Ah, the Merc With A Mouth. Everyone’s favorite Marvel hero! From his witty dialogue to his over-the-top outrageous violence, Deadpool is universally loved by comic fans and non-fans alike. Fans were extremely disappointed in his first on-screen appearance in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, where he was drastically changed from his comic counterpart, and even had his iconic mouth sewn shut. After spending years in development hell, a new, comics-accurate Deadpool movie finally wormed it’s way onto theater screens everywhere. All of my friends were super excited for this movie, however I have never been a huge Deadpool fan. I’ve always though he was funny, and I loved his video game outing. I just didn’t (and still don’t) know that much about him. Even with my inexperience, it’s still a Marvel Comics movie, so of course I saw it on opening weekend. Twice, actually. Now, was I blown away like everyone I know (and everyone on the internet)? The answer is simple: not really, sadly.
Before I start into what I didn’t like, I’ll talk about what the movie got right. Deadpool follows Wade Wilson, a witty and care-free mercenary played wonderfully by Ryan Reynolds. Wade starts a relations ship with a prostitute named Vanessa, and they fall in love, but suddenly his life becomes rocky and diseased. Long story short, Wade ends up in a project with some relation to the Weapon X program (they don’t come right out and say it in the film), and finds himself with powers he doesn’t want and a life that is completely ruined. So, as anyone would do, Wade sets out on a bloody, expletive-laced revenge trip.
I think that Ryan Reynolds did an excellent job. He really did deserve a second chance at the character, and he ran with it as much as he could. His delivery was spot on, and he really held the whole film together. The plot was thin but alright, and most of the secondary characters were incredible. I loved getting to see a strong-yet-soft Colossus, and his new X-Trainee Negasonic Teenage Warhead has one of the most intense names and powers I’ve ever seen. The action and effects are top-notch, and it really seems like everyone who worked on this movie cared immensely for the character.
However, there was plenty I found unsatisfactory. As I mentioned before, the plot was kinda thin. The main villain, Ajax, was silly at best but downright worthless at worst. Ed Skrein did a great job portraying the character, but he went down way too easily. As I watched the movie, it suddenly occurred to me that I didn’t really care how Deadpool came to be. A long stretch of the movie went from hilarious to dead-serious, and I felt like that threw off the fun that the character offers. Of course, there were several parts of the movie that were so funny I almost cried. But that brings me too what I disliked most about the film: the jokes.
Now, hear me out. Deadpool is known widely for his humor and fourth-wall breaks, which were both present in the film. However, and this is clearly just my opinion based on the acclaim this movie received, I just didn’t think the jokes were smart enough. With my little experience in Deadpool comics, I’ve seen that most of his jokes are well planned, well though out, and usually involve subtle or blatant references. This was occasionally present in the film, but I found that it was mostly dumb toilet humor. Many of the jokes had no substance, and they definitely weren’t witty. Most often it was just “Hey look I cussed, laugh at me”!
My opinions aside, the movie clearly did extremely well, and fans are pleased. I don’t want anyone else to have their movie-viewing experience ruined just because some teenage nerd writing for a blog didn’t like it that much. So, I recommend everyone go see it. The movie works for what it is, and hardcore fans of Deadpool will be pleased with the much-more-accurate portrayal this time around. However, the film is rated-R, and for good reason. I don’t recommend bringing the little kiddos along for this one.
Interested in the character? Don’t know much? Here, have an Affiliate Link! Using this link will direct you to a gathering of Deadpool comics, enough to hopefully improve your movie going experience!
I usually like to tease what I’m going to write about next, but I am a full-time college student, so finding time to consume media every week occasionally proves difficult. So I’ll guess we’ll all just have to wait and see!
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