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. 

MCU Phase II Goes Retro: An analysis of Marvel Studio's phase II stand alone films

                Marvel phase 2 has financially continued the momentum of the earlier films produced by Marvel Studios often referred to as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The standalone films part of Marvel Studio’s phase 2 shares a unique thread. They are 70’s throwback genre films. Guardians of The Galaxy (2014) is a space opera, Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) is a political thriller that even boasts Robert Redford, and Ant-Man (2015) is a heist movie.

                The three genres discussed span decades of cinema history but each one has a decade or era that is most closely associated with that genre. Embracing the tropes of these short hand are useful storytelling devices. They create a short hand with the audience a kind of coding similar to the hero wearing a white or the scared or effeminate villain. Even if movie goers are not consciously aware of this coded short hand they are so familiar with these tropes from TV and movies they will make these associations subconsciously.  

                The cold war political thriller starts in the 50’s and continues into present day with film like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy but is most closely associated with the post Watergate 70’s. Space Opera is another genre that spans the decades but thanks to Star Wars among other reason the 70’s is the decade people think of when they think space opera. Of the three genres the heist genre can be argued successfully that it is not a 70’s genre but a 60’s genre.

                Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) is a cold War/political thriller influenced by films like The Marathon Man (1976) starring Dustin Hoffman, All the President’s Men (1976), and Three days of the Condor (1975). Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) embraces this genre so whole heartily it casts Robert Redford in a major supporting role. This would be like making a film that is an homage to the John Hughes’s teen films of the 80’s and casting Molly Ringwald in a sizable part. 

                Captain America fits well into the 70’s cold war political thriller genre because he has a history in the source material as a character willing to rebel against the seats of power and stand up for the ideals and principles of America. Post Watergate disillusionment with the government is a prevalent theme in the 70’s political thriller genre. This is is mirrored in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) with the subversion of SHEILD by HYDRA. The idea that government at its highest levels can be corrupted was a major idea in the 70’s political thriller that fits perfectly with the plot of Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014).

                Guardians of The Galaxy (2014) can be broadly described as a science fiction movie but more specifically it falls into the Space Opera genre. Space opera franchises like Star Wars (1977) and Battlestar Galactica were created during the 1970’s. Space Opera is more about melodrama and adventure and not as concerned with science and futurism as hard science fiction. Space opera is more high adventure while hard science fiction is more thought provoking and philosophical. If you are still having trouble distinguishing between hard science fiction and space opera these two examples might help illuminate the differences. Star Wars (1977) as mentioned previously is space Opera 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) is hard science fiction.

                Adventure, melodrama, and a sense of wonder discovery are all aspect of the space opera genre that is a huge part of the DNA of Guardians of The Galaxy (2014). The retro soundtrack helps immerse the audience in the golden age of the space opera. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) uses Robert Redford as an anchor or patronus if you will to the retro genre its homaging. In Guardians of The Galaxy (2014) the soundtrack as opposed to an actor is used as the retro genre patronus.

                Noticing Ant-Man (2015) was a heist film was the first time I noticed that the MCU phase 2 stand alone films were genre movies. Of the three genres this one is arguably more 60’s then 70’s. Many of the strongest example of this genre are 60’s films like The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), Ocean’s 11(1960), and The League of Gentlemen (1960).

                Arguing about 60’s vs. 70’s genres is semantics. What is most interesting is Marvel Studios taking what is considered a cookie cutter genre (the super hero film) and melding it with genres that rose to prominence during the American New Wave and the growth of the film school director. With all the 60’s psychedelic talk surrounding pre-production on the Doctor Strange film it seems like Marvel Studios will continue to make interesting genre choices with their stand alone films.

                More than ever the super hero genre can be compared to the western. However this is not because of its popularity while yes this is a coincidence the super hero genre should be compared to western because of its versatility as a genre. The western was a setting that allowed storytellers to tell virtually any type to story they wanted. With Marvel Studio’s blending of the super hero genre with other genres we are seeing the same phenomena unfold. You can make a superhero heist film or a super hero political thriller the possibilities are limitless. Much like how comic writers in the 80’s who grew up with the medium started to deconstruct the medium we are now seeing the same thing with the super hero genre in filmmaking. Storytellers who grew up with comic books and super hero movies like Superman (1978) are starting to see the potential in the super hero genre as a malleable canvas for storytelling.

*Fingers crossed for a blacksploitation inspired Black Panther movie.*

Is Days of Future Present the next X-men film?

The Internet is a buzz with Bryan Singer mentioning the possibility of an X-Men Fantastic Four cross over. Since Fox has the cinematic rights to both the mighty mutants and Marvel's first family it is plausible they may be trying to create their own cinematic universe similar to Disney's MCU . I've heard numerous outlets postulating that the cross over X-Men vs The Fantastic Four as the obvious adaption. However my money is on Days of Future Present. The reason that's my guess is Bryan Singer the steward of cinematic mutant franchise has stated the ground work is already set for a F.F. X-Men crossover. What might that ground work be? 

1) Days of Future Present is a sequel to Days of Future Past and deals heavily with the future incarnation of Reed Richard's (Mr. Fantastic) and Sue Storm's (The Invisible Woman) son (Franklin Richards) and the potential future offspring(Rachel Summers) of Jean Grey (Marvel Girl/Phoenix) and Scott Summers (Cyclops).

2) X-Men Apocalypse (2016) is an 80's period film. The two previous X-films took place in the 70's and 60's respectively. If they are going in chronological order which decade is next? Yup, the 90's the decade Days of Future Present takes place in.

I hope you enjoyed going down this continuity rabbit hole as I did writing it.

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) review

                Joss Whedon’s  Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) is Mr. Whedon’s second go around with Earth’s mightiest heroes however this time he has full writing credits (Zak Pen had a story by credit on The Avengers 2012). This film showcases some of the writer/directors best known strengths such as writing strong ensemble pieces that meld action with witty banter. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) has a lot of spinning plates and giving each character ample character development while introducing four new characters that are central to the plot is no easy feat. This film definitely feels more like a Joss Whedon project then the previous Avenger’s film. Strong female characters are a Whedon hallmark that he brings to his latest project despite the fact the movie rights to some of Marvel’s strongest female characters were sold off when the publisher was facing bankruptcy. Black Widow wielding Cap’s shield or SHIELD agent Maria Hill saving a terrified male agent from Ultron may seem innocuous but in the all boys club of action movies and comic books these choices are a welcome breath of fresh air.

                As a comic book fan what makes this film particularly stand out from other films in the genre is the director’s ability in several scenes to convey the cinematic equivalent of a Jack Kirby splash page. Now eleven films deep into the Marvel Cinematic Universe you sometimes have to remind yourself not to take for granted the visual effects of Iron Man flying or the Hulk smashing. Two decades ago the most recent Hulk movie was the 80’s TV movie starring Lou Ferrigno who was painted green by a teamster with a paint roller. During the eighties and nineties a movie with the production values, cast, and crew like Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) would have been inconceivable. Using a motion capture suit for James Spader performance really pays off in his portrayal of Ultron. Animators would have been hard pressed to replicate the nuance of Mr. Spader’s physicality that compliments his vocal performance so well.

                The theme of monsters and what it means to be an outsider is used heavily in this film. The film features all types of monsters some that are obviously monstrous on the outside and other characters that maybe more monstrous on the inside or considered monsters because of their actions/choices. We see some characters that are born monsters and others that are turned into monsters. Despite being outsiders we see these characters inner strength as they come together to save a world that does not accept them. If I was Fox I would take notice and back up a dump truck of cash to the Whedon compound and beg Joss to take the helm of their mighty mutants franchise. A group of outsiders fighting for a world that hates and fears them is an important theme in X-men. Not to mention Mr. Whedon is already very familiar with the source material as he was the scribe on an EXCELLENT run on Astonishing X-Men. This is just one example of several ways Joss Whedon pumps heart into this CGI summer blockbuster behemoth. He takes the gods from atop Mount Olympus (Avengers tower) and brings them down to earth in an abandoned SHEILD compound located in the middle of nowhere upstate NY.

                This film wasn’t just an elaboration on Mr. Whedon’s previous Avengers film but a comment on war and collateral damage. I couldn’t help think of Man of Steel (2013) while watching this film. In that film Superman engages in a battle that lays waste to metropolis but The Man of Tomorrow seemingly saves no one because he’s too busy punching General Zod in the face. Several scenes in this film depict the protagonists saving innocent civilians or expressing concern for them. Bruce Banner feels angst about using his powers and hurting people even if they are evil Hydra foot soldiers. The Avengers (2012) was meant to be a super hero war movie and this film goes out of its way to show you even though our heroes will inevitably win and save the earth war always has its price.

                Marvel helped bring continuity to the silver age of comic books and now they have brought continuity to the silver screen. Even after ten previous films featuring various characters but all taking place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) is still a treat. High production values, strong acting, and a straight forward morality tale are all the makings for a great summer popcorn flick.

By Jake Cohen

4 out of 5 Jack “The King” Kirbys. RECOMMEND