men. He is, to say the least, critical of large cross-character films, even going so far as to mock both the X-Men characters and the X-Men franchise as a whole. It’s ludicrously tongue-in-cheek, but it’s also indicative of a kind of satire that’s often lacking in blockbuster films obsessed with heroes saving life, the universe, and everything.
If other heroes are concerned with saving the day, then Deadpool, as a superhero movie, ultimately concerns itself with challenging superhero expectations both within and without the film’s universe. Deadpool kills a lot of people, and this mind boggling brutality is treated as comedy, but at the very least, the character represents the pure antithesis to the onscreen heroes of the day. As far as a film about heroes go, Deadpool serves as an oblique reminder that our most interesting characters are often those with whom we share little moral agreement.
The simple fact of the matter remains, however, that Deadpool is an enjoyable difference in the world of superhero films, and one wishes the franchise nothing but good will as the inevitable sequels are slowly released.