Monday, February 15, 2016

Steve Goes To The Movies: Move Over, Michael Keaton!

Never before were such an actor and such a character made for each other. Wade Winston Wilson a/k/a Deadpool, The Merc With A Mouth, and Ryan Reynolds, the actor who plays him for a second time (after X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE) in the appropriately titled DEADPOOL, bring out the best in each other,and while 'pool himself explains in the best line in the entire movie, "I may be super, but I ain't no hero," everybody involved in this decidedly mature outing from producers Simon Kinberg, Reynolds, and Lauren Shuler Donner, writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, director Tim Miller, and executive producer Stan (The Man) Lee (who has a bit part as an MC at an adult nightclub, much to the likely chagrin of his compadres at Disney) has combined to produce a very heroic combination of physical comedy and supercharged fantasy drama, decidedly NOT for the young 'uns. (THEY can check out MARVEL ULTIMATE DEADPOOL, a special ALL AGES adaptation of his recently storyline on the ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN animated TV series.) 'Pool made his stellar debut in a NEW MUTANTS story by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefield as a villain and was remade into an antihero for his own book. It will be an even LONGER time before they drop the "anti-," believe me!

As our story opens, Wade is a merc dedicated to protecting teenage girls from stalkers. He meets escort Vanessa Carlysle (Morena Baccarin) at a local bar and they spend a year together until Wade proposes. After he collapses, Wade is diagnosed with terminal cancer and fears losing his love. He is recruited to join a special super hero squad and is injected with a special serum that renders him immortal. (That's "IMMORTAL," although his dialogue may prove otherwise.) Eventually, he becomes the masked vigilante Deadpool and moves into the hut of a blind woman named Al (Leslie Uggams), the Robin to his Batman, although the Caped Crusader, no matter how unorthodox Jim Gordon may find his methods, has never kicked posterior quite like this.

Some images may be gruesome and some dialogue may be offensive, (I tolerated it.) but, trust me on this, if this doesn't become the first Marvel-oriented movie to get at least one of the major Oscar nominations in 2017, there is absolutely no justice left in this world.

If I were down to my last and had to choose between this movie or a sandwich, I'd take DEADPOOL with an ice-cold can of whoopin'!

Steve out!

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