Superhero films are notable for taking well-known characters, and bringing new life to their stories with talented actors and astounding effects. Typically, in addition to being good films, these reintroduce popular characters into the mainstream of media and can also work to reboot not only heroes, but entire universes. But with a character like Deadpool, with a major foothold already in modern pop culture, it's much more difficult to completely revamp without quite a bit of anger from the character's fans. So, what does a filmmaker do? They give you exactly what you wanted, of course!
Where do I begin with a superhero like Deadpool? I guess I should start with his origins, for those who don't know Deadpool, First of all, welcome to the internet! Enjoy your stay and try to avoid going on DeviantArt. Secondly, Deadpool is the Marvel Comics name for a wisecracking, unkillable mercenary by the name of Wade Wilson, who gained his powers from a radical mutation experiment that granted him hyper-regenerative powers and super-strength. Deadpool's quick thinking and anti-hero status lead to him quickly amassing a large fanbase with his commentary and fourth wall humor. Eventually, his popularity branched out so far that Hollywood got word, and decided to give the Merc with a Mouth his very own feature film. Fans are delighted, but critics.......meh.
The film explains the origins of Deadpool quite well, and makes the character's reasoning very understandable. Wade Wilson, a bounty hunter/mercenary by trade, leads a comfortable life with his wife Vanessa until he is diagnosed with late-stage cancer. Desperate to find a way to return to his normal life, he signs up for an experimental treatment that alters his body into the mutant form we all know and love. Nervous about showing his now-grotesque face to his wife, he spends his days living with an old lady and trying to find the project's head, in hopes that he can fix Wade's face. But when the X-Men get involved, things get much more complicated.
I'm not saying that Deadpool is a bad film- in fact, quite the opposite. The first time around, the film comes off as funny- a nice action/comedy with touches of romance and a massive amount of self-aware snark- but it's the repeat value that hits Deadpool in the sensitive area.
The one issue with the film, and in extension, Deadpool himself, comes from it's ability to be just as entertaining the second time around. With films nowadays allowing for multiple plots, background elements and multiple branches of jokes to add reasons to see the film again, But when all your comedy relies on just a few traits, The issue with a character relying on one joke is that it loses a lot of it's luster once you've heard the joke before. If you take away the fourth wall from Ferris Bueller, you still have a cool character who gets his way through pluck and wit. Take it away from Deadpool and you have just another Deathstroke. And without a good replay value, this film won't be the groundbreaker it wants to.
OVERALL RATING: 7/10
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Hey, Critical Frog! Awfully kind of you to let me in the blogging room!
Wait....what? How'd you get in here?
It's me, Deadpool! I heard you were reviewing my film. Did you like it?
Err.............
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