Deadpool & Wolverine

Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool. Hugh Jackman once again as Wolverine, despite claims that he was done with the character. Together on screen, finally... In correct costumed form!

While it was every Marvel fans dream to see comic book accurate versions of the Merc With a Mouth and Logan together on the silver screen, this wasn't my favorite Deadpool movie. That's because with Disney finally in charge of the two mutant properties, the reigns on Reynolds and Jackman were removed and they went into full berserker mode. 

Parents and guardians, you really shouldn't take a young child to a rated R movie. That being said, this is one R rated superhero film that no children under the age of 17 should be escorted to. The blood and violence was set to 11. There were so many F-words, I didn't know if Quentin Tarantino wrote the script or would have blushed at the shear volume. Lots of sexually graphic talk, especially from Deadpool. Though of the 3 movies in the franchise thus far, no nudity. 

'The material to be expected from a Deadpool movie,' is something you might say in regards to my alarm. However, I read a lot of Deadpool and a fair amount of X-Men stuff. No matter how many Explicit Material warnings Marvel might put on their edgier books, I've only encountered Wade Wilson or Wolverine using the F-bomb once each in comics and both were graphic novels and not monthly issues.  The level of violence; okay, I'll grant you that. But the sexual innuendo is way tamer even in comics rated Mature 

A lot has been made saying that Deadpool & Wolverine is a farewell letter to the FOX Universe of Marvel movies. I can agree to this and with the level of cameos surprises hidden in this roughly 2 hour film, I don't want to give away too much. Seeing the film just 5 days after the premiere, I am happy to say that there still were a few cameos and Easter eggs left that hadn't been ruined by social media. Be on the look out for a great sight gag that lambastes Rob Liefeld's inability to draw feet! Also, I will say that I wouldn't be surprised if you see some characters from FOX's ownership of movie rights return to the big screen because if anything, this movie basically ushered those films of the last 30 years into the Disney fold.

The TVA, Time Variance Authority, from Disney+'s Loki series plays a huge role in the movie. It's another one of those situations where you don't have to watch the 2 seasons of Loki to understand what's going on; but it helps. And I can definitively say without giving too much away: if you don't like the multiverse, then you will hate this movie. 

I don't mind the multiverse. In fact, I really enjoy Marvel's What If series. Deadpool & Wolverine doesn't just pay respect to the FOX Cinematic Universe of Marvel Movies; it also pays great tribute to the comics. Don't worry- the Wolverine who died in 2017's Logan is still dead. Though his body isn't resting peacefully, I can tell you that. Still, if you are the fan who's having trouble sleeping at night because Robert Downey Jr. is going to be playing a version of Tony Stark as Doctor Doom, it's probably best for you to watch something else.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Deadpool 2

The Merc with a Mouth returned to theaters this week and he took zero prisoners. Literally nothing was off topic in the latest R-rated film to feature the mutants of the Marvel Universe. Racism, sexuality, politics, DC Comics, and Rob Liefield were all roasted by Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool. 

Most of the cast from the original film were back for the sequel including Morena Baccarin as Vanessa, Karan Soni as cab driver Dopinder, and Brianna Hildebrand as the X-Man Negasonic Teenage Warhead. But there were some new members as well added to the mix as well. Josh Brolin, who seems to be having the Spring movie season of his life, played time traveler Cable and honestly, I liked his Cable way better than Thanos. 

But the new character who stole the film was Zazie Beetz, who portrayed the very lucky mutant Domino. She was smart, funny, and well, very lucky. She might have dethroned Jennifer Garner's Elektra as my on-screen superhero crush. I hope she'll be back for the likely sequel, which is rumored to be called X-Force.

This film is definitely not for kids. There's more violence, gore and maiming in the sequel. Not as much sex as in the first Deadpool, but just about as much nudity. The big thing that was amped up in this sequel were the F-bombs, while rival some Tarantino films. 

There's really not much more that I can review about this film without giving away some major spoilers and I try very hard not to ruin them. I will say that there are two extra scenes during the credits and despite the fact that he did film a cameo, I didn't see Stan Lee anywhere in this movie. No- I did not leave to go to the bathroom or snack bar. Either they cut his scene or he was in the background of a very busy action sequence and if you blink, you miss him.

In my opinion, of the 3 Marvel films already released this year, Deadpool 2 was my favorite. It was insane, action-packed, and while it had some very poignant SJW moments added in that normally make a lot of fans angry, I didn't feel like I was being preached at. And yet, I feel that the way I look at some things on social media have changed for the better thanks to this film.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Deadpool (2016 Film)

 Wade Wilson is a mercenary with a heart, that's trying to do some good in the world while making a little dough. He's got a super hot girlfriend and he just earned enough tickets to win that Voltron Defender ring he's been wanting for so long. Things are just starting to look up for the guy when he's diagnosed with really, really bad cancer.

    Hoping to spare his girl with the effects of the disease, Wade accepts an offer to enter a program that will cure his cancer along with blessing him with super powers and finally become the hero he's always dreamed of being. But he's actually being trapped into a medical program that seeks to turn him into the ultimate killing machine through enslavement, torture, and disfigurement. 

   When his lab jail is destroyed, Wade Wilson dies and the merc with a mouth, Deadpool arises like a phoenix from the ashes. Now cancer-free, nearly immortal, and just as indestructible,  the assassin seeks to find the man who turned him into a real-life Frankenstein- first to restore his 'good looks' and then kick his ass. But when the villain kidnaps his former girlfriend, Mrs. Wilson's baby boy is going to have to call in the big guns of X-Man Colossus to save the day.

    Deadpool is the superhero movie fans have been promised for so long and finally deserved. But it's not for kids. The film is rated R and it's a hard R at that. There's tons of sex, lots of nudity, decapitations and other general dismemberments galore, and more language than legally allowed by Captain America. But the film's also funny as hell.

    Ryan Reynolds is perfect as the Merc With a Mouth. And Gotham's Morena Baccarin is the perfect romantic foil to the leading man's smart-assed look at life. The villains of Ajax and Angel Dust played respectively by Game of Thrones' Ed Skrein and MMA superstar Gina Carino are excellent baddies that deserve what's coming to them. But the characters that steal the movie are of Colossus and his mutant apprentice, Negasonic Teenage Warhead played by newcomer Brianna Hildebrand.

   But while Colossus's fractured mastery of the English language was one of the highlights of the film, his appearance was a major detractor. The character, one of my all-time favorite X-Men behind only Nightcrawler, is voice by German actor Stefan Kapicic. But on screen, the mutant big man is 100% CGI. Sadly, the metal on the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz looked more realistic than the chrome on Colossus. 

    One thing this film got right was how they set up the story. First of all, it doesn't start off as an origin film. Most superhero movies begin with a build up that takes a good 45-minutes before the superhero main character finally appears. Not so here. You first glimpse Deadpool opening a can of whoop-ass on some baddies and then the film flip-flops from the past to the present, giving the viewer a good origin story but not without some outstanding action scenes in between. 

    Another thing one must understand is that this film is in no way a reboot of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. That Deadpool is as true as the one in this film. Events that occurred in X-Men: Days of Future Past created a tangent universe and this Deadpool is very cognizant of the change in continuity. 

   In the comics, Deadpool breaks the fourth wall and is very aware that he exists inside a comic book. That's the same case here as Reynolds' character makes allusions to his Wolverine movie existence as well as once being a certain Emerald Guardian in the DC Universe. But many of these jokes are subtle easter eggs and if you trek to the bathroom during the film, you'll miss tons...

   This is the beginning of a Deadpool movie franchise and with Reynolds as the star, I don't think it can fail. But as I said earlier, this is not a movie for kids. Last night, a single mom brought her son who couldn't have been older than 7 and she stormed out a half hour into the movie. It's a nearly NC-17 rated film folks, don't take your kids to see this, folks! 

   But for you, the dedicated mature super-hero fan, don't you go skipping this movie to go see Zootopia! This is the movie you've been asking for for decades. Enjoy it (and shower afterward...) Disney didn't get their hands on this character and for once, I am glad they didn't. But your favorite mutants, while often screwed over by Marvel in the comics now, thanks to mean ol' Mickey Mouse, can only truly be themselves under the leadership of FOX. So don't let them slip back into the fold of the House of Mouse! Go see this movie!!!

   Support Your Local Mutants! Wade Wilson might personally thank you- I know I will!!!

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.