"foX-Men" Re-Watch: "Deadpool"

 "Deadpool" (2016)

Wade Wilson aka Deadpool aka the Merc with a Mouth made his first appearance in "The New Mutants" #98 which was published in February of 1991. He was created by Fabian Niceiza and Rob Liefeld. It was his second solo series that was written by Joe Kelly and drawn by Ed McGuinness when Deadpool really came into his own and became the character we all know today. It introduced his sidekicks, Weasel and Blind Al. It was the series that gave him the character traits he is best known for and what the movie really pulls from i.e. the wisecracking, breaking the fourth wall, mercenary with a heart of gold. 

Development on a solo "Deadpool" film began in 2010, shortly after his disastrous first appearance in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." Ryan Reynolds has been devoted to this character from the beginning and was heavily involved in the making a more comics faithful version of the character. Director Tim Miller was hired in 2011, but it wasn't until leaked test footage from 2014 earned a rapturous response from fans that the film was finally greenlit. Principal photography began on "Deadpool" in March 2015 and concluded in May 2015. The film starred Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson/Deadpool, Morena Baccarin as Vanessa, Ed Skrein as Francis Freeman/Ajax, T.J. Miller as Weasel, Gina Carano as Angel Dust, Brianna Hildebrand as  Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Stefan Kapicic as the voice of Colossus. The film was written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. It was directed by Tim Miller. "Deadpool" was released on February 12, 2016.

You had to see this coming...

I am just going to put this out there from the jump, "Deadpool" is an absolute joy. It doesn't matter how many times I watch it, I still laugh and am just supremely entertained. It's one of the rare comic book films that has a firm grasp on who the main character is from the start and is one of the most confident origin story movie that has ever been put on screen. 

"Deadpool" knows that the worst part of any origin story is the origin itself. We are all just waiting through the boring stuff to get to the point where the hero/anti-hero finally suits up and starts doing the things that we all came to the theater to see. So, in order to combat that the film opens with the Deadpool we all know and love, doing what we all know and love. Killing bad guys and causing general chaos on a freeway. It's this first thrilling, fifteen minutes that sets the tone and the theme, so when we inevitably flashback to a time when Wade Wilson was just a mercenary with a heart of gold, we are already all in.

The success of this film really hinges on Ryan Reynolds. Full disclosure, I wasn't a huge fan of his prior to this movie. I basically knew him from gross out comedies like "Van Wilder" and "Waiting" or middle of the road romantic comedies like "The Proposal" and "Just Friends." He always did what he had to do and was handsome and charming but sometimes felt like really any handsome actor could do what he was doing in those films. That all changed in "Deadpool." This is Reynolds with his charisma turned all the way to eleven. Like, sure he is disfigured and looks like "Freddy Krueger fucked a topographical map of Utah," but like he could still get it. He exudes confidence. Every move he makes, every joke just feels like Deadpool would actually do/say it. In the first five minutes, he banishes any memory of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." 

Angsty.

Reynolds met his match with Morena Baccarin. If you are a genre fan, you are familiar with Morena Baccarin. Maybe it's from "Firefly." Maybe it's from the reboot of "V." Or maybe it's from "Homeland." She's magnetic and the moment she engages Wade with a game of "who's childhood was worse," you are rooting for Wade and Vanessa. Reynolds and Baccarin ooze chemistry when they are onscreen together. The rapport is immediate. Their relationship is the emotional heart of the movie and if they didn't have this then the movie would not be as great as it is. From their meet cute, you see them celebrate the holidays in their own special way to the strains of "Calendar Girl" and it's sexy and hot. When Wade proposes on Christmas, it's a culmination of all this so when Wade collapses, even though we know it's coming, it breaks your heart. That is phenomenal that the movie makes us care so much in so little time. I love that Vanessa is never derided for being a sex worker. My only complaint is that after the beginning, Vanessa kind of fades away until she is kidnapped by Francis and sort of falls into that damsel trope.

T.J. Miller, Leslie Uggams and Karan Soni who play Weasel, Blind Al and Dopinder respectively all shine. They have the same easy chemistry with Reynolds as Baccarin does. Watching Reynolds and Miller go back and forth, I'm curious how much of it was scripted and how much of it was riffing. I live for Wade and Blind Al's interactions. Just Wade being gross with this elderly woman is so freaking funny. The running Ikea gag is wonderful and it never really wears itself out. Dopinder illustrates the danger of allowing Wade access to someone maybe too impressionable.

The X-Men the movie features are Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead. NTW is a character that has had very little time in the X-books. She is killed in her first issue, a victim of a Sentinel attack on the island nation of Genosha. So, she's the perfect character for "Deadpool." They can do whatever they want with her and her glib, sardonic teenager is a great foil for Wade. Then there's Colossus who is all CGI. The movie really amps up the stereotypical characteristics of Colossus. He is the gentlest of giants. Telling Wade to watch his language, giving inspirational speeches, hesitant to hit a woman and aghast when her boob pops out during the fight. I laugh every time Wade points out how empty the mansion is and that it's probably because the studio didn't want to fork out any more money.

Grape Nuts is the best...

The villains in "Deadpool" are kind of weak. Angel Dust could have literally been any super strong female mutant and honestly, the less said about Gina Carano the better. Francis is fine. He does what needs to be done. He's as sadistic and British as needed and you hate him basically immediately, so that's fine. Honestly, the movie is about Deadpool, so the villains are kind of secondary. We can work on them for the sequel. 

"Deadpool" wouldn't be nearly as successful as it is, if it wasn't funny. This could have been a cringe fest, but it is not. Nearly every joke lands and feels legit. That is a victory. The movie isn't all comedy. The serious moments, while few, are played great. Take when Francis has Wade locked in the hyperbaric chamber and he explains the torturous process that will potentially unlock Wade's mutation or kill him. Reynolds nails the moment where Wade stops joking and gets real. It makes their fight the most brutal of the film. A lot of the violence in the movie is over-the-top and somewhat cartoony, but when Ajax and Wade clash it is deadly serious. I feel like that is the reason that Wade is naked while they fight. To lighten it up a little. Also, hilarious that Ryan Reynolds shows peen for the first time on film like this.

Damn it, Francis.

There's just so much great stuff in "Deadpool." This blog post could be one of my longest ones. I mentioned the action before but it bears repeating that it is stellar. This is by far the most violent X movie with Deadpool shooting, stabbing, dismembering and in once scene running a dude over with a Zamboni. The violence is so hyper stylized that despite the blood and brains spewing, it doesn't always feel like it is too much. I mentioned earlier that it is cartoony and that's the best way to describe it. Like if a Looney Tunes cartoon came to life.

Every moment in Deadpool is a classic moment in superhero cinema. The evolution of his Deadpool suit. The Stan Lee cameo being a DJ in a strip club. The baby hand. The breaking the fourth wall, particularly the multiple references to Hugh Jackman and Wolverine, to the point where Wade has a picture of Jackman stapled to his face when he takes his mask off for the first time in front of Vanessa. 

"Deadpool" is a superhero movie made in 2016 so of course there is an after credits scene. And, in classic Deadpool style, it is Deadpool in a robe wondering why the audience is still there. But he does disclose that Cable will be in the sequel. 

Next up, we are back with the X-Men as they face off against Apocalypse.

What do you all think? Is there anyone out there who doesn't love "Deadpool?" If that is the case, please let me know in the comments.