To massively paraphrase JFK “my fellow nerds, ask not whether you should see Deadpool, ask instead what snacks you will buy when you see Deadpool.” Finally we have a mainstream comic book movie that fully captures both mass market appeal and the excellent characters as they are written in their comics. Deadpool may just be the best comic book movie in cinema history.
The movie industry has had a very troubled relationship with comics. Most adaptations end up poor imitations of their sources. I don’t think it’s going too far to lay the blame at the studio executives’ doorstep. Studio interference is to blame for the likes of Green Lantern and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which infamously silenced Deadpool (the ‘Merc with a Mouth’) to not detract from Wolverine. With Deadpool’s return to the screen, we are again shown what happens when fans of a franchise are given freedom to adapt that franchise. They make a brilliant movie.
Following the story of the soldier of fortune Wade Wilson, Deadpool effortlessly jumps between the surreal and the poignant. Ryan Reynolds simply is Deadpool, everything from his physical presence and movements, to his wisecracking remarks, even his voice, it all comes together to create the best adaptation of the comic book anti-hero we, as fans, could have hoped for. The mandatory fourth wall breaks expected of a Deadpool movie are handled beautifully and work in perfect tandem with the meta-humour at large. Supporting performances from TJ Miller, Morena Baccarin, and in particular Brianna Hildebrand are pitch-perfect for this film. Stefan Kapicic’s Colossus was a personal favourite, if only for how ridiculous it was to see a gigantic metal Russian bloke be so gentle and polite. Ed Skrein also put in a noteworthy performance as the intentionally stereotypical British villain. The action was a joy to watch in all its gory excess. Yet in between the fun of Reynold’s quipping and the action sequences, there were genuine moments of emotion. In the end Deadpool is not the perfect movie, but it is the perfect Deadpool movie. Go and watch it.
Image: Avrajyoti Mitra; flickr.com