The fact that this movie even exists seems to be the result of sheer will power. Not to get lost in the history of the project, but some of you may not even realize that Ryan Reynolds has played the foul-mouthed, psychotic, Marvel comics mercenary Wade Wilson/Deadpool before, in 2009’s X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE. The problem there was that the geniuses behind that film took took a character whose most evil weapon is his mouth and literally sewed it shut. Reynolds had another shot a superhero stardom a couple years later with GREEN LANTERN, and the less said about that the better. But if I told you that rather biting references are made to both of these subpar projects by Deadpool in this new work, might that peak your interest? It should.
Reynolds almost seems to have wished this do-over into being. The fast-talking, wise-cracking guy who birthed VAN WILDER is certainly the right actor to play this misshapen rouge of an anti-hero who is been experimented on until his latent mutant powers (accelerated healing, much like Wolverine) were brought to the surface, along with a few criminally twisted mental deficiencies. Wilson was a happily retired Special Forces operative who had turned to a less-than-lawful life to stay afloat. One day, he meets the love of his life, Vanessa (Morena Baccarin of “Firefly” and “Gotham”), and it appears that his life is on the right path.
But not long after meeting Vanessa, Wade discovers he has cancer throughout his body, and coincidentally he is met by a recruiter (Jed Rees) who promises a way to rid him of his cancer and give him special powers. It turns out the a nasty piece of work known as Ajax (Ed Skrein of THE TRANSPORTER REFUELED) and his sidekick Angel Dust (HAYWIRE’s Gina Carano) actually want to turn Wade into a super-powered slave.
Right off the bat, it’s clear DEADPOOL is trying to be something different. Although the origin story and subsequent first adventure/mission tale might feel familiar, the way first-time feature director Tim Miller structures the film—cutting back and forth between present-day fight sequences and recent-past backstory—in a rather fascinating and fast-paced manner. And the film transitions from its raunchy comedy framework to something darker and more emotionally rooted. As part of the process of giving Wade his powers, he is also horribly disfigured, which forces him to abandon his life, including Vanessa, leaving her thinking he’s likely dead.
Above many other things, Deadpool is a killer of bad people. He leaves the moral dilemmas about heroes killing villains to better X-men then he. In fact, since this film exists in the X-Men universe, there are a fair number of mutant hero references throughout, including the inclusion one card-carrying X-Man, the Russian-born Colossus (voiced by Stefan Kapicic) and his so-over-it student-in-training Negasonic Teenage Warhead (newcomer Brianna Hildebrand, who was in the great Sundance offering FIRST GIRL I LOVED), whom Deadpool is intent on getting any reaction out of. Colossus is not only attempting to bring Deadpool into the X-Men fold, but he’d love to cure him of his killing ways, neither of which seems likely. Their scenes are some of my favorite because it most directly illustrates what DEADPOOL is attempting to do—turn the superhero movie on its head by acknowledging that not all “good guys” are good guys.
Ryan Reynolds embraces the Deadpool persona with both gloved fists. He breaks the fourth wall with such regularity, I hesitate to call it a wall…more of an open window. He not only address and narrates for the audience but he calls attention to the fact that what we’re watching is a movie. He even comments on how the studio couldn’t afford more than the two previously mentioned X-Men, even in a scene in which Wade goes right up to the front door of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. And for those wondering if Wolverine fits into this story somehow, I can confirm that Hugh Jackman does indeed have a…presence in DEADPOOL.
Not since the first IRON MAN movie or Sam Raimi’s first two SPIDER-MAN films can I think of a superhero work that that so completely captured my sense of what a character was in the comic books. Taking Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza’s creation (adapted by Rhett Reese and paul Wernick), DEADPOOL is sassy, excessively bloody, twisted, very funny, and strangely moving on a couple of occasions. Some of my favorite moments don’t involve action at all. The comedy here actually works thanks to strong turns from T.J. Miller as Wade’s longtime buddy Weasel; a completely surreal performance by Leslie Uggams as Wade’s elderly blind roommate Blind Al; and Karan Soni (SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED) as a cab driver who seeks relationship advice from Deadpool.
But the heart and soul of DEADPOOL is Ryan Reynolds’s shot-of-of-a-cannon performance. Wade is a man on a desperate mission, fueled by rage and vengeance, but he never forgets to tinge everything with flecks of nasty humor, and it’s what makes the movie work. Director Miller has taken his background in video game effects and turned it into something visually thrilling, while remembering to include a fairly progressive character study of a man who has clearly mentally snapped. Deadpool is one of Marvel’s most popular fringe characters, and this film makes it clear where the charm lies. Now how do we squeeze Deadpool into the next X-MEN film?
