Out of 10: 'Deadpool'

Would ya look at that? Finally this jackass is reviewing my movie Deadpool — Guess all that fondling of someone whose name rhymes with ‘Polverine’ (and begins with W — didn’t mention that, but the guy can’t touch me now) is finally starting to pay off. Nah, it really isn’t.

Wade Wilson becomes a disfigured vengeful immortal after an experiment to cure his cancer. You’ve all been saved 108 minutes; surely I’m the real hero of this tale. I don’t even hate this film, I’m just desperate for jokes…. like this film — oh, slam.

The film shows a strong opening of uniquely-edited credits with self-aware visual flourishes that effortlessly introduce the viewers to the films subversive take on humour and action. The meta-fictional humour is explored with dignified creative restraint at this point by limiting it to credit captions.

There’s a natural seamless flow of events. An origin story is shown amid an action scene to avoid a slow paced beginning, all sides of Wade Wilson appears from his sense of humour to his redeeming features to his ruthlessness. There are complications introduced to his situation and he’s seen in his lowest possible situations with effortless transition from his higher points. His limitations are also comically shown without strain, despite being essentially immortal he still requires the service of an ordinary taxi company.

A surprisingly authentic feeling love story is featured, which actually spends time on showcasing innocent mutual pleasure of company by showing them take part in arcade games before sexual exploration. This development effortlessly segues into drama after Wade’s discovery of illness. Throughout this, Moreena Baccarin competently plays his girlfriend, with surprising range, considering her screen time.

Vanessa Herself

From this point forward, the perfect pace and progression is maintained in the story, ranging from more subdued comical scenes to erratic well-choreographed action. There’s some welcome additional levity from the portrayal of Colossus which remains faithful to the X Men Animated series presentation and artfully embodies the gentle giant persona.

Even with the meta-humour in place, there are still several genuine attempts to create jeopardy or emotion with world building techniques courtesy of a well sized supporting cast, the most interesting of whom is probably Blind Al, an irritable formidable but well-meaning older ally played by Leslie Uggams.

The film was a generally a pleasing adaptation with strong performances, particularly Ryan Reynolds impeccably playing Deadpool himself. The film equally subverts and revels in the traits of the genre without alienating viewers unfamiliar with the source material or opposed to superhero films.

Now for the Rating

It's not the Citizen Kane of superhero films.

It gets a 7 from me. I realise it’s the entire purpose, but for me a lot of the fourth wall break humour becomes overbearing or tiresome, most notably when they’re so egregious they state actual characters as being played by actors. The protagonist strenuously re-enforcing that he’s fictional gives less of a reason to become emotionally invested in the story. I know this sounds like a pedantic comment to make about a comedy but it features a narrative and drama; emotional investment should be vital in any film with those traits, comedy or not. True, he’s meta in the comics, but that’s a motionless, soundless medium that’s less immersive than film, since panels are reminders that it’s completely fiction. Possibly the implication Deadpool was just pretending an audience watching him to deal with his issues would have made more sense in the film, especially since no one else seems to acknowledge the audience. With this noted though, there are times when events come with gravity that’s unexpected because of that format. Relentless jokes can be a big strength and weakness at once — with a surplus of jokes, some are bound to hit, and some are bound to miss.

Some characters felt poorly developed — there’s one scene where TJ Miller’s character discovers Wade’s disfigurements and tediously lists forcefully crass, unfunny descriptions. The villain required some more personality, he was legitimately threatening but there was potential for a well-rounded role.

Even though I find it slightly overrated, I still like a lot more about the film than I dislike. It’s surprisingly layered at times and the quality is maintained even after the novelty factor acknowledgment.