Despite the start of the superhero revival coming about through a mature rated film, superhero movies rarely stray from the more family friendly age ratings for fear of missing out on that sweet, sweet merchandising money, and a far wider box office range. But following Ryan Reynolds and David S. Goyer’s work on Blade: Trinity, the pair set their sights on adapting Marvel’s ‘merc with a mouth’, Deadpool, to the big screen. Fox owned the rights to the character due to him being packaged in with the X-Men, but despite being successful with X-Men films they wanted to keep them family friendly, and including Wade Wilson or giving him his own movie just wouldn’t fit into that framework. That is until X-Men Origins: Wolverine, where a heavily modified version of the character (played by none other than Reynolds) played a major part in the story. But this version of the character was so poorly received (as well as the rest of the film) that all hopes of Deadpool getting his own movie were effectively flushed down the toilet.
But Reynolds continued to campaign for the character to get his moment in the spotlight, and along with a number of creatives, most prominently director Tim Miller, managed to get a workable script together to proposition to Fox. Fox wasn’t interested, it was too violent, too crude, and it just did not fit within the framework of how they wanted their superhero movies to look and behave. But then the project was leaked online, and a huge wave of support came in from fans who had been dying to see a superhero film just like what Deadpool was proposing. So, Fox caved and allowed Miller & Reynolds to do almost anything they wanted, with the caveat of them only having a measly $58 million to work with, roughly a quarter of what they were spending on the X-Men films at the time. The rest is history, Deadpool became the most profitable R-rated film of all time (taking in even more than the most recent X-Men movie), it received massive critical praise, and it sold Hollywood on the idea that R-rated superhero movies were not something to be scared of. Now that Deadpool is in the hands of Disney and we have a third film on the horizon, potentially providing the MCU with its first R-rated film, take a look back at the original film with me and see how it holds up today.
Following a terminal cancer diagnosis, freelance ‘problem solver’ Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) agrees to take part in a form of experimental treatment, hoping to activate dormant mutant genes inside of him, which may cure his cancer and imbue him with other abilities. In the hopes of spending more time with his girlfriend Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), Wade agrees and is subject to unrelenting torture from a man named Francis (Ed Skerin). His transformation complete and horrendously disfigured, Wade vows to track down Francis and subject him to the same kind of torture he endured.
But Reynolds continued to campaign for the character to get his moment in the spotlight, and along with a number of creatives, most prominently director Tim Miller, managed to get a workable script together to proposition to Fox. Fox wasn’t interested, it was too violent, too crude, and it just did not fit within the framework of how they wanted their superhero movies to look and behave. But then the project was leaked online, and a huge wave of support came in from fans who had been dying to see a superhero film just like what Deadpool was proposing. So, Fox caved and allowed Miller & Reynolds to do almost anything they wanted, with the caveat of them only having a measly $58 million to work with, roughly a quarter of what they were spending on the X-Men films at the time. The rest is history, Deadpool became the most profitable R-rated film of all time (taking in even more than the most recent X-Men movie), it received massive critical praise, and it sold Hollywood on the idea that R-rated superhero movies were not something to be scared of. Now that Deadpool is in the hands of Disney and we have a third film on the horizon, potentially providing the MCU with its first R-rated film, take a look back at the original film with me and see how it holds up today.
Following a terminal cancer diagnosis, freelance ‘problem solver’ Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) agrees to take part in a form of experimental treatment, hoping to activate dormant mutant genes inside of him, which may cure his cancer and imbue him with other abilities. In the hopes of spending more time with his girlfriend Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), Wade agrees and is subject to unrelenting torture from a man named Francis (Ed Skerin). His transformation complete and horrendously disfigured, Wade vows to track down Francis and subject him to the same kind of torture he endured.
In 2016, Deadpool really was a breath of fresh air for the superhero genre. There simply hadn’t been anything else like it, and whilst there had been a number of mature superhero movies (the Blade trilogy, the Punisher films, and the Ghost Rider films just to name a few), none of them had used its mature rating for anything other than to make the action bloodier. Deadpool commits one hundred percent to its maturity by being anything but mature. The violence is cartoonishly gory, the humour is so outrageously crude, and Wade Wilson as a character doesn’t take anything seriously. It’s a proper superhero comedy, borderline parody, for grown-ups.
The real beauty of Deadpool is that in an age where everything has to be a part of a cinematic universe, it exists almost entirely on its own. It does technically exist within the X-Men universe of films, and you’ll get plenty of referential nods to those films, but it plays so fast and loose with those properties that if you’ve never been exposed to X-Men before then you won’t miss anything. It doesn’t don’t tie into them, rather just pokes fun at them like it does with everything else.
The story is not exactly the film’s strongest asset though, and it is really just as straightforward as it seems. Main character gets superpowers, guy who gives superpowers is a massive a-hole, main character gets revenge. But that is part of Deadpool’s charm, it knows what it is and what its audience wants. It fills its runtime with zany, fourth wall breaking comedy and over-the-top action sequences that feel like something out of Looney Tunes, which keeps it down at a lean hour and forty minutes, something basically unheard of in the modern superhero landscape.
The real beauty of Deadpool is that in an age where everything has to be a part of a cinematic universe, it exists almost entirely on its own. It does technically exist within the X-Men universe of films, and you’ll get plenty of referential nods to those films, but it plays so fast and loose with those properties that if you’ve never been exposed to X-Men before then you won’t miss anything. It doesn’t don’t tie into them, rather just pokes fun at them like it does with everything else.
The story is not exactly the film’s strongest asset though, and it is really just as straightforward as it seems. Main character gets superpowers, guy who gives superpowers is a massive a-hole, main character gets revenge. But that is part of Deadpool’s charm, it knows what it is and what its audience wants. It fills its runtime with zany, fourth wall breaking comedy and over-the-top action sequences that feel like something out of Looney Tunes, which keeps it down at a lean hour and forty minutes, something basically unheard of in the modern superhero landscape.
The main attraction of Deadpool really is Reynolds’ performance. He commits one hundred and ten percent to the role, never for one moment letting it slip anything below his best. I guess if you’ve been fighting for this film to exist for the better part of fifteen years, and you’re given one shot to make it work then you really do need to give it everything you have. Everything from his physical performance to his comic timing is on point here, and it’s tough to know where Ryan ends, and Wade begins at times because he embodies the character so well.
He's not the only great actor involved though. Morena Baccarin has excellent chemistry with Reynolds, and the scenes they share together in the film’s opening act are among the funniest of the whole film. I can imagine it would have been incredibly difficult for the crew to keep themselves from laughing whenever they were filming a scene, because they match each other’s energy so well here.
I also enjoy the inclusion of Colossus (Stefan Kapicic) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hilderbrand) from the X-Men franchise. Negasonic is not a character I’m overly familiar with, but I like the double act these two have of one being a giant metal Russian who fights for peace and justice, and the other being this short goth girl who would rather be anywhere else. They work well paired up against Wade as well, and particularly Kapicic’s performance shines as the antithesis of Reynolds’.
The lower budget does hinder the visuals somewhat though. The Fox X-Men films had a bit of a reputation for their iffy CGI, and it’s on full display here in Deadpool where both people and the environment look extremely rubbery and fake on a regular basis. The problem of having a superhero film that relies a lot on CGI whilst also having a very modest budget to work with is that it’s never going to look great. For the most part Deadpool makes it work by being so cartoonishly over the top, but there are definitely a number of times where your attention is drawn to how out of place and fake something looks.
The only thing in the film that has any real colour is Deadpool’s suit too. I think this may have been an aesthetic choice to make him stand out as much as possible, but the rest of the film does look very grey and muted as a result, and it’s not exactly the most attractive superhero film out there.
But the film does compensate by have a strong licensed soundtrack from artists like Wham!, Salt-N-Pepa, and DMX, as well as a score composed by Tom Holkenborg that plays into the fun factor a lot whilst also delivering the kind of scale you’d expect from an action film.
Whilst Deadpool is definitely a fun film I think it’s impact on the industry is far more impressive than the film itself. As enjoyable as Reynolds’ performance is, and much as I appreciate the stripped back narrative that isn’t trying to connect a shared universe web, it really is the film’s legacy that keeps the film as relevant as it is. Since the success of Deadpool there have been a significant number of properties that were once only considered viable as family films that have since been given the shot at being mature rated, most notably with Warner Bros. and DC’s films such as Joker, The Batman, and The Suicide Squad films. It proved to Hollywood that there was a market for this kind of film, and that whilst it may not rake in the bucks as big as an Avengers film, cheaper to produce mature rated projects for more niche properties may actually be more viable in the long run than trying to make them into massive blockbuster franchises that they simply don’t fit the mould for.
He's not the only great actor involved though. Morena Baccarin has excellent chemistry with Reynolds, and the scenes they share together in the film’s opening act are among the funniest of the whole film. I can imagine it would have been incredibly difficult for the crew to keep themselves from laughing whenever they were filming a scene, because they match each other’s energy so well here.
I also enjoy the inclusion of Colossus (Stefan Kapicic) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hilderbrand) from the X-Men franchise. Negasonic is not a character I’m overly familiar with, but I like the double act these two have of one being a giant metal Russian who fights for peace and justice, and the other being this short goth girl who would rather be anywhere else. They work well paired up against Wade as well, and particularly Kapicic’s performance shines as the antithesis of Reynolds’.
The lower budget does hinder the visuals somewhat though. The Fox X-Men films had a bit of a reputation for their iffy CGI, and it’s on full display here in Deadpool where both people and the environment look extremely rubbery and fake on a regular basis. The problem of having a superhero film that relies a lot on CGI whilst also having a very modest budget to work with is that it’s never going to look great. For the most part Deadpool makes it work by being so cartoonishly over the top, but there are definitely a number of times where your attention is drawn to how out of place and fake something looks.
The only thing in the film that has any real colour is Deadpool’s suit too. I think this may have been an aesthetic choice to make him stand out as much as possible, but the rest of the film does look very grey and muted as a result, and it’s not exactly the most attractive superhero film out there.
But the film does compensate by have a strong licensed soundtrack from artists like Wham!, Salt-N-Pepa, and DMX, as well as a score composed by Tom Holkenborg that plays into the fun factor a lot whilst also delivering the kind of scale you’d expect from an action film.
Whilst Deadpool is definitely a fun film I think it’s impact on the industry is far more impressive than the film itself. As enjoyable as Reynolds’ performance is, and much as I appreciate the stripped back narrative that isn’t trying to connect a shared universe web, it really is the film’s legacy that keeps the film as relevant as it is. Since the success of Deadpool there have been a significant number of properties that were once only considered viable as family films that have since been given the shot at being mature rated, most notably with Warner Bros. and DC’s films such as Joker, The Batman, and The Suicide Squad films. It proved to Hollywood that there was a market for this kind of film, and that whilst it may not rake in the bucks as big as an Avengers film, cheaper to produce mature rated projects for more niche properties may actually be more viable in the long run than trying to make them into massive blockbuster franchises that they simply don’t fit the mould for.