Gautam Anand
‘Deadpool’ starts with a scene of our superhero Deadpool sitting in a decrepit taxi driven by an Indian taxi-driver, who is listening to a popular old Hindi song “mera juta hai japaani” (the same song was also used in ‘Gravity’). It is a scene that doesn’t quite belong to a superhero film. Why, you may ask ? Because, it is hilariously funny in the most charmingly offensive way — when did superheroes start taking taxis ? — especially, when you come to know later that Deadpool is actually going to a fight-scene on that taxi. This opening scene and not to mention the cheeky title credits perfectly set up what is about to come: a self-deprecating, tongue-in-cheek, funny-tragic story of a superhero who mocks other superheroes, himself and his own superheroic abilities.
‘Deadpool’ is the story of a Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson. Everything changes when he finds true love — but then he’s hit with the life-altering gut punch that goes by the name of cancer. After being subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, he adopts the alter ego Deadpool. Armed with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humor, Deadpool hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life.
‘Deadpool’ follows a storyline that’s very typical of any superhero film — a common man, who discovers accidental superpowers, has to save his love from the clutches of an extraordinarily powerful and smart villain. But what’s very atypical of ‘Deadpool’ is that it takes none of that seriously. In fact, it makes fun of everything that’s superhero-ish — and then goes about doing what every superhero does. All through out the film Deadpool keeps winking at audiences and reminding them “folks, this is after all fantasy world, don’t take anything seriously. Just have fun.” And that’s where ‘Deadpool’ scores high points by twisting the superhero genre on its head.
But ‘Deadpool’ doesn’t just stop there; it goes even a step ahead. It makes fun of the producers who make superhero films and the actors who act in them — including, Ryan Reynolds himself — and the genre-troops that are so often used in these kinds of films. What’s so interesting about this film is that even as it blatantly mocks superheroes and everything around them, you won’t stop believing that you are not watching a superhero film. The action and the violence is as good as — if not as big as — most other superhero films. It’s just that when you mix in crude jokes, many of them sexual, in all of the fights, the scenes become much more fun.
We wrote about how Ryan Reynolds is poised to make a comeback with ‘Deadpool’. And boy, is he good. He may have disappeared for a while, but this film will do a world of good to his career. When you see the film, you will realize, there couldn’t have been a better Deadpool than him. Though, the main credit for the film should go to the two screenwriters and the director, who have done a tremendous job of ensuring that not only the comic-book fans but even audiences not familiar with the comic-book character have a good time. Their gleefully crude and explosively brave effort of subverting the genre ends up in wildly entertaining results.
Rating: 4/5
