Deadpool – 4.5/5 – Movie Reviews by Ry!
Deadpool – 4.5/5 – A forewarning; this is a film not meant for kids. With that being said; you would think a mesh of all the action, machismo, blood, sex and nothing else would be generic. What you come to see is it is a layer of obscurity. Hidden behind all the gratuity, vulgar language and explicit scenes is a satirical story about Hollywood and the clichés used in superhero films. Deadpool plays the tropes in the most bizarre ways; but it is slick, original (for the most part) and hilarious. In short, this is a comic book film built for adults. Get ready and feel the love; you will feel it in this film.
Premise: A mercenary subjected to a rogue experiment; Wade Wilson sets on a mission of vengeance. This is Deadpool.
In the lead role of Wade Wilson/Deadpool is Ryan Reynolds. Reynolds was born for this role. His suaveness, demeanor and overall charm make him stand out in the most awesome kinds of ways. From the action, interactions with other characters and when he is breaks the ‘4th wall’ (talks to the audience); the wittiness has a genuine feel to it. There is authenticity brought to creating such a unique and unreal character. Reynolds does a great job in providing something humanizing to the role; a gripping kind of notion that makes you feel for his situation but also see how much of an ‘anti-hero’ he is when it comes to the established superhero norms. He is over the top in all the exposition and conversations, but it is one that creates that unexpected allusion in the satirical style of the direction. That raw, uncensored appeal gives you another dimension to the methodical approach. He stands out within the tone of the film being Meta and somewhat cartoonish. The crazy thing is that, no matter the absurdity of the situation; you are emotional wrapped in his journey. This is a testament to Reynolds complete hold of the character and him being a legit lead man. Outside of him, the rest of the cast stands out because of the alluring nature of their roles. The rest of the cast plays to the whole satirical aspect of the film, but it is a unique style in its commonality. From the villain Ajax (Ed Skrien), the love interest Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), the comic sidekick Weasel (TJ Miller) and the supporting good guys of Colossus (Stefan Kapici) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand), it is over-the-top, cliché but amazingly funny and original. The overacting plays into the raw dynamic of the caricatures while infusing a riveting nature of being realistic. You feel the emotional attachment of the relationship between Wade and Vanessa, and his anger and vengefulness when he goes after the man that changed him in Ajax. That powerful grip is one makes these characters stand above being plot device material. They actually provide worth to the story, layering the background for the Deadpool character.
The direction is built upon its own methodical approach. With this approach of directing, we see the basic outlines of an origin that follows a love story wrapped in a comic book tale. This could have been somewhat boring, predictable and wasted potential. What you come to realize is a film layered by its satirical method of being obvious of the facts. It shows the audience it is playing with the tropes by infusing it with an introduction of a unique, volatile but entertaining comic book character. The film gives you irony in its unrelenting, uncensored but sadistic script. The film knows it is playing the satire card with fool’s gold. It blasts the superhero genre while providing you with wit, charm and modern appeal of what is obvious. It shows its veracity for a genre; noting that something has to change the formulaic approach to these kinds of films. The harden approach is brazen; but it is welcoming and unpredictable. The story is typical of a lot of things you haven’t seen before; a rehashing of all the common plot devices, tropes and cliché situations. This is just a sprinkling of flavoring to catch you within what will become bombastic. The value comes in the character, actions and unsolicited appeal of the dialogue. It is in the human emotion between Wade Wilson and Vanessa (in the first half) and the amazingly, unique but over-the-top action and destruction that Deadpool leaves in his path (in the second half). It plays the card of obviousness of being a comic book film while producing situations of amazing value. What you see is that this is a film built from the script. The writing is raw, creative but familiar in its originality. This ironic stature helps the audience visualize something ridiculous while also keeping intact the intelligence of tackling the absurdity of what is generic in blockbuster. It has an adult/slick appeal, while being fun on so many levels for majority of the film; you expect the unexpected. Even with all the great things that happen for a lot of the film’s running time, it does falter a bit in the climax. The absurdity wanes as it has to wrap up the ‘hero’s tale’, but the director still finds a way to create an explicit twist to keep it from being a rehashing of the same kind of conclusion.
The visual keep the film grounded. In short; it has an aesthetic appeal. With an on look of everything being relied upon the script and characters; the realistic nature of the surroundings helps provide an authentic approach to this overtly unrealistic character. The score plays to the nostalgic nature of the whole wittiness of the script; but it is something that creates a dynamic tone to everything going on.
Deadpool is everything packaged in an unrelenting force of its R rating. As mentioned; the crazed nature is not for children. Sometimes though; adults need to have their own fun at the theaters. Within its satirical script, basic structure and overall entertainment; Deadpool is perfect in its imperfection. Anyone that is a fan of comic books, action or even a romance films; this is one for you. This film is worth the price of admission.