(photo courtesy of www.npr.org)
Well I finally watched Deadpool
and I thought it was a great diversion from the typical superhero fare with
its very violent action and sardonic type of humour. The R-rating is nothing new to superhero
films although Deadpool is not a
superhero. The Blade films were just
as gory or bloody as Deadpool and
yes Blade used a sword as well and he is also marvel property. The Sin City and 300 films were also very gory but there were no superheroes in those
although it was based on graphic comic books. The edge that Deadpool has is the humour. I can see why the film is so popular and yes
this does look like the beginning of a beautiful franchise. The film does run
out of gas towards the end but the characterization of Deadpool or Wade
Wilson’s story is strong enough to carry the film.
This film is about how Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) a former
special force operative, who volunteers to be a part of a special program for
very personal reasons. As he becomes the subject of various experiments Wilson
becomes trapped and is nearly killed by the chief medical officer. He does emerge from the experiments with
accelerated healing powers, like Wolverine, but it comes at a cost of
disfigurement. He then tracks down the man, Ajax, who experimented on him so
that he can return to normal. Yes a
romantic relationship had to be in it.
Positives
The primary positive is the characterization of Deadpool. He
might be very humourous but there are times when he has to get serious or pause
for reflection. Some of the best parts occur before he does turn Deadpool
because of the grounded atmosphere in which the various interactions take
place. The R-rating also helps because there is a real world quality to it with
all the profanity. Well done ryan Reynolds as you seem to have recovered from
your Green Lantern night mare.
Deadpool is an anti-hero and that’s fine since we don’t
expect him to be saving people. He has one mission of vengeance and that’s it.
It made me wonder if this is the kind of film Heath ledger’s joker would have
if he ever got a solo film. By being an
anti-hero we don’t get any grand captain america talks about saving people etc.
The sardonic humour in the film is very good. It’s clearly
meant to be the antithesis to the typical superhero film with all its moral
values tied to box office success.
Marvel seemed to hint at the coming of a character like
Deadpool and his profanity. In The
Avengers Age of Ultron there are a lot of scenes referring to the use of
profane language and how inappropriate it is in a kids film. At least marvel
acknowledged its own limitations hence why a film like Deadpool seems so
refreshing. Let it go.
The action is pretty good. Refreshing to see some blood. It
does show that there really should be more blood in superhero films but we
can’t see it because we’re living in the PG-13 era.
The addition of someone like Colussus points fingers at the
low production budget and it does seem like it did not get the typical
superhero treatment. The production budget for Deadpool is said to be around US$58 million. Most superhero films
are in the US$100 million range. Deadpool,
in the real world, seriously takes on the mainstream here. Deadpool
provides all the important references when he talks to the audience but the low
budget is there for all of us to see particularly the small scale of the
locations and the isolated bits especially Xavier’s mansion.
Negatives
Although the characterization of Deadpool is strong the
story itself does run out of gas towards the end. The early parts are good but
once Wade Wilson becomes Deadpool and starts slashing away it becomes a bit
repetitive and his single minded mission doesn’t offer much dimensions. There is
one dimension when he takes some time off to heal in the care of his black and
blind sidekick. By the end however we know enough about Deadpool’s antics and
it does get to be a bit of a drag. If
Deadpool’s characterization was bad then the whole film would have
suffered and that is testament to the acting and the toned down, real world
visual element.
Apart from the sardonic humour it doesn’t have much to say apart from what takes place in his sordid
romantic affair. It really is an anti-hero film because typical superhero films
are now expected to make grand statements about humanity whereas Deadpool’s only
motive is revenge. It’s a very single minded pursuit and that won’t be for
everyone or those that prefer superhero films to have some major statements
about heroism.
It’s still a good film. Not exactly great because it does
run out of gas but the characterization of Deadpool is strong enough to carry
the film.
No comments:
Post a Comment