Do you remember Wade Wilson’s PG-13 bullet-deflecting scene in X-men Origins? Yeah, not a drop of blood, not a single smear on his blades, not one bullet lodged in his torso. Some might say his slicin’ and dicin’ was so slick, it left no trace in its wake, but I’m not buying that and I’m sure most of you aren’t either. Incase you’re confused, that was the first cinematic Deadpool.
It might have been fine back then, you know, what with the kids lining up to watch their beloved Wolverine take on enemies, but it looked like Marvel decided to grow a pair and up the ante. And boy was that ante upped.
Introducing Deadpool, Ryan Reynold’s vendetta against a world that had relegated him to roles such as the eyesore that was Green Lantern, which came packed with enough laughs to send us all howling into the rafters. Let’s look back at this epic flick that had us rolling around clutching our gut as we join the queue lining up to watch Deadpool 2, in cinemas now.
A refreshing twist of fate
Up until February 2016, Marvel seemed to have been plateauing with its steady stream of formulaic mutant features. Since the turn of the century, and before Deadpool, we had seven X-men films, all mostly focused on the mutants’ struggle to get along with their human counterparts.
There was the original trilogy, a few origins films, older Xavier, younger Xavier (“McAvoy or Stewart? These timelines can get so confusing,” – Deadpool), but it was all pretty dated by the time Days of Future Past was released, leaving the producers scratching their heads wondering what on Earth they could possibly do next.
And they couldn’t have picked a better, more refreshing outtake on the mutant world than Wade Wilson’s sardonic adventures as one of the universe’s favourite anti-heroes; the man in the red suit, Deadpool (“I may be super, but I’m not a hero”).
Reynolds brings Pool to life
The question here is: Is Ryan Reynolds Deadpool in real life? Or is Deadpool Ryan Reynolds in real life? His portrayal was so seamless, so natural, it looked as though he was born to play the role. And nothing screams career revival louder than a film that even allowed him to self-deprecate while taking jibes at competing films in the franchise.
Reynolds was pretty much flawless, moving from scene to scene with his sharp blades and sharper tongue, slicing through enemies with a combination of wit and acrobatic combat, and yes, there was blood, and guts, and beheadings all over the place. It was gore galore, and the fans absolutely loved it.
He was so good, it might have left many fans wondering if it was all improv. In fact, co-writer Paul Wernick reportedly told the Holywood Reporter, “Our original screenplay was one page, and it just said ‘RYAN AD LIB.'” You laugh now, but maybe that isn’t one for the joke book!
Good on Ryan Reynolds, who has been through hell and back before posing as the Merc with the Mouth, saying, “For me, it has been an 11-year journey.
“It felt like a shitty relationship. We would be at the altar and then the wedding would be off and on and off, and then finally we did it.” Deadpool and Reynolds: a match made in heaven.
More than the laughs
The funny (ironic?) thing about Deadpool, is that beyond the comedy, it was also a pretty good story. Wade Wilson is a contracted hitman, working small jobs here and there to get by, before he falls in love with the dashing hooker Vanessa.
After randomly collapsing one day, he is diagnosed with advanced cancer in just about every inch of his body, which prompts him to take up an offer to undergo experimental treatment, which would not only cure him, but would also make him stronger with healing properties, but at the cost of completely disfiguring him. As Wilson says, indestructible and unfu**able.
Furious at his new look, Wilson takes up the alias Deadpool and seeks out the man that robbed him of his face to set the record straight.
Love story? Check. Vendetta? Check. Cheesy side characters that add fuel to the comic flame? Triple check.
Thanking the fans
As it turned out, producer Simon Kinberg played broker between the studio and the film’s production, reportedly telling Fox “I know what this looks like. I know it looks like a trainwreck, but it’s gonna be OK.”
But apparently, Kinberg isn’t the only one that deserves a vote of thanks for letting the world witness the marvellous marvel, the red crusader that has now become an entertainment icon. Had it not been for the fans, we probably would have had another tame, boring X-men film with no blood, and no guts, and absolutely no balls.
And Reynolds was quick to show his gratitude to the fans, saying: “Thank god for the Internet, and thank god for the fans. They pushed this movie over the hump.
“The studio, god bless them, didn’t understand it and didn’t believe in it, but the fans let them know that if they made this movie in a authentic way that the Deadpool fans would respect and love it.”
Yep, so to everyone who lobbied for this film to be made, great job, there’s a sequel now, and Deadpool is telling it as it is, because let’s face it a world without honesty is just another PG-13 X-men film.
Have you seen Deadpool 2 yet? Did you like it better than the first? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
