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‘Deadpool’ is vulgar, violent, R-rated ridiculousness
“Deadpool” returns Ryan Reynolds to the role he first played in 2009’s truly terrible “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”. Despite being one of those cases where character and actor represented an impossibly perfect fit (ie. endlessly sarcastic, yet likeable), that film inexplicably chose to strip the "Merc with a Mouth" of his costume, powers, personality, and, perhaps most infamously, his actual mouth. As critics and fans alike rightfully tore that film to shreds, it seemed that any hope Reynolds – who had campaigned for the part since becoming a fan while shooting (the slightly less-terrible) “Blade Trinity” four years prior – had of portraying a comic book-accurate take on the character were dead in the water.
At least, that was the case until 2014, when test footage for a cancelled “Deadpool” project was leaked to the internet. Featuring the character voiced by Reynolds and packed chock-full of the violence, irreverence, and fourth wall-breaking humor that his turn in “Wolverine” sorely lacked, the clip quickly went viral. The resultant tidal wave of positive feedback, combined with Reynolds’ (who was now a bigger star than he was in 2009) oft-stated desire to reprise the role, gave Fox the confidence to finally go ahead and approve production of a new Deadpool film.
Coming off the heels of the studio’s critically acclaimed “Days of Future Past” and positioned for release mere months before May’s highly anticipated “X-Men: Apocalypse,” a solo film starring a whimsically vulgar antihero was seen as something of a gamble. Add in the fact that internet infamy rarely translates to big box office or guarantees a quality film, and it is pretty much a miracle that this film got made at all.
Now, after a months-long marketing blitz that saw new clips, trailers, posters and billboards being released online nearly every other day (including an ingenious piece disguising the film as a romantic comedy), “Deadpool” has arrived, and I’ll be damned if it isn’t an unabashedly riotous, ribald, round of R-rated ridiculousness that belies its convoluted path to the big screen.
Gleefuly ignoring the events of “Wolverine” (while taking shots at it every chance it gets), “Deadpool” re-introduces us to Wade Wilson (Reynolds), a mercenary whose talents for hand-to-hand combat and homicide are matched only by his penchant for acerbic one-liners. Diagnosed with inoperable cancer after proposing marriage to the girl of his dreams (Morena Baccarin), Wilson elects to undergo a procedure that he believes will cure his disease and grant him super powers. Unfortunately, the procedure turns out to be more than Wilson bargained for, and the rest of the film features his efforts to hunt down the man responsible (Ed Skrein) in hopes of a cure.
After having had to campaign twice over the last 11 years to play the character, Reynolds seems to be having the time of his life, committing fully to a role that requires him to portray a surprising number of emotions for a film of this type. While the costume requires his face to be covered up for a majority of the runtime, Deadpool’s never-ending stream of witticisms, banter, and all-around snark mean that Reynolds is a constant presence in the film. Even when the inevitable doubles (digital or otherwise) handle the heavier action beats, you can count on him to riff on everything from Hugh Jackman to the money Fox spent on the proceedings.
Holding her own against Reynold’s self-referential stream of consciousness prattle is Baccarin as Wilson’s beloved Vanessa. With a background mostly rooted in TV (“Homeland”, “Gotham”, “Firefly”), Baccarin takes what could very easily have been a thankless role and plays it with just the right amount of spirit, attitude, and sincerity to ground the film’s central relationship. Long story short: You will believe someone would commit mass murder to be with her.
On the villain side of the equation, Ed Skein’s painfully generic Ajax is so devoid of charisma that he doesn’t so much register with the viewer as he exists onscreen merely because the writers needed someone for Deadpool to beat up, shoot, and/or stab. Making more of an impression is Ajax’s poker-faced henchwoman, played by MMA star Gina Carano (last seen in Steven Soderbergh's action bonanza “Haywire”), who goes head to head with the X-Men’s Colossus in a couple of memorable sequences.
Speaking of Colossus (now depicted more accurately via motion-capture CGI, which led to previous Colossus Daniel Cudmore to decline reprising the role), the steel-skinned Russian’s appearance here as the unlikely voice of reason makes for one of the film’s unexpected highlights. Along for the ride is X-Men trainee Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand), whose lack of patience for Wade Wilson is probably an accurate gauge for how someone unacquainted with Deadpool might approach the film.
What “Deadpool” lacks in high-brow aspirations, it makes up for with enthusiasm, care of a game cast and first-time feature director Tim Miller, who handily juggles the character work and punchlines with the action sequences we’ve come to expect from a big budget superhero film. He even manages to throw in Easter eggs throughout the narrative that should have longtime fans smiling in their seats.
For the record, this isn’t a revelatory experience, nor is it a piece of high art; this is a film that knows exactly what kind of nonsense it is, and isn’t afraid to wear that pedigree on its blood-spattered sleeve. Indeed, the fact that all of this is literally declared up front in the opening credits means that, from the instant the first song hits, you’ll know from the get-go whether or not “Deadpool” is your kind of movie.
Though Disney may have the cinematic rights to the majority of Marvel Universe’s wholesome characters (“The Avengers”) while Netflix handles the grim and gritty ones (“Daredevil”, “Jessica Jones”) on the small screen, this writer is glad that Fox, after some missteps (ugh, “Fantastic Four”), is finally willing to take advantage of the nooks, crannies, and crevices that aren’t occupied by the (more popular) X-Men.
If “Deadpool” is as successful as its stakeholders are obviously hoping, the mind reels (and revels) at the thought of what could possibly be in line for a follow-up, because as it is, this flick is freakin’ awesome. — BM, GMA News
Deadpool is rated R-16 and is showing now in cinemas nationwide.
