Face-Off: Deadpool vs. Deadpool 2

Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson/Deadpool
Morena Baccarin as Vanessa
T.J. Miller as Weasel
Ed Skrein as Francis/Ajax
Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead
Stefan Kapicic as Colossus
Gina Carano as Angel Dust
Karan Soni as Dopinder
Leslie Uggams as Blind Al

While everyone is bestowing much of the praise for DEADPOOL's success on Ryan Reynolds for inhabiting the role and the writers for bringing out his voice, just as much credit needs to go to director Tim Miller for working within the confines of a small budget (for a mainstream comic book movie) to effectively showcase all of the leading character's many, many gorgeous talents. As for that budget,  the team didn't have as much to work with compared to their other X-Men pals, but Miller makes it work by filming all around the key, small action set pieces to give them their own distinct Deadpool flavor. Take the bridge piece for instance. A rather small location for a crash-em-up, shoot-em-up set piece, but thanks to Miller's ingenuity and understanding of the character he gives it serious breadth and style by switching things up as the kills and moments progress. Given how much time is spent on the road, Miller almost makes it feel like a play, making use of every angle, spot and the characters within it. Same goes for lots of scenes in the movie, like the "medical facility" where DP is tortured, the shipping yard, etc. But what really makes these scenes work, as well as any other featuring the lead character, is he makes up for lack of budget with Reynolds himself. Moreso than in the sequel, there are scenes where not much is going on so Miller just lingers on his leading man as he steps into Pool's disease-ridden shoes and just becomes the character. That's just as entertaining as any expensive set piece, and a testament to a director with a true understanding of the character, the movie they were making and how to do more with less.

To give you just a taste of how long this first movie was in some stage of development, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick were brought on to write the script for DEADPOOL back in 2010. Through production halts and nigh-hopelessness, they persevered as real heroes do, and constantly updated the script up until it was finally made. With a smaller production budget that continued to shrink even as pre-production was kicking off, the writers (working closely with Reynolds) used that as an opportunity to focus more on the character, his journey, and find clever ways to work around action, as well as fun ways to include X-Men characters like Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead. This focus on the title character and his struggle to be cured of his powers and disfigurement, all so he can try and get back with the woman he loves, give the movie a sweet, heartfelt, nougaty center. As foul-mouthed and deranged as DP is there's an emotional core that drives him. Putting all that stuff aside for a minute, the movie is just endlessly, constantly hysterical and the writers found hilarious, sometimes shocking ways of subverting the genre and carving out this movie's own place within the crowded superhero slate. There is a seemingly limitless supply of meta jokes they came up with that poke fun at the genre and pop culture as a whole, including the lead actor himself, bringing to life that self-aware, irreverent humor Deadpool comic fans know and cherish. All in all, this script is as tight as Deadpool in those jammies of his, pairing a story that showcases the heart underneath the ugly, avocado-esque exterior with the foulest mouth in the superhero world (move over, Groot).

Ryan Reynolds had this character in his blood and bones for well over a decade before cameras started rolling, and in that time had gotten to know the character inside and out. On top of that knowledge, he's just a perfect fit for the role, proving insanely funny as both in movies and real life, having the same kind of playful, almost cartoonish sense of humor his character does. There's a sweetness to him as well that makes Pool so relatable, and if you take that big gumbo of qualities you have the perfect actor to bring the Merc With a Mouth to life. He so effortlessly exudes the character's absurd silliness and quick transitions into firey, blood-soaked rage, and also fires off profanities as if his first words were "cock" and "sucker".  But that sweetness does shine through in buckets, and the charming side of him comes through when he's near Vanessa, the only person who can tear his guarded walls down and bring out the man he really is. That chemistry he has with her really sold his performance beyond the F-bombs and further proves why he belongs among the ranks of Christopher Reeve, Robert Downey Jr. and a certain Australian dude who got lucky as an actor who may well be the best person to ever put on a beloved character's costume.

Bits:

Opening Credits

First Wall Break

Vehicular Takedown

12-Bullet Takedown

Wade at Work

Wade and Vanessa

Happy Holidays

The Gasp

Deadpool "vs." Colossus

Arm Chop!

Wade's Transformation

Fire Fighters

Superhero Montage

Big Al

X-Team Assembled

Superhero Landing

Colossus Down; Negasonic Unleashed

DP in Action

Colossus vs. Angel

DP vs. Francis

Cartoon Character's On the Brain

DP Makes His Choice

Hugh Jackman Mask

Lovers Reunited

Bueller End Credits

Lines:

Deadpool: "Tell me where your fucking boss is or you're going to die! In five minutes!"

—–

Deadpool: You're probably thinking, "Whose balls did I have to fondle to get my very own movie"? I can't tell you his name, but it rhymes with "Polverine." And let me tell you, he's got a nice pair of smooth criminals down under."

—–

Deadpool: "Time to make the chimi-fuckin'-changas."

—–

Wade: "I had another Liam Neeson nightmare. I kidnapped his daughter and he just wasn't having it. They made three of those movies. At some point you have to wonder if he's just a bad parent."

—–

Deadpool: "Looks ARE everything! Ever heard Dave Beckham speak? It's like he mouth-sexed a can of helium. You think Ryan Reynolds got this far on a superior acting method?"

—–

Deadpool: "I'm gonna wait out here, okay? It's a big house. It's funny that I only ever see two of you. It's almost like the studio couldn't afford another X-Man."

—–

Deadpool: "Finish fucking her the fuck up!"
Colossus: "Language, please."
Deadpool: "Suck a cock!"

—–

Deadpool: "You're probably thinking, "My boyfriend said this was a superhero movie but that guy in the suit just turned that other guy into a fucking kabab!"

—–

Deadpool: "Ripley, from Alien 3!"
Negasonic Teenage Warhead: "Fuck, you're old."
Deadpool: "Fake laugh. Hiding real pain. Go get Silver Balls."

—–

Colossus: You will come talk with Professor Xavier.
Deadpool: McAvoy or Stewart? These timelines can get so confusing.

—–

Deadpool: "All dinosaurs feared the T-Rex!"

—–

Weasel: "You look like an avocado had sex with an older, more disgusting avocado…Not gently. Like it was hate-fucking. There was something wrong with the relationship and that was the only catharsis that they could find without violence."

—–

Deadpool: "Maximum effort."

—–

Deadpool: "Wait! You may be wondering, "Why the red suit?" Well, that's so bad guys can't see me bleed…This guy's got the right idea. he wore the brown pants."

—–

Deadpool: Bad Deadpool! [shoots guy] Good Deadpool.

—–

Recruiter: What if I told you we can cure your cancer? And what's more, give you abilities most mean only dream of?
Wade: I'd say that you sound like an infomercial, but not a good one, like Slap Chop. More Shake Weight-y.

—–

Wade: "Your right leg is Thanksgiving and your left leg is Christmas. Can I come and visit you between the holidays?"

—–

Deadpool: [unknowingly grabbing Colossus' junk] "Dad?"

From the very first moment we see Deadpool, with him messing around in the back of Dopinder's cab to one of the final moments with a picture of Hugh Jackman stapled to his face, this movie is miraculosuly always funny thanks to the title character. Dishing out a buffet of one-liners that work as either witty observations, hysterical references or just wild crassness, everything out of his mouth is wildly hilarious from start to finish. Immense shout outs go to the writers and Reynolds who go balls out with the humor, never being afraid to be completely politically incorrect or deranged. You can throw a pebble and hit a classic line in this movie that will be quoted until the end of days. A big reason for this goes back to points I've made before, which is that the entirety of the movie rests on its greatest weapon — Deadpool himself. Just put the camera in front of Reynolds and let him work and you'll get something hysterical out of it. The way he moves and interacts with things is almost as funny as the lines themselves, and it's no wonder this movie — and the sequel — are two of the most endlessly entertaining movies in the genre.

The first DEADPOOL had a lower budget, a move planned by Fox given that a movie like this had never really been done before on this scale. This meant some less-polished CG work and action scenes restircted to some simple locations, but as said before, Tim Miller made it work wonderfully. The action is slick and Deadpool moves like the least-silent but most badass ninja who ever lived, slicing and dicing and bathing in the blood of his victims — no matter their race, sex or cultural background. But this outing is more about the character than the action and gore, even if it does embrace as much of both of those as it can. 

Awards:

Golden Globes:

Nominee:

• Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
• Best Actor, Motion Picture Musical or Comedy – Ryan Reynolds

Golden Schmoes:

Winner:

• Favorite Movie
• Best Screenplay : Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick
• Best Comedy
• Biggest Surprise
• Best Actor: Ryan Reynolds
• Coolest Character: Ryan Reynolds

Nominee:

• Most Overrated Movie
• Best Music
• Favorite Movie Poster
• Best DVD/Blu-ray
• Best Action Scene: "Highway Shootout"
• Most Memorable Scene: Opening Sequence
• Best Trailer
• Best Line: "Time to make the chimi-fucking-changas

**Another 22 Wins & 66 Nominations per IMDb**

 

Praise:

Rotten Tomatoes: 84% (90% Audience Score)

Metacritic: 65 (8.1 Audience)

IMDb: 8.0

 

Money:

$363 million ($783 million globally)

As Deadpool says near the beginning of the movie while a man is impaled on his katanas: This is a love story. Wade Wilson, a mercenary with a big mouth (Ooooh, that's where they get it) finds a woman, Vanessa, who can match him in the wit, charm, sex and depravity arenas. Their relationship is pure and relatable even as they have sex on top of a turkey dinner, and Reynolds and Baccarin have an undeniable chemistry that could put a smile on the most stone-hearted individual. It's easy to forget this underneath the crude gags and splashes of blood, but truly, what moves this movie forward it's Wade's undying love for Vanessa, and his whole arc is built around trying to cure himself so he can get back to her, thinking she won't love him given what he's become. While laced with some monster movie elements and placed in a debaucherous action flick, the core of the movie is pure rom-com, with the protagonist afraid the perfect woman won't love him for what's on the surface, but in the end she tells him none of that matters, and that his filthy mind and big heart are what she fell in love with it. It's basically JERRY MAGUIRE, but with a few more dick jokes.

Tom Holkenberg a.k.a. Junkie XL (or is it the other way around?) was brought on to work on the score just when he was starting to break into the mainstream thanks to movies like MAD MAX: FURY ROAD. Deadpool is a character known for pop culture references that pull from decades past, namely the 80s, and particularly enjoys music from the era like Wham!, so XL took that into account and created a synth-heavy score that pulls from the decade but feels incredibly fresh and exhilarating. Primarily, the pieces highlight the manic energy and fast-paced action and personality of the character, such as the "Twelve Bullets" piece that plays during the highway shootout. But then you have the grand, sweeping orchestration pieces which XL says are meant to pay homage to the music from past X-Men movies, as a way of showing that this movie comes from a long line of mutant movies. Overall, XL has been likened to modern Hans Zimmer music for his use of heavy, unrelenting percussions and tones, but this is perhaps his most fun score to listen to, given how he tried to relate the score back to the title character.