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| Edited By: Bryan Durham |Source: DNA |Updated: Feb 12, 2016, 03:25 PM IST
Movie: Deadpool
Director: Tim Miller
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrien, Gina Carano, Brianna Hildebrand, TJ Miller
Rating: ****
I'm not going to lie to you. This isn't a superhero film. Sure, the main man here is in the business of offing bad guys, but he's got a heart. Sure explains releasing this film on Valentine's weekend. So, along with this being an action/superhero (misnomer, but hey!) film, it's also a love story. He gets the wrong end of a cancer-cure deal and turns butt-ugly. But the upside is he can't and won't die. Also, he won't shut up. Bad for the bad guys. Good for us.
See, here's the thing. There's a reason Wade Wilson aka Deadpool is also known as the 'Merc With A Mouth'. There's a reason this film has an 'Adults Only' rating, despite seven cuts. And sure, the several trailers you've already seen in the lead-up to the ticket window, would have featured some of the best bits of the film... but here's the 'bone': There's more!
Right from the word go, as the opening credits roll (don't miss!), this film doesn't take itself seriously. And it makes the experience all the more better for it. And as you chuckle and point to the screen and chuckle some more as you annoyingly go 'Get it? Get it?' at your movie companion, as you instantly get the in-jokes and the self-deprecatory humour, the movie starts.
One is introduced to mercenary-for-hire (and former secret-ops operative) Wade Wilson, played by Ryan Reynolds, in full Deadpool gear, sitting in the back of a taxi, driven by one Dopinder (who has 99 problems and a b***h is one) playing sorrowful old Bollywood hits. 'Pool makes small talk and proceeds to dispatch a car full of villains without breaking into a sweat. Flashbacks and forths follow and you get acquainted with Wade's friend Weasel (TJ Miller), girlfriend, Vanessa (Baccarin), the cancer-cure salesman 'Smith', his arch-nemesis Ajax/Francis (Skrien), Ajax's assistant Angel (MMA fighter Carano), and a couple of X-Men members Colossus and his ward, Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Hildebrand). If I missed anyone out, well, too bad. I'm not making an acceptance speech here.
Well, long story short, Wilson's out for blood and wants Ajax/'What's my name' Francis to 'cure' him so he can live happily ever after with Vanessa. Except, this is an origin story. And you can be sure there will be several pile-ups, decapitations, explosions, tortures, mutilations, racist and sexist gags, and gratuitous nudity (which you won't be offended by, because you won't see it anyway... thank you Censor Board!) before that happens. And yeah, those 'scenes' that got cut? They'll make those 50 Shades of Boring couple blush.
Deadpool doesn't just take on the villains, he even takes on the superhero franchises in general. Nobody is spared. Ryan lives the part and result is pure hilarity. He smashes the fourth wall with such consummate ease, you might as well be a participant in his story. Brilliant move!
If you've been a Marvel fan, you'll know they create a for-mature-audiences-only brand of comic books as well, and as far as their Cinematic Universe goes, you need something like this movie to shake us up and change the realms of what we consider acceptable. It's heartening to see something where practically anything goes. Literally anything.
Most will take issue with this being a "love story" and not so much that it's told by a foul-mouth. To them I'd like to say, get past that. There's so much more to enjoy here.
I'd recommend this movie to anyone, disclaimers notwithstanding (no kids, and maybe... girlfriends with a really formidable sense of humour?), as something that's so entertaining you won't just watch from start to end (the end credits are hilarious, too) but even sit back for the right-at-the-end credits (that Marvel is notorious for). How often can you say that about any film? And then watch it twice after, to make sure you didn't miss any of the dialogues or gags. I know I will.
