A half-dozen flicks - Three double features - no. 1: Deadpool/Deadpool 2

I had the pleasure of hanging out with my nephew Dan his inestimable partner-in-crime Megan for several days and we did what we very often are wont to do: watch a bunch of movies and shows and eat and drink and talk till the wind dies down.

We did three double-features where each is linked by theme, character, or performer. The current one, Deadpool and Deadpool 2 is - duih - linked by the titular character. The next, The Little Shop of Horrors and Ghostbusters is linked by Rick Moranis and less so by Bill Murray, so I’m framing it as more of a Moranis festschrift. The last is The Return of the Living Dead and The Dead Don’t Die, a nice seque into the Halloween season (already somewhat covered by the previous entry, if you think about it.)

When Ryan Reynolds finally got his passion project into production, I was completely agnostic, not terribly interested, and essentially of the mind that, well, how nice for Ryan. I was familiar with Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld’s Merc with a Mouth, but not enough to have any strong feelings about or toward the character. I liked Ryan Reynolds well enough and have enjoyed him in some things but he never quite made much of an impression on me as an actor; loved him on chat shows, and figured he’s probably talented, but was never in films I particularly cared for or needed to see.

That Reynolds was interested in some corner of the MCU was intriguing and that he was drawn to this character was interesting, but I really didn’t think much would come of it. This was Tim Miller’s first feature directing and like may people, had seen his title sequence work on Thor: the Dark World and some of his animated pieces, but I still couldn’t grasp why I should care or be excited about the project. Going to see it, I assumed, would be okay, and I’d likely forget it - just as I’d forgotten all of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and especially, Reynolds’ appearance as Wade Wilson/Deadpool in that film. 

Well, shit. I hadn’t laughed this hard at a superhero film (intentionally and as intended) in, well, perhaps, ever. I’ve laughed at plenty where the film was patently not a comedy. I’ve certainly smiled, if not guffawed, at numerous displays of wit in many of these special effects spandex ads. But I think this was the first time where I thoroughly enjoyed the satire, silliness, and seemingly endless supply of send-ups of the genre. 

I was surprised at how some critics’ lukewarm reaction which came across as more jaded and blase than showing me they really got it or cared about what they were watching. I found Deadpool refreshing, subversive of the usual superhero tropes, and actually, quite compelling in places.

While it’s true that James Gunn’s Super is likely even more subversive, there’s an edge to it that both challenges the viewer and while a wonderfully satiric film, is less, well, sentimental than Deadpool. That’s not detracting from Reynolds’ work, by the way. The sentiment in the first Deadpool is less overt than in the sequel and it’s difficult to say that the handling of Wade’s hiding from Vanessa is sentimental rather than heartfelt, but one’s mileage may vary according to viewer’s idea of sentiment. 

In the ensuing years, we’ve seen other works come into view that play with varying degrees of satire, parody and so on. The Boys likely takes the crown for the most thoroughgoing deconstruction of genre tropes. So I do understand when people sniffed at either or both films for not being original or as complete in executing an analytic approach to the superhero genre; but such criticisms fail to understand or simply choose to dismiss a very clever story replete with clever narrative and visual technique, a very witty script and performances that match the writing. 

I know I could gripe that by its very nature, the stakes are immaterial, that we never really feel that Wade won’t beat Ajax or that he and Vanessa won’t find each other at the end, etc. However, on the balance of things, are the stakes ever really real when we’re talking about a character who routinely breaks the fourth wall with absurdist repartee and observations, when said protagonist seems to literally be unable to die, and when his pals are a Russian metal giant and teenage capable of vast, explosive bursts of energy?

None of this is unusual in the comic book movie realm, nor should it be. We also know that stakes hinge less on the attainment of various victories than how those victories happen. We know that Wade and Vanessa will reunite and all will be well. We know that much of the film is essentially a showcase for Ryan Reynolds considerable comic chops and we also know that it is not out to be a game changer for the genre or the industry.

If I have a gripe and it’s only on reflection, it is that Wade Wilson/Deadpool can be exhausting. Say what I will about Downey’s Tony Stark often being a verbose, if eloquent and also witty, character; but he does take moments to breathe and doesn’t suck the air out of the room. Then, too, the object of Stark’s arc is different from Wade’s.

Which leads us, however briefly, to consider Deadpool’s place in the MCU. He is remarkably and refreshingly foulmouthed, he and Vanessa have sex and bone playfully and passionately, and the violence is, well, bloody and not lacking in a little body horror. A wee different from Disney or even Sony’s ideas about superheroes to date.

While Deadpool certainly signals a new franchise, Deadpool 2 shores up a solid argument for the franchise’s continuation. The sequel is, in one sense, merely more of the same; in another, it extends and enlarges the scope and dimension of what the first chapter established, filling out Collossus’ and Negasonic Teenage Warhead’s characters and leaning more into the X-Men universe, perhaps setting up the what and how of their entry into the MCU post-(Twentieth Century) Fox. The addition of Josh Brolin as Cable as a foil for Wade and as a solid character in his own right helps open the series. In some very crucial ways, the sequel is more limber than its predecessor, if burdened by more exposition and set-up.

Oh, and Domino. I love me some Domino. Yes, luck is a superpower.

Switching directors for the second installment was a sound move, as well, David Leitch’s directing from John Wick to Atomic Blonde and later onto Bullet Train, gave the sequel a pace and set-ups that improved on the first film’s. Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick returned with a similar script but one that pushed the established franchise and its characters forward. Given their work on both Zombieland films, this is no surprise but where those films are a set with a beginning, middle, and end, it’s obvious they understand the assignment here; establishing and grounding a cast of characters that is likely to find multiple entries in a series and just as likely, incorporation into other areas of the MCU.

It’s ludicrous, too, the amount of talent in the cast aside from Reynolds and Brolin. Morena Baccarin imbues Vanessa with a wit, worldweariness, and even hope to match Wade’s; the moments between Reynolds and Baccarin really make me want to see them try for other properties outside the Deadpoolverse. They honor a fine tradition dating back to Powell and Loy’s Nick and Nora Charles. Baccarin is also a strong enough presence to fuel the scenes she’s in to give Reynolds some space to play Wade as something other than a regressively silly fop. 

Stefan Kapcic’s voice work - and I presume motion-capture - is also effective. You really do a palpable sense of forlorn optimism about Deadpool coming around from him, as well as a genuine goodness. I hope that they do give him more to work with and more for us to see. Same with Brianna Hildebrand as NTW. I’ve seen a little of her work on Lucifer and while it’s great she’s got this role, I hope the plan is to give her more range to play with. 

About T.J. Miller, the less said, perhaps the better. Remarkably good as Weasel, it’s too bad that his transgressions in the outside world caused his removal from the project. But so it goes.

Both DP’s were/are terrific, too. Ken Seng for the first film caught the lightning in the bottle of what Reynolds was trying to accomplish here and understands comic timing to a tee. Each frame was well thought out and maximized a lead-up to a punchline, visual or verbal. Similarly, Jonathan Sela was able to do the same and brought a more (hyper)kinetic sensibility to the set-pieces and some almost beautiful compositions to the meetings of Wade and Vanessa in the afterlife. His work with David Leitch on the aforementioned films prepped him well for this (The Lost City,  not so much, but that’s very much a different story.)

With Shawn Levy taking over the reins for the third installment and Deadpool’s entry into the MCU, I’m holding out help that the man behind The Good Place and Free Guy will be able to take the series into a newer, fresher direction without losing sight of the subversion and not-so-edgy (really) “edge” that the franchise has established. 

I’m less concerned about Marvel or Feige Marvelizing Deadpool than Disney stripping the series of its rougher edges, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Deadpool 3 doesn’t fall short or outright tank.