Let's Go Out To The Movies: "Deadpool" Your Father's Superhero Movie

Directed by Tim Miller
Written by Rhett Resse and Paul Wernick

(R - 20th Century Fox - 1 hr, 48 mins) 

Alo Party Peoples.

Deadpool shouldn't work as the main character of anything. Pretty much his only distinguishing trait is that he's a snarky jackass that can't die no matter what you do to him; he's a Looney Tune, and there's a reason that those generally don't last more than a few minutes. He's a comic relief distraction with a very specific shtick, and that shtick gets old fast.

Fortunately, Deadpool realizes that it can only really be a comic distraction, and thus it embraces that and becomes one of the most comic-booky films in recent memory, the entire story is that the Merc' with a Mouth is chasing down a bad guy, and he teams up with a couple of X-Men guest stars to find him. Really, that's it. All that stuff in the trailers with a red suited human cartoon spouting off really corny one-liners while slaughtering people is confined to two big action scenes at the very beginning and the very end, and they've been expanded out to a two hour movie via flashbacks explaining how Wade Wilson became Deadpool, and why he's trying to kill these specific people. The result is that we can feel like Deadpool is our focus the whole time, while also making sure that he doesn't stick around long enough for the shtick to get old.

It's all so much really crude, really cheesy Gen-X sarcastic snark, which makes a lot of sense for a movie that's been in development hell since just after the first X-Men movie that was only recently revived by positive reception on the part of thirty-something comic fans to leaked test footage, but the comic energy is infectious, and I can't help but respect how completely it embraces it's weird little niche. It all comes down to Ryan Reyonld's performance, he is perfect for the title character both in personality and on the meta level that he's doing a dirty sendup of the now standard superhero film; a form he tried once before to disastrous results that Deadpool is more than happy to make fun of "Just don't make the supersuit green, or all -and vein-y." If you're wondering what Colossus is doing here, the idea is that he's a stand-in for the morally upright superhero who has become fond of Deadpool for some reason and keeps encouraging him to drop the profanity and bloodshed to become more conventionally heroic, but the real standout in the cast is Brianna Hildebrand as X-Men trainee Negasonic Teenage Warhead. It's just short of inspired to include someone that "gets" Deadpool's thing... but doesn't find it particularly amusing, and Reynolds plays off her spectacularly as Deadpool is both frustrated and invigorated by a "kid" that's already too old for his shtick.

Deadpool is a "mature" superhero movie, and it's funny enough for long enough that you almost don't realize that it isn't really that bloody or perverse when you get right down to it. Sure, if you're one of the teenage boys sneaking into the theater with tickets to The 5th Wave that Deadpool was clearly made for, it'll blow your mind, but anyone old enough to see this alone will have seen genre material that is way more intense. It's difficult to tell which parts are aping the aesthetics of a 90s action movie for a laugh, and which ones are genuine flaws because this essentially is a cheap 90s action movie. Is the bad guy one-dimensionally evil as a joke, or did they just not try very hard with the villain? Does most of the action happen in stock locations like a highway, a back alley or a shipyard to call attention to its own cheapness, or were they just trying to save money on sets? Is Deadpool's weirdly dated reference pool and sitcom dad sense of humor supposed to be a joke, or are we supposed to find it genuinely funny?

Deadpool is a good movie; but it's not the revelation that many online have already begun to declare it. It's a disposable lark that succeeds on its own terms, and if you're looking for a slightly grittier alternative to the Marvel Cinematic Universe that isn't overly self-serious like DC's recent output, then you're probably going to have a good time. There are moments when it approaches greatness, but it's intent on undermining anything that approaches sincerity because it doesn't want to be great, and for once that approach works because it fits with the spirit of the character.

Have a nice day,

Greg.B

FINAL RATING: 3/5