In an industry oversaturated with comic book superheroes, Fox’s ‘merc with a mouth’ Deadpool breaks Hollywood norms and offers a refreshing and wildly entertaining new take on the ‘men in tights’ genre.
Previously starring in cinematic disappointments, such as DC Comic’s Green Lantern and Marvel’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds did not seem to possess much potential as a superhero. However, he effortlessly slings dirty jokes and decapitates villains with swords as Deadpool. Reynolds has found harmony with the superhero ethos and paved the way for an inevitable Deadpool movie franchise to come.
Before Reynolds started rapidly regenerating bullet wounds and violently executing his enemies on screen, he was Wade Wilson, a contract mercenary who hung out at a dive bar filled with ex-Marines and ex-Special Forces operatives like himself. Life with his lover Vanessa (Morena Boccarin) comes to a startling halt when Wilson is diagnosed with terminal cancer. With no other available choices, Wilson hesitantly is taken to a facility where he is promised a cure and supernatural abilities.
At this dark and foreboding laboratory, we meet Wilson’s antagonist, Ajax (Ed Skrein), a mutant who cannot feel pain and possesses astonishing strength. After a serum shot and relentless torture, Ajax engenders a mutant reaction within Wilson granting him the ‘Wolverine’ like ability to self-regenerate. Discontent with the disfiguring side effects of this process, Wilson sets out on a bitter, merciless and ludicrous pursuit of Ajax to force him to undo his mangling alterations.
With the red suit, hot girlfriend and British bad guy, Deadpool may seem like an ordinary origin story, but first-time director Tim Miller ensures that this movie is anything but typical superhero formula.
The first 10 minutes establishes the humorous and satirical tone the film is bolstered by. Instead of a traditional opening credits scene, Miller kicks off the film with a parodied list of credits with lines such as “a hot chick” or “a CGI guy”. This begins Deadpool’s critique on the superhero genre while simultaneously cementing itself as a unique Hollywood film.
Fourth wall breaks in film is not anything new; Ferris Bueller’s Day Off showed that having the protagonist speak directly with the audience can actually make the film more fascinating. Breaking the fourth wall in a superhero film is a rarity, and Deadpool proved it can further audience engagement.
Sticking gum to camera lenses and jocosely criticizing the film studio’s budget on screen is only a fraction of the humor that transcends the reel into reality. Deadpool makes several references to Hugh Jackman’s beauty as a superhero specimen, fabricating a distinction between his own repulsiveness as a murderous assassin and the evident purity of ‘everyday’ superheroes.
With a simple plot line and some underdeveloped characters, Deadpool may not be the next Dark Knight, but it surely is a stand-out action film and a joyous experience for those that can stomach the extremely raunchy and dirty humor abreast with often ridiculous action. An R-rating may shy children away from Deadpool, so parents be aware of the graphic content.
Despite the vulgarity, Deadpool confidently fights against the typical Hollywood formula and proves to be immensely captivating, rightfully earning a rank among Marvel’s best.
