Review of “Deadpool”

[dropcap]I[/dropcap] have to admit that I did not expect this. When, in late 2015, I started thinking about the 20 most anticipated films of 2016, at first I was tempted not to include “Deadpool” in the list. However, seeing the positive reaction of the public to the trailers, I changed my mind. But if at that time I had made a prediction of how the film would collect in worldwide box offices, I would havefallenvery short.

So, I would have said it would gather more than 300 million dollars, a number which has been surpassed smoothly in less than a week (and only in the United States). Unbelievable, right? To my credit I must point out that, half a month before the film was released, the most optimistic forecasts ensured that the revenue from “Deadpool” during his debut in US theaters would be $60 million (It ended up amassing 132 million and beating all kinds of records).

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22 mayo, 2016

If we talk about adaptations of superhero comics, Marvel has a luminous style that favors light entertainment and comedy. In contrast, DC takes things too seriously, just as we’ll probably see in “Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice”. And then there’s 20th Century Fox, which owns the film rights to some major Marvel characters. They’re not doing so badly with the “X-Men” series, with which they convey a lightly solemnity, but their attempt to become more relevant with “Fantastic Four” did not work for them (they drifted away too much from the spirit of the original work).

It’s not surprising that they didn’t have a clear what-to-do with “Deadpool”. Thanks to the insistence of Ryan Reynolds, the intermediation of Hugh Jackman and the low budget for the film ($58 million), they finally gave the green light to the project (cutting expensive stunts and even eliminating the presence of another villain). The 20th Century Fox executives are probably still pinching one another, because, of course, no such success was expected. It’s true that the focus given to the advertising of the film was brilliant, but nothing presaged it became a whooping success.

In fact, we have already seen other comic book movies that have high doses of irreverence before. There is a bit of it in “Wanted” and, especially, in “Kick-Ass” and “Kingsman: The Secret Service”. It worked well for those three at the box office, but … wow, “Deadpool” took the lead too easily.

“Deadpool” or the art of not taking itself seriously

“Deadpool” starts with some credits from which the viewer quickly realizes that the film does not take itself seriously. Laughter makes an appearance at once, like the sharp and provocative language of its protagonist. The same applies to the action, since the writers chose to narrate the origins of Wade Wilson by intermittent flashbacks. With this decision, and to moderate the duration of the film, they ensured that the story held a terrific pace.

On the other hand, “Deadpool” is not a series of phrases and witty banter, as it would be exhausting for the viewer. In fact, there is a story, a very, very simple but effective story of love and revenge. What happens is that the well mouthed protagonist makes us soon forget it. Because, make no mistake, the star of the show is Deadpool and his impertinent mouth. Although I don’t like vulgar films (a bad habit of, for example, the current comedy), that aspect here is well worked and not merely a resource to get by and get easy laughter from the audience. As for violence, it’s not that realistic and it shows that it seeks to recreate a comic with real images (which obviously is a success).

Tim Miller makes his directorial debut with “Deadpool”, being this work more than correct. Of course, it’s evident that he worked with a less-than-usual budget available for this type of production, but achieved quite acceptable results (there are several special effects that take place, but this is something that the viewer doesn’t care about, and that is, after all, because it’s not actually a realistic film). The best is that he presents a title that even if it’s not actually a big deal, at least it’s quite amusing from the beginning to the end.

About the cast, I can only say that Ryan Reynolds is great and he definitely was born to play the main character in the film. Morena Baccarin adapted perfectly to the comic tone of “Deadpool” while Ed Skrein delivers as the antagonist of the story. The one who should take a step back from the world of acting is Gina Carano. Clearly, this is not her thing…

Crítica en español de “Deadpool”