By Lindsey Schibelhut, Senior Reporter.
“I’m going to live to 102 years old. And then die…Like the city of Detroit.”
Laced with action, sarcasm, foul language and crude humor, Deadpool is the latest Marvel comic book character to make his official debut on the big screen.
“Deadpool” directed by Tim Miller, with a screenplay written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, tells the story of Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) who is a mercenary working out of a bar in New York. Wilson meets the love of his life, Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), only to find out a year into their relationship that he has terminal cancer. One night, at the same bar where he works, Wilson is solicited by an agent who tells him he knows of a cure for his cancer. Wilson decides to take the offer where he then meets Ajax (Ed Skrein) who injects Wilson with a serum and tortures him. This leads Wilson to later become Deadpool.
I don’t want to be disingenuous. Before this film I had never heard of the character Deadpool. On that same note, I am also not a comic book enthusiast, so I can’t speak on how this film relates to the source material. However, I will say what aspects I enjoy.
First, is the portrayal of Deadpool done by Reynolds. He seems to embody the personality of the character really well, and when he dons the red suit all f***ks are left at the door. Reynolds also gives the sadder moments, such as his reaction to his cancer diagnosis, heartbreaking tenderness. The action of the movie was also done well, and I was completely mesmerized by the martial arts moves done by Deadpool and the opening highway car fight scene. You could also tell the crew was having fun, even the opening credit attributions were different such as, “overpaid tool,” “a CGI character,” “some hot chick” and “the real heroes here.”
I will also give a nod to the original source material, because whoever imagined the Deadpool character, wrote an interesting one. I really did fall in love with Deadpool’s sharp wit and sarcasm, his personality is refreshing in the arena of superhero films and lives up to the tagline of “The Merc with a Mouth.” Not everyday do you get a character interacting with the audience, who addresses you through the camera lens.
But unfortunately, this is where the rubber meets the road, and my love affair with the movie ends.
The biggest complaint I have with the film is the fact that I really didn’t need to pay to see it. If you’ve watched the trailer, give yourself a pat on the back and say “wow, I saw ‘Deadpool.’” I can’t tell you how many times as I was watching the movie I said to myself, “gee, I saw that in the trailer, and that, and that too.” Nothing makes me more angry than getting roped into seeing a movie (based on the trailer) and then upon viewing said movie, wishing I would have stayed home and saved my money. Approximately 90 percent of the movie was trailer material and the other 10 percent was new.
My other four complaints were the assembly of the film, the jokes, language and unnecessary nudity. I wasn’t sure I liked how the movie was cut together, partly because they go back and forth from present day to the past then back again. I would have preferred a progression from the back story of the character to present day. For jokes, there is just so much masturbation and balls humor one can take before it gets old. I’m also not one for constant foul language in a movie, when it’s not necessary. Finally, for unnecessary nudity, there was a stripper scene that could have been cut out completely, it added nothing to the storyline.
Overall, I did enjoy being introduced to a new Marvel character through this film, whose sarcasm knows no bounds. I also enjoyed the martial arts and action, it’s one of the better action films I’ve viewed in a while. I just don’t feel it’s worth the dollars spent on it. If you feel the pressing need to see the stunts on the big screen or see your favorite comic book character come to life, then this film is for you—but honestly you could watch the preview for the film and get the whole story or just patiently wait until it comes out on DVD.
