Deadpool Revives Fans Faith with Fox

Try saying that title five times fast. That’s my little tribute to Deadpool which was released this weekend and had a massive debut at the box office. Before we get into it, I have to make this announcement because parents didn’t know what they were getting into when I attended a 7:00 p.m. showing. What’s really funny is things were ok with bad guys getting decapitated, people shot in inappropriate places, and language that little children shouldn’t hear but when sexual situations happened, then that’s when the parents lost their mind. One mother I remember was screaming while dragging her son out, “This is a Marvel movie, how could they put this on the screen?”

If you’ve never heard of Deadpool and you have kids that want to see it, then here’s the rundown. In the comics, Deadpool is a mutant mercenary with advanced combat training, incredible healing powers and a witty intellect that was created as an answer to DC Comic’s assassin Deathstroke. Both have signature colors with Deathstroke being black and yellow while Deadpool is black and red. Both use swords and guns to do their dirty work but while Deathstroke is known to be serious and sinister, Deadpool is more comedic and rule breaking. Deadpool is famous for breaking the 4^th wall when in the comics, he realized that he himself was a comic book character and started speaking directly to the reader. His world is full of chaos, outrageous humor, blood, bullets, sexual content, and some of the most spontaneous moments you’ll ever encounter and this is just the comics.  

The film started out in a way that already got the audience laughing with the most awkward opening credits in cinematic history. It follows the traditional origin of Deadpool with his former life as mercenary Wade Wilson, a man with a dark past and a mouth that always has something coming out. After a tragic diagnosis, he decides to take a chance on an “experimental procedure” that nobody has ever heard of in a laboratory which looks more like a dungeon. He meets his doctor there who would later reveal what he is and why he’s conducting his experiments on Wade. That would cause everything to change except of course for his big mouth and spontaneous comments.  

After escaping the laboratory and the one who created him, Wade sets a plan of revenge into action that would involve help from a famous Marvel character and a brand new one. There’s also some sneaky jabs at failures by Fox, Ryan Reynolds, and Marvel but if you don’t know the story behind them then they’ll fly over your head. This was a much needed win for Fox because with X-Men: Apocalypse coming later this year, this film sets the bar. The fight scenes were over the top, the comedy was brilliant, the use of language could almost rival Scarface, and it was worth the wait considering Deadpool’s history.   

The film was in a void for years after the disaster of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Plans were at a standstill since fans didn’t approve of that film’s version of the famous anti-hero but actor Ryan Reynolds was determined to make the film happen. Some role just fit to actors like Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow or Sean Connery as James Bond and for Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool matches his style of humor. 20th Century Fox at the time was determined to reboot the Fantastic Four but decided to take a gamble. They gave Deadpool a decent budget, a director in Tim Miller (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World) and Ryan Reynolds reprising his role.   

Of course, with the apocalyptic bomb that was The Fantastic Four, fans turned to Deadpool with the hope that Fox can do another comic adaptation outside of X-Men. Deadpool is nearing 135 million here in the U.S. so it’s safe to say that the film is a success because of dedicated fans, a well marketed campaign, and a great job by all who were involved with making the film. The film stays true to the elements that make the character attractive, the audience laughing till they vomit and the film entertaining. Fox has finally found something outside of the X-Men so here’s my advice for the sequel, don’t change what you’re doing at this point. Of course there’s something at the end of the credits which I know people have a problem waiting for but trust me, you’ll have fun watching the credits.