I saw Deadpool and I haven't laughed that much at a movie in a very long time

[drwex]

I mean, I laughed so much I was missing dialog bits because this is not a movie that delivers a snappy one-liner and then waits for the audience to get it (cue Spider Man). Almost this entire movie is a snappy one-liner.

The following review cannot contain spoilers because there is nothing to spoil in this movie, assuming you've seen the preview. It's a movie that proves the Marvel-movie machine knows how to make an adult-focused film that's still action, still superhero, and really do not take your kids to this.

It's ultra-violent and bloody. It's profane and borderline pornographic in places. It's rude and crude and assumes that you, the viewer, are OK with amoral, revenge-fueled violence and torture (typical Hollywood fare) accompanied by discussions of masturbation, anal and oral sex, sex work and stripping, nsulting blind people (who insult you right back), insulting peoples' weight and appearance, stereotyping (south Asian) Indian people, and cynicism at and from teenagers. The exchanges between Deadpool and Brianna Hildebrand's Negasonic Teenage Warhead alone are worth the price of admission.

What makes this good is that none of the above is stupid, and none of it insults the audience, though Deadpool does brilliantly break the fourth wall multiple times. Marvel even takes jabs at itself and its other characters/franchises. This film is not punching down - it's doing comedic MMA in the pit with everyone.

I also have to wave the fanboi flag for Morena Baccarin, who plays Wade's take-no-prisoners girlfriend. She gets too little screen time, in my opinion, and I'm hoping we'll see more of her in the sequel. I get that this is the origin movie and the key angst Deadpool has is whether he can ever return to her; this plot device keeps them apart for much of the movie and thus keeps her off-screen. In my opinion, what sells this thing is the extended scenes of the two of them together in the first half of the movie. I believe in Vanessa (her character) and I believe in Vanessa and Wade's weird/quirky/kinky relationship.

Finally, the use of Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Colossus in this movie give me great hope that the Marvel machine will take what it has learned from Avengers and use that to revitalize the X Men movies, which I feel have been flagging in terms of plot and how they're using the vast good material available to them.

Comments

[bluegargantua]

I think that every time you say "Marvel" in your post, you should really be saying "Ryan Reynolds", because he has championed this movie like whoa and without his tireless efforts pushing for this movie it never would've gotten made. Plus, Ryan knows exactly what Deadpool is all about and made a movie that perfectly encapsulates that character.

But yeah, I agree with your overall assessment. I would also add that Gina Carano needs to get more parts as a bad-ass. Her fights are always fun to watch and it was especially impressive this time around since she was fighting a CGI character, but she really sold every single bit of that fight.

later
Tom

You're right

[drwex]

I've read a bit about how this really was one guy's vision that he got to make, but it's also fitting into the Marvel machine and they're the ones that can put money on the table and draw the audiences. I think this movie would've worked if it went out small and by word-of-mouth but not nearly as well. I doubt they'd've gotten rights to use X Men without it, which would've lessened the movie considerably.

I thought Gina Carano sold it well given the CGI nature of her fight, but I'd like to see her in something of a less typecast role, if you know what I mean.

[zzbottom.livejournal.com]

Ok, maybe this is going a little too far, but I just want to crawl inside Morena Baccarin's overbite and take a nap. She's a lotta woman. Hubba hubba.

[dr-memory.livejournal.com]

Finally, the use of Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Colossus in this movie give me great hope that the Marvel machine will take what it has learned from Avengers and use that to revitalize the X Men movies, which I feel have been flagging in terms of plot and how they're using the vast good material available to them.

Marvel has weirdly little to do with that -- the X-people franchise is owned by Fox Pictures, who licensed the characters from Marvel back before Marvel had their own movie studio (and indeed back when Marvel was a near-bankrupt comic book company instead of a highly profitable Disney subsidiary with a small comic book publishing habit). The Marvel that made the Avengers and Iron Man movies has basically zero input into the X-Men movies -- and in fact Marvel Comics have been quietly de-emphasizing the X-Men comics recently since it's basically providing advertising for a competitors products. :-/

[drwex]

I'm aware there are weird licensing things involved but this movie is most emphatically NOT de-emphasizing X-Men. They could have done this movie differently but I think the use of X-Men characters was deliberate and I hope Fox is going to take notice.

[dr-memory.livejournal.com]

I mean that Marvel has been de-emphasizing the X-Men comics.

[vibrantabyss.livejournal.com]

They had me at "Some Overpriced Tool".

My standard disclaimer to friends is: Drink no volume of caffeine before heading in. You will piss yourself laughing if you do.

[elfy.livejournal.com]

Good review :D I enjoyed it so much!

[drwex]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it.