Deadpool – The Dorkadia movie review
I’m just going to come out and say it: Deadpool is a role made for Ryan Reynolds. Again. But this time with talking. The merc with a mouth finally gets his reckoning after the atrocity that was X-Men Origins: Wolverine. And do not for a moment think that he’ll let you forget it. Deadpool is possibly the worst way to start this year’s comic book movie onslaught because it’s setting an astronomically high bar. Good luck every other movie. If violence for comedic effect, nudity, and crude humor coming together in a circus of chaos sounds like a good time, this film is for you.
I should provide a brief primer for those unfamiliar with the 20th Century Fox treatment of the X-Men franchise over the last 16 years. The first X-Men film was damn impressive back in 2000 and had some fantastic casting. Then there were sequels in 2003 and 2006 which were not only progressively worse, but wrote the franchise into a corner by killing off a number of notable characters. If that wasn’t bad enough, 2009 brought us X-Men Origins: Wolverine in which Ryan Reynolds was cast as Wade Wilson (Deadpool) only to have his character’s mouth sewn shut, be given sword arms and laser eyes all before being horribly decapitated at the end of the film. In 2011 I was among film goers shocked to find out that X-Men: First Class was actually a good film. And in 2014, in true comic book fashion, X-Men: Days of Future Past came along and essentially erased the earlier films from the cinematic timeline thanks to some time travel. With that retcon, Deadpool could be portrayed the way he should have been originally. And that brings us up to now.
Deadpool sets the tone of the whole film right from the sarcastic opening credit sequence. It seemed to me that it would be nearly impossible to keep up that level of humor throughout the film, but with only a few exceptions, that’s exactly how it went. It’s a story of love, revenge, and a generous amount of scrote-punching. Yes, a lot of the humor is exceedingly low-brow so don’t worry about it because the entire theater is laughing at the same dick jokes. (Spoiler: There are A LOT of dick jokes.) At the same time, so much of the humor is acutely self-aware. A number of jabs at the previous incarnation of Deadpool, the multiple actors playing Professor Xavier, and even references to Reynold’s previous superhero role as Green Lantern are made throughout the movie. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Deadpool movie without a generous amount of fourth wall shattering sprinkled liberally throughout, so a big check there as well.
The action sequences are a veritable ballet of violence–blood sprays liberally and body parts go flying. There are a fair number of action sequences that involve a dose of humor, but the ones without it are so intense and frenetic that it really doesn’t matter. I never felt that the violence got to the point of being gratuitous, but then it’s possible that I simply expect Deadpool to be excessive to begin with. At least with the inclusion of mutants Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead there was more than just a series of fights with Deadpool turning every enemy inside out in rapid succession.
What I didn’t expect out of Deadpool was a sort of irreverent romantic comedy story. The inclusion of Vanessa, an almost perfect counterpart to Wade, was fantastic. Because Wade is a bit of a sociopath, it was interesting to see him having a motivation to carry on besides his own self interests when diagnosed with cancer. Vanessa was at least as witty and tough as Wade in every way. She’s a prostitute and later a waitress at a strip club, but she’s never portrayed as ashamed or broken. I only wish there could have been more of a role for her.
If you’re familiar with Deadpool in comic form and were worried that he might be more like Daniel Way’s version, fear not! This is more of a Joe Kelly sociopath with a tendency for wisecracks than a schizophrenic with a warped view of reality. However, if you have no idea what I’m talking about, but you’re thinking “this sounds fascinating; where could I read more about it?”, then I’d suggest quickly perusing this article from A Critical Hit! which includes some suggestions on where to start reading Deadpool in comic form. As long as you know that deep down inside Deadpool still doesn’t really have a heart of gold or some such nonsense, then I think you’ll do fine.
Deadpool is the kind of movie that comes along every so often and turns an entire genre on its head. And hey, if you like it but feel that they could have been “even more raw”, there’s always the eventual director’s cut. For now, I feel the sudden urge to go get some chimichangas.
Oh and one last thing: If you’re still reading, then you’re probably not one of those people, but DO NOT LEAVE until after all of the credits finish rolling. The stinger is fantastic.
