Fox’s Mighty Marvel Merc with a Mouth Is a Crowd Pleaser

      Deadpool (2016) is great fun. The reaction of theatre goers after the screening I attended the evening it premiered might have been more positive and enthusiastic then what I experienced at the conclusion of the Star Wars marathon after The Force Awakens (2015) was screened. The jokes that are both visual and verbal and come at a machine gun pace. Think Airplane (1980) for a point of reference for the volume and pace of the jokes. If one joke doesn’t land don’t worry another one is coming seconds later.

      Fox’s Deadpool (2016) being meta irreverent action comedy is another step in unlocking the potential of the superhero film genre. Superhero films can be a canvas for a wide breadth of stories and genres. Both Marvel Studios and Fox have produced highly successful super hero period films and Warner Bros. will join them when they release Wonder Woman. Marvel Studios up to this point has been the most eclectic in their cinematic adaptations making a space opera, a heist movie, and spy thriller while Warner Brothers can’t figure out how to bring any of their other properties other then Batman and Superman to the silver screen. Fox has taken a cue from Marvel and has started to dig a little deeper into their toy box. This is why comic books as source material for feature films are not reaching a saturation point. Comic book movies like the western has the potential to last for decades because it is a genre that allows a filmmaker to tell a wide variety of stories.

      X-Men enthusiasts will revel in some of the great fan service moments in Deadpool (2016). The X-Men’s Blackbird makes an appearance and is the most faithful depictions we have seen in cinema thus far. Negasonic Teenage Warhead eventually rock’s the 90’s era yellow and blue X-Men training uniform. We have come a long way since X-Men (2000) where yellow spandex was a punch line and in 2016 it is a reality. In a post Avengers (2012) world faithful adaptations of costumes is a must no matter how garish. Deadpool’s costume is very faithful to the source material and from the look of Psylocke’s costume in the X-Men: Apocalypse trailer Fox is continuing the trend of costumes true to the source material and I applaud them for it.    

      Brianna Hildebrand is the discovery of the film. Negasonic Teenage Warhead is a character she creates and inhabits with poise and ease. I would love to see her teamed up with Wolverine in a future film. The ole canuckle head is often put in the role of mentoring teenage girls. The dynamic of mentoring a teenage girl while Wolverine is dealing with his own brutal animalistic nature makes for a great character study. Putting Deadpool in a position to be a mentor to Negasonic Teenage Warhead was a choice I was rooting for but never got. Alas, maybe in the sequel (Fox green lit a sequel opening weekend).        

      The several origin story flashbacks eventually slow the movie down from its breakneck pace. Despite the clunky flashbacks the film still manages to fly along dispensing jokes and action with reckless abandon. All the players are game for this manic superhero romp and the supporting cast do a good job of being the straight men and woman to Deadpool’s madcap insanity. Hopefully Deadpool’s success critically and financially will lead Fox to go deeper into their comic book toy box. Fox’s possession of X-men and Fantastic Four intellectual property gives them a very strong and deep bench of charecters.

      The advances made in CGI and motion capture technology allows storytellers to bring any character to the big screen regardless of how outrageous the power or character design might be. The eyes on Deadpool’s mask come alive utilizing CGI. This detail helps the character emote while in a costume that covers his entire face. I hope the animators working on the latest iteration of Spiderman take notice and use a similar effect on Spiderman’s costume. The web slinger’s eyes on his mask operate very similar to Deadpool’s in the source material and the CGI animators translated it brilliantly to the big screen in Deadpool (2016). Every time I saw Negasonic Teenage Warhead use her power I couldn’t help think it was a test run for the depiction of Cannonball’s powers in future films (fingers crossed).

      Deadpool (2016) reinforces the notion that the most interesting super hero films are the ones that blend and bend genres. Deadpool (2016) boasts machine gun paced action and comedy combined with the production value of a summer blockbuster. The Merc with a Mouth gets a faithful cinematic adaptation that will appeal to both comedy and action genre fans alike.