Alright, let me get it out there right off the bat. I have never liked Deadpool. Mainly because… Rob Liefeld. Same reason I never liked Cable. Gimmicky characters without substance. Breaking the fourth wall by itself isn’t enough to mask the fact that Deadpool is a poor rip-off of Slade Wilson a.k.a. Deathstroke.
Therefore, I watched the Deadpool adaptation with zero expectations and so I have to say that in the context of what I have just confessed, I enjoyed the movie. Y’know, the offbeat humour, the profanity, the ultra-violence, Morena Baccarin (!) etc. etc. made the whole experience a fun ride.
There was not much of a storyline – although to be fair, as an origin story, it served its purpose well enough. To its credit, Deadpool is a fan favourite and director Tim Miller certainly did not compromise one iota in making sure that his Deadpool character was as faithful to the comic books as humanly possible.
And even though it was taken as a joke, Deadpool’s description of the movie as a ‘love story’ ultimately rang through. Even with all the obstacles placed before Wade Wilson, his biggest challenge was to be truly reunited with his beloved Vanessa, despite his changed circumstances. Thus, on that score, Deadpool wildly succeeds. Not because of the gimmicks previously listed but because at its core, the story was about a man who went through hell in order to be with the love of his life. Yes, really.
Now for the gripes, major or otherwise.
Although, Fox has asserted that Deadpool is part of the X-movie universe, Colossus is so different from the character last seen in X-Men: Days of Future Past. Yes, credit to Miller for making this Colossus (a CGI character throughout) closer to the original i.e. Russian accent. Why the inconsistency? Or is this the new Colossus after X-history was changed in X-Men: Days of Future Past? Who the fuck knows?
After the opening sequence, Deadpool and Colossus spend a long time arguing about Ajax’s fate in the middle of a freeway and no police turn up whatsoever to address the issue. Stretching the limits of suspension of disbelief with that one. Same issue with the final fight sequence at the scrapyard – with all the explosions, where were the police? And why was there a SHIELD Helicarrier in the junkyard?
Yes I know, origin story.
Ryan Reynolds was born to play Deadpool – his performance is so convincing that it is easy to ignore these flaws – never once do you doubt that he is Wade Wilson. As long as Reynolds is on point, this Deadpool franchise could run for quite a while. I just wish that Fox will not try to shoehorn in too many X-Men characters – although if Cable turns up for the sequel, then more X-Men characters will be unavoidable.