Being a male that enjoys comic books I have had the privilege of seeing the comic book film grow beyond its cheaply made B movie roots. The exception being the Christopher Reeve Superman films and the Tim Burton Batman films. Otherwise the entertainment universe was blighted with low budget schlock fests. Superman was the lone man standing in the early ‘80’s era that saw other comic heroes like Popeye, Flash Gordon, and The Lone Ranger. Not until Batman would success occur in the comic book genre again and the business really didn’t rev up for another decade after that film. Sure there were film adaptations, but nothing monumental. Eventually franchises would spring forth and as the genre became more and more profitable the concept of “cinematic universe” would rise and have every studio scrambling for their own little universe that would generate dollars. Now we get numerous comic book based films and a market that has become totally saturated with the product. There will be 20+ released between now and the end of the decade and the only way to stand out in such a crowded field is to be different.
Deadpool is a film that stands out. Starring Ryan Reynolds in the title role, Deadpool is the tale of ex-mercenary Wade Wilson, whose life falls to piece with a cancer diagnosis. Wanting to continue his life with girlfriend Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) Wade signs up for some mysterious scientific experiments that will possibly save his life. After being forced to mutate and being horribly scarred by a mad scientist (Ed Skrein) Deadpool escapes and demands vengeance from the people that ruined him.
Ryan Reynolds orginally portrayed Wade Wilson in 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a lackluster film that left the Deadpool character as a secondary afterthought. The fact that this film got off the ground at all is really a testament to the people behind it. What further amazes me is that 20th Century Fox, the studio that gave us the horrible Fantastic Four film last year, allowed the filmmakers on this free reign and even OK’d an R rated superhero film, an oddity in today’s cinematic world. This is where the film succeeds in that it doesn’t have to hold back to make sure the kids can be in the audience, keeping further faithful to the source material. This allows the film to stand out in the sea of comic book films that land on us each year. Deadpool steps away from that plot point and not only pokes fun at itself, but the genre as a whole. References to the original appearance in X-men Origins and Reynolds short lived stint as Green Lantern are placed throughout the film. A bit of a wink at an audience that has crawled thru the last 20 years of comic book film. This film destroys the fourth wall and enjoys every minute of it, as will the audience.
So as we go into the summer of superheroes fighting each other and building our “cinematic universes” we need to let Deadpool stand as a film that can bank on this hot genre while being its own kind of film. I’m truly frightened about what a sequel will look like and you know there will be one, even going so far as dropping him into future X-men movies because of this massive success. Deadpool delivers the goods and doesn’t have to destroy a city or civilization to do it.
