Second Look - Deadpool (Film)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Deadpool

Back in 2016, the original Deadpool film left a major impact, as it not only stood out within the superhero landscape at the time, but also altered Hollywood’s perception of the R-rating when it raked in a massive profit (~$782.8 million against a budget of $58 million) and broke several box office records, including the highest-grossing R-rated film ever made. However, the film faced a tough road before it saw the light of day. Although the idea of a Deadpool film with Ryan Reynolds attached had floated around since the 2000s, it hit some resistance at multiple points, including Tom Rothman (chairman of Fox Filmed Entertainment) rejecting the film, believing it wouldn’t be successful, and having his mouth sewn shut in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Origins). Origins still proved successful enough that a Deadpool project moved forward, though it didn’t get greenlit until some test footage leaked onto the internet to a very positive reception. Even then, however, Fox gave the project a much smaller budget than usual for a superhero film, an amount Ryan Reynolds once described as the “cocaine budget”.

At the time I first saw Deadpool, as someone already a fan of the character, I found it a breath of fresh air in the otherwise serious superhero landscape between the MCU, which had just finished Phase Two and would start Phase Three that year, and the DCEU, which would finally have a second movie in the gloomy Batman v. Superman after the dreary Man of Steel. Watching the film again now, in the context of viewing the entire X-Men film series in anticipation of Deadpool & Wolverine, I still enjoy it and appreciate its significance to the history of comic book films, but I admit that it lost a little luster with time.

Following a dishonorable discharge from the Canadian Special Forces, Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) works as a freelance mercenary and gets romantically involved with a prostitute, Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). After she accepts his marriage proposal, however, he’s diagnosed with terminal cancer and accepts an offer for an experimental treatment out of desperation. Unfortunately, this “treatment” is multiple days of torture conducted by Ajax (Ed Skrein) and Angel Dust (Gina Carano), resulting in Wade gaining regenerative abilities that also regenerate his cancer cells, leaving him horribly disfigured. Following his escape, Wade adopts the persona Deadpool with the goal of hunting down Ajax, who has disappeared, in the hopes of reversing his condition. During his journey, however, he encounters resistance from the X-Men Colossus (Stefan Kapičić) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand), who believe he can instead use his powers for good.

Colossus (Stefan Kapičić, left) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand, right)
try to convince Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds, center) to change his ways.

I won’t lie, Deadpool hits a bit different when divorced from the context of its original release. While it felt like an effective satire of superhero films from the early to mid-2010s, viewing on its own merits makes its arguably formulaic approach to an origin story more apparent despite the movie poking fun at formulaic superhero films. However, I wouldn’t say this automatically makes the film less appealing. Sure, it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but that means that the audience can easily follow along with the story without worrying about too many subplots and you won’t get lost when the film bounces between depictions of the present and Deadpool’s backstory. Even with a couple liberties here and there, this film acts as a good introduction to more comics-accurate X-Men characters, including the most accurate live-action depiction of Colossus and, more importantly, Deadpool himself. Not that many characters show up, but the limited cast helps the characters stand out more from each other, both in personality and motivation.

The smaller-than-usual budget makes for a smaller scale superhero film, which works in Deadpool’s favor and feels refreshing even in the context of more recent superhero films. The entire world isn’t at stake, instead Deadpool’s revenge quest feels personal and his plan feels very focused. Although the viewer can expect plenty of action scenes, they occur in more enclosed spaces, even the spectacular and bloody highway fight at the beginning, with limited collateral damage, which I appreciate more after countless superhero films where they level entire cities or endanger entire worlds (or the universe in the case of Avengers: Endgame). Even when the X-Men get involved, they don’t escalate the conflict any higher than necessary and instead act as a more heroic counter to Deadpool’s warped worldview.

Deadpool also does a great job at balancing its tone, as although it’s a comedy, it knows when it should take itself seriously. Wade’s backstory, told in flashbacks inserted throughout the film, has a more serious tone, which helps the audience understand his motivation for hunting down Ajax and makes him a more sympathetic character, even though it’s clear that he’s not someone to look up to. Wade’s actual revenge quest, however, takes on a more comedic and irreverent tone, but not to excess. As Deadpool, he enjoys cracking wise and has a number of memorable lines that have a more adult edge compared with his contemporaries. The meta humor, including jokes made at Fox’s and the X-Men films’ expense, also feel in-character and don’t overstay their welcome. Even after the eight years that have passed since the initial release, I still found myself laughing out loud at several points. When watching this film within the context of the X-Men film series, this tonal approach, as well as the smaller scale, makes Deadpool a good breather between X-Men: Days of Future Past and the ultra-high stakes X-Men: Apocalypse.

How many superhero films have an implied death by Zamboni?

That said, I did notice the amount of adult humor, especially sex jokes, this time around. While I still laughed at a fair bit of it, like Wade giving an overt sexual gesture while he has a knife in his temple, I thought that this style of humor bordered on excessive this time around (in a “we get it” sort of way), like the implied visuals during his year-long relationship with Vanessa. I didn’t think this style of humor lowered the overall quality of the film, as it’s still in-character for Deadpool, but cutting back on them just a little would help with longevity.

Still, there are certain aspects of the film that I can’t find fault with. There’s the casting, with Ryan Reynolds proving himself the perfect choice for the title character alongside highlights like Stefan Kapičić as a comics-accurate Colossus, Brianna Hildebrand as the moody Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Leslie Uggams as the hilarious and elderly Blind Al. I would also point to the impressive visual effects, both practical, including comics-accurate costumes and natural blood, and CG, with a believable Colossus. There’s even the music, with a good score by Junkie XL and a great selection and timing of licensed tracks, including the memorable "Deadpool Rap" by TeamHeadKick, “You’re the Inspiration” by Chicago and "Shoop" by Salt-N-Pepa. I also appreciate that Hugh Jackman still continues his streak of appearing in every single X-Men film up to that point through a roundabout cameo on a magazine cover.

They even worked in Bob (Rob Hayter) from the comics,
though not as a Hydra agent.

Although some of Deadpool’s luster has worn off along with its initial novelty, it’s still a very fun film and one of the better entries in the X-Men film series. Although having a working knowledge of prior X-Men films makes it a bit funnier, I can safely recommend this one even to someone who doesn’t. I sure didn’t when I first saw it back then and I still had a blast.