Deadpool (second-pass / SPOILERS)
Cert: 15 / 108 mins / Dir. Tim Miller / Trailer
An interesting second-pass for 20th Century Fox's Deadpool, as it's a movie I scored full-marks initially yet didn't get a whole lot more out of when I re-watched it. That's not to say I enjoyed it less in any way, but other than a stronger grasp of the mechanics of Wade Wilson's superhero-transformation (more on that later), the movie holds that instant-classic feel of comforting repetition, rather than a film which is going to unfurl new secrets each time you watch it. In many ways it makes a nice change to not be bludgeoned over the head with Too Much Activity Obscuring The Plot Points™, but short of sequel ret-cons or back-referencing, it means that Deadpool has said pretty much all it has to say the first time you sit waiting for the end-of-credits scene.
And as much as I love this movie (I do, despite the picking apart I'm about to embark upon), it was this second-pass which highlighted a few of the cracks that were masked by the film's novelty the first time around. Whether Sunday night's audience just weren't as hyped as Wednesday's, the laughter wasn't as vociferous and the 'laugh-gaps' in the film become more apparent. The same can also be said of the classic-jukebox soundtrack, much of which is listened to in-movie resulting in a pretty firm nod towards Guardians of the Galaxy that also cuts down slightly on the cost of scoring the film. I'd been a little unclear on Wade's transformation, too, until a re-watch confirmed that yes, they basically just inject him with an accelerant then torture him until his mutant DNA kicks in. We aren't shown any scanning for traces of mutant DNA before that, so is it safe to assume that everyone has it, to some extent? So this process could apply to pretty much everybody? Really? Okay then.
The thing which really stuck out however, was what a sub-par villain Ed Skrein's Ajax (aka Francis) is. Not withstanding the fact that The Transporter Refuelled" is still making me be sick in my own mouth, the role itself seems to have been hastily sketched in at the last moment, never mind Skrein's inability to do much interesting with it. Don't get me wrong, he'd make a more than passable henchman (this portrayal and the actor), but he's just not boss-material here. Although is he more cringe-inducing than The Wolverine's Viper? Well of course not.
No, this movie is Deadpool's show in name and in spirit, and if that means eclipsing almost everybody else on-screen, then we should have been expecting that anyway, right? The movie has scored the goal which Marvel missed with Punisher and Ghost Rider, and made a fun, exciting flick for older (if not necessarily more mature) audiences. Then again, the central character is a creation of the 90s, and so isn't hampered with the baggage many heroes bring to the screen with them. Most importantly, Deadpool is a positive which more than cancels out the negative of last year's Fantastic Four reboot, but potentially sets the bar unfeasibly high for Fox's other Marvel output. Time will tell.
Superheroes appeal to us because they show us what we could be without our limitations, and dare us to aspire to that even with them.
And if we're allowed to have super-powers and still make dick-jokes all the time?
Even better…
As much as you'll scoff at this, X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Yes.
Yes.
Ryan's on spectacular form, everybody else just about keeps up.
Oh, maybe a little.
I'm not hearing one.
Level 2: Deadpool features Gina Carano, who starred in Haywire alongside Ewan 'Kenobi' McGregor.
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
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