Movie Review | Deadpool

All great love stories begin the same way:  boy meets girl, they bond emotionally, and boy is subjected to dangerous medical experiments.  Okay, not all love stories begin that way, but this one does. 

Deadpool is a 2016 action-comedy film based on the titular Marvel character.  Detailing his origin story, the audience is introduced to Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) in the months leading up to his transformation.  We see him work, fall in love, propose, and develop terminal cancer.  Desperate for a cure, Wade volunteers for a program designed to create mutants; the catch is he’ll be subjected to extreme pain.  Run by the dastardly Ajax (aka Francis, Ed Skrein), the program gives Wade Logan-level healing, but disfigures his skin.  Angered and driven by unyielding desire, Wade is out to kill Francis, and find a cure for his disfigurement.

This was a film I dreaded re-watching.  While I enjoyed it in theaters, as time progressed I feared subsequent viewings would temper my enjoyment and kill the film.  While not that extreme, I didn’t laugh as much this time around.  Some jokes drew simple chuckles, while others a head-tilt.  That said, there are several moments where the humor works perfectly, and I genuinely laughed; Wade’s bridge fight with Colossus and the Minion offing montage are great examples.

The action scenes were executed competently, and at times complement the comedy.  Other than a handful of rubbery moments the special effects look great, especially Colossus.  While I still prefer the use of practical suits when possible, his superb rendering receives my stamp of approval.  What makes this feat more impressive is that Deadpool was produced for approximately $58 million, which is tiny compared to other comic book films; most Marvel Cinematic Universe films cost over $150 million.

Like with the X-men films, the acting is decent all around.  Ed Skrein is fine as Francis; he doesn’t stand-out when compared to other comic book film villains, but he serves the film's purpose.  He’s evil enough without being overblown or underdone.   Morena Baccarin works well in her scenes, and she has an interesting chemistry with Reynolds; makes their characters relationship stand-out.  TJ Miller is ok as Wade’s friend Weasel, serving as the subdued half of the friendship.  While not a deep performance, Brianna Hildebrand is perfect as Negasonic, striking the correct balance of teenage smug and joy; she also has a decent back-and-forth with Reynolds. 

Speaking of which, Ryan Reynolds gives the films best performance.  His passion for the character and film are evident every second he’s on screen.  While not the best actor—a fact the film pokes fun at—Reynolds has great comedic timing and his vocal inflections were spot on, especially once he’s put on the mask.  He also has great chemistry with his co-stars, to varying degrees.  While another actor could have played Wade, the film wouldn’t have been the same; heck, it might not have even been made if it weren’t for Reynolds passion and connection with the fans.  For that, he deserves a 21-chimichanga salute.

Tom Holkenborg’s score was decent.  No pieces instantly pop into my head, but they served the scenes.  What dazzled me auditorily was the use of popular music.  While not worked in as perfectly as Starlord’s mixed tape, the songs serve the film well, although the only tune that jumps into my head is “Careless Whisper.”  Thank you Seether for the cover.

While its luster has somewhat faded, Deadpool is still an entertaining film, carried by a lead whose heart is in the project.  While the sequel was better overall, it was a decent first step forward; once two hits home video I see a double feature in my future.  3.5 out of 5 chimichangas.

First Impressions | Deadpool 2

I have a confession to make:  I had never heard of Deadpool until I saw X-men Origins Wolverine in theaters.  As such, I was outside the outrage bubble when the plot twist first played out.  Since then I’ve done proper research and  completely understand the backlash.  That said, like many of my fellow film and comic fans, I was giddy when Fox gave the greenlight for a Deadpool film.  Not only would it give the character’s fans what they’ve been clamoring for, but it would redeem Origin’s misfire.  While I haven’t revisited the first film as of this writing, I remember enjoying it in the theater.  The action was decent and the humor had me rolling at times, but part of the end didn’t fully click with me.  I’ll go more into this when I revisit part one. 

            Third act criticism aside, I enthusiastically awaited the sequel.  My enthusiasm was rewarded.  Deadpool 2 is not only an excellent comic book film sequel, it is one of those rare sequels that surpasses its predecessor in every way. 

Picking up where the first film left off, Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) continues to work as a freelance mercenary while enjoying his relationship with Vanessa (Morena Baccarin).  Things take a dark turn when their home is invaded and Vanessa ends up dead.  Deadpool kills the assassin, but the action does nothing to abate his morose mindset.  He joins the X-men to see if fellow heroes can help, but ends up in a mutant detention center after killing am abusive orphanage worker.  This is where Cable, a mutant from the future, enters the story.  His family was killed by Russell Collins—Deadpool’s cellmate and the orphan he was attempting to aid—so Cable travels through time to kill Collins and prevent his family’s fate.  While a mercenary, Deadpool is not cool with the slaughter of children and puts himself between the two.  It is now up to Deadpool—with the aid of his team, X-force—to save Collins from Cable’s wrath while attempting to prevent the child’s dark future from flaming.

Every aspect of the film was on-point.  The humor is what one would expect from a Deadpool film, but the timing and nuance is improved from the first film; I can see more of the jokes aging well.  From what I’ve gathered Deadpool 2 had double the budget of the originally, allowing the crew to step up the action and special effects.  Both deliver and compliment the film’s story; one draws the audience in and the other wows them with spectacle.  There were a few moments where the CGI was shaky, but not distractingly so. 

            The cast was wonderful.  Reynolds—the heart of this series—amazed once again as the Merc with the Mouth.  It’s evident from his body language and vocal inflections he enjoys playing Wade, and his enthusiasm helps the audience investment in the film.  His dramatic timing is better this go-around, which helps that aspect of the plot.  Josh Brolin was the perfect choice to play Cable.  While I’m mainly familiar with him from the Deadpool game, the film gives enough information for one to understand who he is and what drives him.  While the antagonist, the audience understands why Cable is attempting to murder a child, even if they don’t condone the action.  His character arc truly begins during act 3, where he must work with Deadpool to reach a compromise.  Without giving spoilers, he makes a character defining choice. There was a Thanos joke, but it’s blink and you’ll miss it and Cable no-sells the quip. 

Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Brianna Hildebrand, and Leslie Uggams reprise their supporting roles, each using his or her time well.  Outside the obvious, the only major subplot here is the revelation that Negasonic is gay, and it’s handled respectfully; who doesn’t love Yukio.  Zazie Beetz is great as lucky merc Domino, handling herself well in the action scenes and having a fun back-and-forth with Reynolds at times.  While the weakest of the supporting cast, Julian Dennison gives a decent performance, getting his character’s plight across and helping carry the plot forward.  It’s hard to say from one viewing if he’s better angry or sympathetic.  Bill Skarsgard plays the acid-spitting member of X-force, a cameo I didn’t notice at first.  He’s ok here, but I didn’t realize how lanky he was until now.  Brad Pitt also has a cameo, one I won’t spoil for those who haven’t seen the film.

            The film’s first post-credit sequence might turn some fans off.  Without giving much away with spoilers, it involves Deadpool using time travel.  While it doesn’t take much imagination to guess what Wade plans on doing, it will impact Deadpool 3, and from a certain point of view makes aspects of this film pointless.   While it does not bother me personally—especially since it falls in line with Wade’s character—I can see why others might not feel the same.

           Like or hate the first film, this is a Marvel film everyone should watch.  The humor and action are spot on, and enough drama and conflict is sprinkled within to keep one invested.  While I enjoyed Infinity War, this one I liked better, as it’s balanced perfectly. 4 out of 5 swords.  

First Impressions | Avengers Infinity War

While it has its highs and lows, I consider myself a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Like many of my fellow fans, my anticipation grew as Phase One’s end grew closer, watching each film in theaters.  This anticipation grew further when The Avengers premiered.  While not perfect, it was a satisfying end to Phase One, and its mid-credits scene perfectly set up future story arcs.  That scene gave us the first film appearance of the mad Titan, Thanos.  While I had no idea who he was at first, a quick google search was enlightening.  This peaked my interest, which continued to grow as Phase Two and Phase Three moved forward.  While his on-screen appearances were brief, Thanos (Josh Brolin) hung over the MCU like a rain cloud, waiting for the precise moment to burst.  That moment has come with Avengers Infinity Wars.  

As the title suggests, the film’s plot focuses on the Infinity Stones, McGuffin’s introduced during Phase One and elaborated on during Phase Two.  Thanos’ goal is to collect all six stones and place them in his Infinity Gauntlet, which would give him the power to balance the universe.  It is up to both the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy to thwart Thanos, but not everything goes as planned.  Battles are fought, stones are collected, and a smile grows.

            How did I enjoy the film overall?  While it might be too early to say for certain, I enjoyed it and Age of Ultron roughly equally, and it was a step up from Civil War.  Of those two, the latter makes a better comparison, as both films were directed by the Russo’s and are “Cross-overs.”  While enjoyable, Civil War felt off at times both dramatically and thematically.  I get what Marvel and the Russo’s intended, but their execution needed improvement; I still question the logic of putting General Ross on the presidential cabinet, to the point where it has become a personal joke.  With Infinity War, not only do I understand what the filmmakers intended, but I agree with the execution.  I personally would have made the film darker at points, I’ve long since made my peace with Disney and Darkness.

            Like Civil War, one worry I had was how Infinity War would handle its large cast of characters.  While the MCU has handled it well to varying degrees, even previous Avenger’s films hadn’t contained a main cast this large.  That said, the film balances its ensemble cast well; not one feels short-changed.  While some are more important to the plot than others and thus have more screen time, it didn’t bother me.  I expected this to be the case; my only question was who would be shortchanged.  Sadly, Hawkeye and Antman were nowhere to be seen.  While the latter’s sequel is probably taking place parallel to Infinity Wars, Hawkeye’s absence is odd.  He has a family, so one would assume he’d be in to take down an antagonist who threatens their existence.  Perhaps the Russo’s couldn’t figure out how to squeeze him in without seeming forced or wasteful.  Either way, hopefully he’ll be in the sequel, especially if the ending personally impacted him.  Loki was also presented well.  I feared Marvel would make his recent development pointless, but thankfully that worry was moot.  Without spoilers, Loki was handled respectfully.

            Like most of the post-Disney films, there is plenty of humor.  While this has turned off some to recent entries—as an aside Thor Ragnarok had several funny moments that could have been cut to help the drama—here it isn’t intrusive.  While Thanos does hang over the cast, the humor is derived from character interaction:  friendly bickering, planning and the occasional one-liner.  The cast’s great acting helps sell these moments; if anyone fell flat, a moment would fail.  The interactions provide plenty of drama, which is a foil to the humor and helps the main plot progress.  Of the new interactions if I had to choose a favorite it’d be Thor, Rocket and Groot.  While an odd pairing, the two had me smiling wide during their scenes, especially since Thor can understand Groot.

            How does the film treat Thanos?  While it can be said one of the MCU’s shortcomings is its villains, Thanos does not fall victim to that “curse.”  From the opening scene, the audience is made aware of just how threatening the mad Titan is.  While before he’d simply been talked up, when one can take out both Thor and the Hulk in single combat one’s high threat level is assured.  This threat level continues to rise as Thanos collects the Infinity Stones, this goal putting him into direct combat with our heroes.  While he only directly takes part in two battles, both effectively show off his strength and cunning.  While it will sadden some comic fans, Lady Death is nowhere to be seen, as is her part in Thanos’ motivation.  Despite this, the Titan’s reason to collect the Stones is logical:  he wishes to balance the universe by instantaneously cutting its population in half.  This is where the film becomes allegorical, as overpopulation is problem humanity will have to address over the next several centuries.  Thanos foresaw it would become a problem on Titan, but no one listened to him and the civilization eventually collapsed from lack of resources.  Thanos does not want this to happen on a universal scale, enter the Infinity Gauntlet.  While the plan is grandiose and mad, one can understand Thanos.  While he is killing millions of beings, the Titan believes he’s doing so for the greater good.  As Star Trek worded it, “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”

            In addition to his plan, the audience sees another side of Thanos, brought about thru his interactions with Gamora.  While he called her his “Favorite daughter” in Guardians of the Galaxy, until now the line had no context.  Here, we see Thanos interact with grown Gamora after he acquires the Reality Stone and child Gamora via a flashback.  The Titan might be harsh and his universal plan dark, but he lives his daughter like any father would; there’s even a “boyfriend meets father” moment, which is our first insight into this side of Thanos.  While touching, this love causes internal conflict for Thanos during his search for the Soul Stone, the only Infinity Stone with no recorded history.  To acquire the stone, Thanos must sacrifice someone he loves, and he only loves his favorite daughter.  Begrudgingly Thanos sacrifices Gamora for the stone, a soul for a soul.  The Titan gains power, but internally he hurts, the act having torn his heart asunder.  While the word doesn’t describe Thanos one-hundred percent, this is the closest the Titan comes to being a sympathetic figure, one worthy of a Shakespearean tragedy.  It also makes Starlord’s actions when he discovers this information understandable, even if undermines the grand plan.

            The action scenes are shot competently.  While there were some moments of shaky-cam, the Russo’s dialed it back when compared to their Captain America films, saving it battlefield tracking shots.  The special effects are amazing, as always with the MCU; with how much each entry costs to produce they have no excuse not to be. The only personal complaint I have is that two of Thanos’ new children could have been brought to life with make-up rather than motion capture; it’s simply my preference when possible.    

            The hardest element to address without major spoilers is the ending.  It should be no surprise that Thanos ends up winning, even if one has not read the source comic (raises hand).  To that end, many of the main cast end up vanishing into dust, the scene feeding off the audience’s emotional ties to the characters.  We feel a sense of loss as they crumble, spurred on by the reactions of those around them.  While I knew it was coming, two parts of the scene still moved me deeply:  the deaths of Groot and Peter.  The former I didn’t expect to die again so quickly.  The latter arises from how the scene was blocked, acted and edited; for those who have seen the film, you know what I mean.  The film ends with a cliffhanger, fading to black before the credits.  At least one member of the audience I was with was shocked by this, as he yelled “What the fuck” as the credits began rolling.  While I smirked, it shows not everyone had the same expectations for the denouement.  Speaking of which, I know not everyone will feel the ending—I know one of my contemporaries falls into this category—but I understand why.  Marvel Studios ruined part of the impact with a handful of its announced future films.  While knowledge of the comics could have caused this same feeling, it wouldn’t be to the same degree.  Future viewings could have also tempered the impact, but I’d prefer retroactive tempering to in the moment tempering; at least retroactively one can still feel in the moment, especially when marathoning a series.
           While it hadn’t crossed my mind originally, one theory I’ve seen floating online involves Iron Man’s survival.  As his life is traded for the Time Stone, Thanos spares him.  At first glance, this appears odd, but since Dr. Strange had looked at possible outcomes with the stone and found only one where they prevailed, it’s not a stretch to presume Tony had to survive the encounter for this to occur.  This raises a question of why fight on Titan at all?  Well, the good doctor never stated they won there, only that they won overall.  After handing the stone over, he even admitted they were now in the endgame.  Filmgoers will have to wait for the next Avengers film to discover if this element was a red herring; if not, I wonder how it’ll play out.  

            Overall, Infinity Wars is a great film.  While it throws dozens of characters at the audience, none feel lost in the shuffle.  While Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 is still my favorite entry of Phase 3, this is easily number two, as it balances its humor and drama well, even if one theme was slightly neutered (Thanks Kevin).

Comic Review | Darth Vader # 9

Greetings fellow Star Wars fans, it is I, MAR.  Another Vader issue has dropped, and I can safely say I called the fight.

                When last we left the temple, Jocasta Nu had given into her irritation, making her presence known to the Grand Inquisitor, who she now holds at Saber point.  The two exchange banter, with the Inquisitor revealing to Jocasta that he is a former Jedi and that he now serves the Emperor.  Before the archivist can deliver a blow, he activates his weapon, instigating a duel.  While it only lasts four pages, we gain some insight into Grand’s mind.  He despises the Jedi Order, as he never felt comfortable with them or their interpretation of the Force.  In his words, “I always felt that something was being denied me.  Now, at last, that void has been filled with the purity of the Dark Side.”   We also learn that Grand has a personal vendetta against Jocasta, as he loathed her for repeatedly denying his achieve requests, even though it was her job.  

As expected, the Grand Inquisitor easily wins the duel, but his follow-up is interrupted by Darth Vader.  As we learned several issues back, The Emperor wants Jocasta alive, for the time being, a wish he only disclosed to his apprentice.  Without this knowledge, the Inquisitor questions Vader’s rationale and loyalty, logical given his perspective.  The Sith simply brushes him off, his words punctuating their superior-subordinate relationship.  “I do not require your trust, Grand Inquisitor.  Only your obedience.”  Jocasta manages to escape, but like a slasher-movie villain, Vader tails her.   The archivist manages to fully wipe the archive memory, a move which will make future comics and novels interesting, especially when it comes to Luke’s post-ROTJ search.  

Speaking of interesting, the droid that greeting Jocasta in issue 08 plays a pivotal role information wise.  Equipped with scanners, he recognizes Vader’s signature, referring to the former-Jedi by his true name. This revelation rightly worries Jocasta.  As a Knight, Anakin was powerful; as a Sith, he could—and would—be even more so.  With controlled fury, the Sith Lord dismantles the droid by hand; while I’m sure Force Grip could have sufficed, considering the droid countered saber throw, Vader is being cautious.  Before he reaches Jocasta, a large plasma blast fires his way.  Although he deflects, the energies momentum knocks the Sith Lord off his feet.  The blasts source?  A large rife Jocasta was custodian off, one that feeds off her lightsaber, and by extension, her Kyber Crystal.  While I was certain Vader would have an easy time defeating Jocasta, as he outclasses her with both the Force and Lightsaber combat, now I’m not so certain.  While we know the Sith will survive this encounter, the outcome is still hazy.  Jocasta could still escape, although I believe she will be captured or killed.















Issue #9 was excellent.  While the pace was quick at several points—necessitating the use of many panels—the story wasn’t shortchanged.  Although minor, Grand’s character development was intriguing, and part of me wonders if he’ll end up killing Jocasta before Vader captures her.  If so, I know the Emperor’s reaction will be classic.