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Category: New Releases

  • Jurassic World (2015)

    Jurassic World (2015)

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    After the box office disappointment and mixed critical reaction of Jurassic Park III, Universal decided to put the franchise on hold. For the next 14 years, plans for a 4th movie were in development with numerous directors considered, concepts discussed, and screenplays written that were all over the place. Over the years, many of the original cast members, including Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum, Laura Dern, and Richard Attenborough were either in talks to return or expressed interest in reprising their roles. After Joe Johnston declined returning to direct the fourth film, people like Alex Proyas and Brad Bird were considered to direct the film before Colin Trevorrow, who previously directed Safety Not Guaranteed, was ultimately chosen. There were several writers working on the initial scripts, including William Monahan, who eventually left to work on Kingdom of Heaven, John Sayles, who also wrote the original Piranha and The Howling before being nominated for Passion Fish and Lone Star, and Mark Protosevich, who also wrote I Am Legend and the first Thor, until Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver from Rise and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes were ultimately picked to helm the screenplay. Released in 2015, 14 years after the previous film, with an entirely different cast and crew, how did Jurassic World turn out?

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    Synopsis

    Set 22 years after the first film (this one ignores The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III), a new park called Jurassic World has been built on Isla Nublar, the island that the original park was set on. However, unlike the previous park, this one is not only fully operational and open to the public, but it has become a huge success and seems to have been in operation for quite a long time. The park is mainly run by Claire Dearing, played by Bryce Dallas Howard, who is more focused on her work than her personal life. This is made apparent when her nephews Zach and Gary Mitchell, played by Nick Robinson and Ty Simpkins respectively, come to the park and are escorted around by Claire’s assistant Zara, played by Katie McGrath. While Gary is overly excited and ecstatic to be at the park, Zach is clearly not having any of this and is more focused on picking up chicks there. Meanwhile, the park’s owner Simon Masrani, played by Irrfan Khan, has hired Dr. Henry Wu, played by BD Wong, to create a new dinosaur genetically spliced from other dinosaurs in order to attract more tourists. Known as the Indominus Rex, this new asset, as its referred to, is being touted as the biggest, baddest, and meanest dinosaur they have to offer. Before unveiling it to the public, Masrani wants to have an expert evaluate it, so he has Claire bring in velociraptor expert Owen Grady, played by Chris Pratt. Grady warns them about having the dinosaur kept in isolation, and through a series of circumstances, the Indominus Rex ends up escaping and it’s up to Grady and Claire to track the dinosaur down before it kills the tourists.

     

    Review

    When this movie was first announced, like most other people, I was very excited to see this movie since I really loved Jurassic Park. Plus, this was right after Guardians of the Galaxy came out, and Chris Pratt just exploded on the scene. So with all that said, when I finally did see the movie, I was largely entertained by it, but there were still things about the movie that bugged me. First, let me get into the positives. For one, the cast in this is terrific. Chris Pratt, as always, is both funny and insanely charismatic. Bryce Dallas Howard, on top of looking gorgeous, does her job well in spite of the material, and she actually does go through a character change, which is nice. Also, while they aren’t as good or memorable as Lex and Tim from the first film, Zach and Gary are still fun characters and both Nick Robinson and Ty Simpkins play off each other really well. While it is a shame that a lot of the original cast members don’t return for this one, it is nice to see BD Wong reprise his role from the original for a minor supporting role here. Plus, it’s cool to see Vincent D’Onofrio in a movie. Also worth mentioning is Jake Johnson and Lauren Lapkus as Lowery and Vivian respectively. While Johnson is more memorable and fun, Lapkus is also enjoyable and she and Johnson play off each other nicely. Aside from the cast, the dinosaurs do look impressive and are a fun spectacle. While I would’ve preferred more of a blend between practical effects and CGI like in the previous films, I can’t deny that the CG here looks good. Even though John Williams didn’t return to score this film, they did bring in Michael Giacchino as the composer, and he does a solid job mimicking Williams’ style of music.

    Now here’s where I get into everything about the movie that either doesn’t work or just really annoyed me. First off, for a movie written by two writers who before have written great material, this movie is not exceptionally well-written. A lot of the characters in here feel more like archetypes than actual three-dimensional characters, i.e. Pratt as the confident and gruff action hero, Howard as the uppity business woman who’s all about business but learns the meaning of life or something like that, and D’Onofrio as the stereotypical military-minded guy who wants to weaponize the raptors despite how terrible of an idea it is. Speaking of terrible ideas, I normally don’t complain about characters doing things that seem idiotic or nonsensical since it’s only a movie and you’re supposed to suspend your disbelief, but the characters here make some dumb decisions. For starters, Masrani says he wants a dinosaur with tons of teeth and who is very aggressive, but doesn’t oversee what sort of dinosaur DNA is used in the creation. Also, for a park that supposedly has a state-of-the-art security system, a pair of kids can easily roam free around the park while the workers just stand there and do nothing. And whenever a dinosaur is on the loose, a lot of the characters, except for the leads, seem to not know how to handle the situation. Sure, the security system was breached in the first film and the characters were unsure of what to do to survive, but in its defense, the park wasn’t open to the public, and aside from Hammond and the staff, none of the main characters had ever been to the park or even seen these dinosaurs, so of course they wouldn’t know what to do. Here, we have people who not only work at the park, but they have personal experience working with the dinosaurs and have extensive knowledge of these creatures. Going back to the effects for a minute, there’s only one scene in the whole movie where they have a practical dinosaur. It’s very brief, but it does look good, so my only question is: if they could create a dinosaur practically, why was every single other dinosaur CG? Admittedly, some shots I can understand why they were digital, like the pteradons flying through the air or some of the bigger dinosaur fight scenes, but I don’t understand why a film with this large of a budget couldn’t have done CG and practicals like before.

    Complaints aside, while this movie is nowhere near as good as the original Jurassic Park, it is arguably the best of the sequels. It’s definitely not as boring as The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and it is slightly better than Jurassic Park III even though I kind of liked it. Still, if you’re going into this expecting not only the great, three-dimensional and complex characters of the original, the well-written and subtle social/moral commentary, and a wonderful mixture of practical and CGI, you are going to be disappointed. However, if you’re looking for a fun ride that still has impressive-looking CGI, fun though generic characters played by actors above their given material, and some pretty fun set-pieces and spectacle, Jurassic World is still enjoyable to watch even if it fails in recapturing the magic of the 1993 original.

     

    Buy Jurassic World from Amazon: https://amzn.to/49yvzeH.

    Disclosure: The above link is an affiliate link, which means that, at no additional cost, I will earn a commission if you click through the link and make a purchase.

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    Where to watch Jurassic World (2015)

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  • The Incredibles 2 (2018)

    The Incredibles 2 (2018)

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    Following the massive success of The Incredibles and given its open ending, many people were excited about a possible sequel. However, Pixar decided to focus on other projects instead, many good, i.e. Ratatouille, Up, WALL-E, Toy Story 3, and Inside Out, and some not so good, i.e. the Cars movies, Monsters University, and The Good Dinosaur. In the meantime, there was a massive resurgence in superhero movies following the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. When it was finally announced that a sequel was in the works, Brad Bird faced many challenges, such as making this film distinguishable from other superhero movies, as well as following up such a beloved movie. So, 14 years later, we finally have The Incredibles 2. Is it a worth successor to the first film, and was it worth the wait?

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    To put it simply, yes! This film is both a worthy successor to the original and is definitely worth the wait. Before going any further, just a fair warning: this review will contain spoilers for the first film. If you haven’t seen the first Incredibles, STOP READING THIS REVIEW and go watch the original. Then you can return and read this further.

     

    Synopsis

    Anyway, the film opens right where the first movie left off with the Parr’s fighting with The Underminer, once again voiced by John Ratzenberger. While being unable to capture him, the family manages to stop his giant drill from destroying City Hall. However, instead of being treated as heroes for saving the day, they’re arrested since this is still a world where superheroes are outlawed. Since their house was destroyed at the end of the first movie and the “Superhero Relocation” program has been shut down, the Parr’s have to live in a motel for two weeks. Hope seems lost until Bob (Mr. Incredible), Helen (Elastigirl), and Lucius (Frozone) are invited to meet with a multi-billionaire and head of DEVTECH Winston Deavor, voiced by Bob Odenkirk. Along with his sister, co-owner and designer Evelyn Deavor, voiced by Catherine Keener, Winston is a major fan of superheroes and wants to get the law against them turned over. They hire Elastigirl, since she’s the least destructive of the three, to be their ambassador and do her thing as a superhero while wearing a camera on her costume to show her super-heroics in action. In exchange, Winston has the Parr’s move into a brand new home, a huge mansion that Winston happens to own as a summer home. While Helen goes off to save the day, Bob offers to stay home and raise the kids. As the movie goes on, Helen has to fight off a new supervillain known as the Screenslaver, while Bob has to learn how to raise three kids on his own, especially when Jack Jack starts showing off his numerous powers.

     

    Review

    That’s all I can say about the plot without giving away spoilers. Suffice it to say that the movie has a few twists throughout that, while somewhat predictable, can throw people for a loop. To get into the positives, basically everything that worked in the first film is still here. For one, this has most of the returning cast from the first film, including Craig T. Nelson as Mr. Incredible, Holly Hunter as Elastigirl, Samuel L. Jackson as Frozone, Sarah Vowell as Violet, and Brad Bird as Edna. While they did replace some of the actors, including replacing Spencer Fox with Huck Milner for Dash and replacing Bud Luckey with Jonathan Banks as Rick Dicker, unless you’re really looking for it, it’s practically night and day. Also returning from the first film is composer Michael Giacchino, whose score retains that 60s spy caper feel from the first film. The original actors definitely fit into their roles almost as if this sequel came out just two years after the first film, and the new actors are a welcome addition. It is also refreshing to see Elastigirl getting the spotlight since the first film was primarily Mr. Incredible’s story. There’s also some great slapstick involving Jack Jack as the family tries to deal with the numerous powers he has. Like the first one, this movie does explore a lot of similar themes, such as the struggles a family can go through, how difficult it can be to balance family life with work life in a way, and the struggle single parents especially go through in raising kids on their own.

    Now while I do enjoy this film as whole, there are a few issues I had with the film. The film does play like a bit of reversal of the first film, just replace Mr. Incredible with Elastigirl, to the point where much of the film feels like an animated version of Mr. Mom. That being said, it is still fun seeing Bob struggle with helping Dash with his homework, getting on Violet’s good graces after a date gone bad, and again dealing with Jack Jack’s new powers. Also, there’s a point in the movie where the kids are the main heroes and, while they’re not necessarily bad or annoying, it is a shame to not see Mr. Incredible or Elastigirl doing any heroics, even if it’s for a short while. Lastly, this might be a personal thing, but part of me feels like this movie was more so made for audiences who grew up with the first film rather than being for both them and today’s kids. Not that there’s anything necessarily wrong with that, but I think it would’ve been better if there were more of a balance.

    Problems aside, I am still glad this movie was made in the first place. While it certainly would have been alright if the first one was just a standalone film, it’s great that we at least have some kind of follow-up where we get to see the family in action one again. In summation, The Incredibles 2 is a worthwhile sequel that still has the fun and spirit of the first film, even if it doesn’t quite live up to the original.

     

    Buy The Incredibles 2 from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Xdxr5m.

    Disclosure: The above link is an affiliate link, which means that, at no additional cost, I will earn a commission if you click through the link and make a purchase.

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    Where to watch The Incredibles 2 (2018)

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  • Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

    Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

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    In 1963, French novelist Pierre Boulle, known for writing the novel that would eventually turn into the 1957 film, The Bridge on the River Kwai, published La Planète des singes, which would become the basis for the 1968 film Planet of the Apes. Starring Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, and Linda Harrison, written by Michael Wilson and Rod Serling, and directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, the film became a massive success. The film spawned four sequels, a TV series, an animated series, and was remade by Tim Burton in 2001 to less-than-stellar results. After the disappointment of the remake, the franchise was put on hibernation until 2005, when screenwriters Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver started working on a concept for a new film in the series, which would eventually become 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

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    Synopsis

    Set in modern times, the film follows scientist Will Rodman, played by James Franco, who has been working on a cure for Alzheimer’s, partially inspired by the need to cure his father, played by John Lithgow. As is the case with most science labs, they have been testing the drug on chimps, and while giving a presentation to the board of directors, one of the chimps goes crazy and starts rampaging through the office until being shot by security. Considering the project a failure, Rodman’s boss Steven Jacobs, played by David Oyelowo, has the chimps killed and the project shut down. However, a baby chimp that belonged to the one who was killed is saved by Rodman’s assistant, and Rodman reluctantly takes the chimp home to take care of it. Naming the chimp Caesar, Rodman discovers that the ape has heightened intelligence that he inherited from his mother, and he decides to do further research on Caesar while also continuing to find a cure for his father. As time goes on and Caesar grows up, he starts to question things and, after an incident involving a neighbor, is taken by animal control to an ape shelter where the apes are being tortured by the staff, including a young man named Dodge Landon, played by Tom Felton. While Caesar gains dominance over the other apes and starts thinking of a plan to escape, Jacobs is persuaded by Rodman to relaunch the program when Rodman explains that the drug works and can increase intelligence. Purely driven by profit, Jacobs has a stronger form of the drug made and has it tested on apes, particularly a scarred baboon named Koba. However, one of the lab assistants gets exposed to the drug and starts showing symptoms. Eventually, Caesar manages to overpower the shelter staff and leads the apes to escape from captivity and make their way to the San Francisco Redwoods.

     

    Review

    When it was first announced that they were rebooting the franchise, I, and I’m sure many others, were very skeptical about how it would turn out. It didn’t help that pretty much all of the apes in the film would be CGI as opposed to being done with practical effects like the other films. However, once people saw the film, they overlooked the effects and saw the film for what it truly is: a well-written, well-acted, and thought-provokingly worthy successor to the original franchise. For me, what really makes the film work are the apes themselves, particularly Caesar. Portrayed via motion capture by Andy Serkis, Caesar transcends his CG nature and become a fully-formed three-dimensional character who you actually care about and want to see survive. Same goes for a lot of the other apes, many of whom have distinct personalities that will be further developed later on. The human cast, for the most part, is also on-point, with the stand-outs being Franco, Lithgow, Oyelowo, and Brian Cox as the head of the primate shelter. The film is full of homages to the previous films as well, such as the drug ALZ-112 being named after the runtime of the original film, the main ape being named Caesar after the character from Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, this film having more-or-less the same plot as that film, and an orangutan that Caesar befriends being named Maurice after the actor who portrayed Dr. Zaius in the original.

    However, the movie is not without its problems. For one, while there are human cast members that do a pretty good job, there are others who kind of fall flat. For instance, Franco gets a love interest, played by Frieda Pinto, who really serves no other purpose other than to be arm candy for Franco. Also, Felton is such an unlikeable character who has no other motivation other than to just torture animals. On top of that, he has probably the worst line-read/homage to the original film in the movie. I won’t say what it is, but let’s just say his line-read would make Heston roll in his grave. I will say that while the CG does look pretty good, there are a few moments where it does look spotty. Even with that said, I still think this movie largely succeeds in creating a prequel to the original films that also serves as its standalone film. For those who’ve seen the original films, it’s a worthy successor to those films and pays homage to them largely out of respect. For newcomers, it’s a great modern-day story of what happens when man tries to control nature and explore things they were never meant to explore.

    And so with the Rise comes the Dawn…

     

    Buy Rise of the Planet of the Apes from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3WyxOIB.

    Disclosure: The above link is an affiliate link, which means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

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    Where to watch Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

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  • Hotel Artemis (2018)

    Hotel Artemis (2018)

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    During the summer blockbuster season, one can be pretty easily overwhelmed with all the sequels, reboots, prequels, etc. that we’re constantly bombarded with. While it’s fun and enjoyable to check out the latest big-budgeted superhero movies and space adventures, it can also be a breath of fresh air to see something that seems to come out of nowhere and is pretty original. Luckily, we have director Drew Pearce to thank for bringing us Hotel Artemis, which is being touted as a bold and original action film. While it certainly owes a lot to the works of John Carpenter and even has hints of modern movies such as the John Wick and Purge movies, Hotel Artemis has enough to stand on its own.

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    Synopsis

    Set in Los Angeles in the not-too-distant future of 2028, the film initially centers around a pair of brothers, played by Sterling K. Brown and Brian Tyree Henry, who, after a botched bank robbery where one of them is shot by police, make their way to the titular Hotel Artemis. Run by a woman only known as The Nurse, played by Jodie Foster, the hotel is a hospital that treats criminals and allows them to stay until they make a full recovery. While The Nurse is the primary physician, she is assisted by her aide, the ginormous Everest, played by Dave Bautista. Also staying in the hotel is a beautiful but deadly assassin, played by Sofia Boutella, and a wormy and eccentric weapons dealer, played by Charlie Day. While all of this is going on, there are riots in the streets that threaten to break into the hotel in addition to causing general chaos in the streets. In the midst of all this, a cop, played by Jenny Slate, is picked up by The Nurse and Everest, and she claims to have known The Nurse in a previous life. Things really take a turn when a crime boss known as the Wolf King, played by Jeff Goldblum, comes in after being shot looking for help. Given he practically owns the city, he’s treated like royalty.

     

    Review

    In a word, this movie is fantastic! I mentioned before that this movie owes quite a bit to John Carpenter. Honestly, if you added Kurt Russell’s Snake Plissken character from Escape from New York in here, this would have made for a much better Escape from LA. The movie also has elements of Assault on Precinct 13, with the main characters being holed up in a secluded area while outside forces try to break in. What makes this film stand out is the cast, all of whom play their roles phenomenally. First off is Jodie Foster, who delivers a solid performance as the caretaker of the hotel, who has a whole arc about how she’s afraid of going outside the hotel and even getting some hints about her past and how it relates to the cop and the Wolf King. In addition, Sterling K. Brown is great as the brains to Tyree Henry’s brawn, who’s trying to maintain control of the situation as things go south. Bautista, as always, is a ton of fun to watch, between his back-and-fourths with Jodie Foster and his many fight sequences throughout. Boutella, on top of looking gorgeous, is also intimidating as an assassin with her own motives and a possible past relationship with Brown. Day, while he does have his shouting and manic moments that he usually does, also has a very sleazy and wormy quality about him. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if he were a serial rapist. Goldblum, while having his moments, is definitely a force to be reckoned with, as he can be scary, intimidating, and very threatening.

    As the film goes on, and you become so attached to these characters, you really worry about who’s going to die and who’s going to make it out alive. Now, I’m not gonna reveal anything as I don’t want to spoil the film for anyone, but suffice it to say, there’s a few twists that will get you. Granted, at times, the movie is somewhat predictable, but that doesn’t make it any less fun. For a first-time director, Drew Pearce definitely shows some potential, and I am excited about whatever he’s got to offer next. The music is great too, mixing in a heart-pounding synth score with some fun 60s and 70s pop music via an mp3 player that Foster has with her. This is a film I cannot possibly recommend enough. If you’re looking for a fun action movie to watch that isn’t a superhero or franchise film, this is one to check out!

     

    Buy Hotel Artemis from Amazon: https://amzn.to/48ewHlk.

    Disclosure: The above link is an affiliate link, which means that, at no additional cost, I will earn a commission if you click through the link and make a purchase.

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    Where to watch Hotel Artemis (2018)

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  • Deadpool 2 (2018)

    Deadpool 2 (2018)

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    After the massive success of the first Deadpool, it was only natural that there would be a sequel. This time around, David Leitch of John Wick and Atomic Blonde fame is brought in instead of Tim Miller directing—most of the original cast returns and some new additions. The same writers are also brought in, besides Reynolds being a co-writer. With this being a sequel to a hugely successful and well-loved superhero romp like Deadpool, the filmmakers had to step up their game to make a sequel that could stack up with the original. There was a ton of hype surrounding this film, between the teaser trailers, the announcement of Josh Brolin as Cable, and even a tiny teaser shown in front of Logan. However, some less-than-desirable things happened behind the scenes, including Miller, Gina Carano, and composer Junkie XL leaving, as well as stuntwoman Joi Harris unfortunately dying performing a motorcycle stunt. Of course, there’s no way it could be better than the first, as is often the case with sequels, but could this movie match the quality of the first one? In a word……YES, they certainly did!

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    Synopsis

    Following the events of the first film, our friendly neighborhood merc with a mouth (Ryan Reynolds) is still working as a mercenary, going after crime bosses, sex traffickers, and drug dealers in the way that only he could. Things seem to be going well for him and his love, Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) until a thug that Wade lets get away comes back with his goons to take out DP and inadvertently kill Vanessa. Grief-stricken, Wade decides to kill himself via massive explosion, but given his mutant healing ability, he can’t die. So, Colossus (Andre Tricoteux and Stefan Kapicic) takes him back to the X-Manor to get him to join the X-Men and hopefully help him get back on his feet. While there, he reunites with Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) and meets her new girlfriend Yukio (Shioli Kutsuna). DP, Colossus, and NTW then go to the Essex Orphanage after seeing a news report about a young boy named Rusty Collins (Julian Dennison), who has mutant powers and is in a stand-off with the police. DP manages to talk the kid down, but once Rusty tells him about how the staff at the orphanage mistreated and even tortured him, Pool starts shooting at the staff, only to get thrown in prison with Rusty. At the same time, a time-traveling cyborg from the future named Cable (Josh Brolin) travels to our time to eliminate Rusty for his reasons. Through a series of events, Wade manages to escape prison and, not wanting to leave the kid to his fate, decides to put together a team to rescue Rusty before Cable kills him.

     

    Review

    Much like the first film, Reynolds is the main driving force behind this film. Once again, he still delivers the same quips and referential humor as effectively as ever, but what makes things different here is that he’s developed more as a character. There are times when the movie gets pretty dark and severe, and Reynolds shows that he can not only be funny but also show some tears and get dramatic in some scenes. While Bacarrin doesn’t have much screen time in the film, she does pop up here and there from the beyond to help Wade figure out what he needs to do to be with her again. Likewise, Colossus and NTW, while still fun characters, don’t have much to do until the third act. Once they are, they both shine, especially Colossus in his major fight scene. Here, many newcomers are given a bit more of the spotlight, especially Dennison, Brolin, and Zazie Beetz as Domino, a fellow mercenary whose superpower is that she’s lucky. All three of them fit into their roles excellently: Dennison being equal parts funny, tragic, frightening, and sympathetic at times, Brolin playing Cable with such a scowl and dryness that he’s almost like a cyborg version of a character from a Clint Eastwood Western, and Beetz who has a lot of fun bouncing off the other characters and constantly showing DP how luck is absolutely a superpower. As I somewhat hinted at before, what makes this one incredibly different is how, for all the action sequences and crude/referential humor throughout, some emotional character-driven scenes get very dramatic and, luckily, aren’t interrupted by a joke. This movie does a great job of balancing tone where many others fail. Despite this, the film still has plenty of great action sequences, especially around the middle of the second act when Deadpool and his team, known as the X-Force, have to board a moving prison transport that Rusty is in. Given this comes from the same people who made John Wick and Atomic Blonde, the action sequences are well-filmed and have an authentic and gritty feel.

    Of course, not every movie is perfect, and as much fun as this is, Deadpool 2 is not without its flaws. For instance, as I alluded to before, aside from Reynolds, many of the returning cast don’t have much to do. That’s not to say that they’re reduced to being nothing more than cameos, but don’t expect a ton of back-and-forths between DP and Blind Al, as with the first one. Also, I never thought I would say this about a Deadpool movie, but at times, Deadpool can be kind of annoying. Granted, most of the time, he’s still as humorous and fun as he was before, but there are moments when I almost want him to stop. If anything, there were times when I was more on board with Cable since he was such a badass, and Brolin played him so well. Even so, those moments are few and far between. And while I would typically complain about some of the cliches and extreme coincidences in the film, it’s still bright enough to recognize these as such and even poke fun at them. So, all in all, is it better than the first one? No. Is it still an entertaining and all-around good time? Absolutely. Will this be as memorable and quotable as the first one? Maybe, but probably not as much. Should you still give it a chance? Well, if you liked the first one, then absolutely do it. Also, be sure to stick around through the credits cause there’s a mid-credits scene that is one of the best gags in the entire movie.

    Once again, suck on it, Wolverine!

     

    Buy Deadpool 2 from Amazon: https://amzn.to/4d0Mw09.

    Disclosure: The above link is an affiliate link, which means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

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    Where to watch Deadpool 2 (2018)

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  • Deadpool (2016)

    Deadpool (2016)

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    Created in 1991 by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld in The New Mutants #98, Deadpool, aka Wade Wilson, has remained one of the most popular comic book characters of the last few decades. Also known as The Merc with a Mouth, DP unfortunately took a long time to eventually make his leap to the big screen. After a failed deal with Artisan Entertainment in the early 2000s, Fox, who had found massive success with their X-Men franchise, decided to take a crack at it, starting with having the character appear in the 2009 spinoff X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Sadly, the results were less than stellar. Even though they cast Ryan Reynolds, who was a perfect fit for the character, they drastically changed the character to where he no longer was Deadpool. Between sewing his mouth shut, giving him so many powers that it’s absurd, and essentially making him look like a knock-off of Baraka from Mortal Kombat, fans of the character were none too happy. Despite that and numerous other problems, the film was a hit, so Fox decided to move ahead with a new Deadpool movie. Unfortunately, between 2011’s Green Lantern and 2013’s RIPD, faith was lost in the star power of Ryan Reynolds and plans for a Deadpool movie were put on hold. Then, in 2014, test footage was leaked online that was to show Fox what a possible Deadpool movie with Reynolds would be like, and it instantly became a viral hit. With the unexpected reception of the test footage, Fox decided to give the movie a greenlight, with Reynolds starring, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick writing, and Tim Miller directing. So, with all the production issues, how did the movie turn out? Probably WAY better than anyone would’ve ever expected.

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    Synopsis

    The plot revolves around Wade Wilson (Reynolds), a mercenary who goes after all kinds of scum and dirtbags, even though he is not a good guy. One night, he meets a prostitute named Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), and the two instantly hit it off. They fall in love, have an entire montage where they have sex-themed around various holidays (including International Women’s Day), and Wade even proposes to her. Things seem to be going well until Wade collapses to the floor and finds out he’s been diagnosed with terminal cancer. With all hope seeming lost, Wilson gets an offer from a shady man in a business suit promising a cure for his cancer and a chance at becoming a superhero. Unfortunately, Wade has few options, so he leaves Vanessa and goes to what he thinks will be his salvation. However, things aren’t what he thought they were, as he’s taken to a facility run by Ajax (Ed Skrein), who instantly hates Wade and finds his sense of humor annoying. Wade’s given an injection that will awaken any dormant mutant genes in his system, but it only works after he’s undergone a massive amount of stress. This leads to a montage where Wade is subjected to all kinds of horrible torture, but even with these awful conditions, Wade still has his sense of humor and constantly gets on Ajax’s nerves, especially when Wade learns that his real name is Francis. This pushes Ajax/Francis to put Wade in a deprivation tank that cuts off oxygen to the point where the victim is on the urge to suffocate. While this does awaken Wade’s mutant gene, a healing factor that cures his cancer and makes him near invincible, he is left scarred. If that weren’t bad enough, he finds out that he’s going to be sold off to the highest bidder as a super-powered slave. Wade manages to escape after burning down the facility, but Francis gets away after telling him that he can cure Wade’s disfigurement. After trying to reconnect with Vanessa but fearing how she would react to seeing him, he confides in his friend Weasel (TJ Miller), and the two create Wade’s alter-ego, Deadpool. DP then sets out to get revenge on Francis, get him to cure his scarring, and get Vanessa back.

     

    Review

    What largely makes this movie work is Ryan Reynolds’ performance as Deadpool. His comedic timing is on-point, and he exudes charisma and charm. He also has great chemistry with Baccarin to the point where you buy them as a loving couple, and you get why he’s so determined to get her back. Ed Skrein also shines as Ajax/Francis, playing such a loathsome villain that you love to hate him, and you’re just waiting for him to get his comeuppance. Along the way, DP runs into two of the X-Men, the gigantic Colossus, played by Andre Tricoteux and voiced by Stefan Kapicic, and the new recruit Negasonic Teenage Warhead, played by Brianna Hildebrand. The two of them make a great pair, Colossus being the moral center and an even bigger boy scout than Superman, and NTW acting as a snarky and cynical teenager who rolls her eyes at Deadpool’s jokes and constantly mocks him. Also in the mix is Blind Al, played by Leslie Uggams, who is a lot of fun as a bitter, old black lady who more-or-less acts as Wade’s caretaker and throws insults back and forth with DP. Tim Miller’s direction is well done as he stages these huge action sequences, and the camera pulls back enough for you to see what’s happening. He does a good job balancing the action, comedy, and drama. The writing is also on-point, with tons of great referential humor, especially all the numerous digs at X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and crude, intelligently written humor, as contradictory as that sounds. The movie is just a blast from beginning to end, with tons of great action sequences and gags that you’ll be quoting for a while.

    If I have any issues with the film, the plot isn’t necessarily bad, but it is somewhat cliche and simple. Granted, the simplicity does work for the movie it is, but there isn’t anything to write home about with the plot. Also, some of the CGI sticks out pretty badly, especially in scenes where you can tell that it’s not Reynolds on-screen. Even still, the work on Colossus does look impressive, to where you buy him as a fully three-dimensional character. In addition, while most of the humor is on point, some of it doesn’t quite land, but those jokes are few and far between. At the end of the day, Deadpool is still an insanely entertaining movie. It’s violent and crude, pokes fun at many modern-day superhero movie tropes, and reminds people that a superhero/comic book movie can be R-rated. We’ve had plenty of those in the past, such as Blade and Watchmen, but in this day and age where PG-13 movies are the norm, Deadpool was a breath of fresh air. Especially with the sequel coming out around the time this review was written, now is a great time to revisit this movie.

    Suck on it, Wolverine!

     

    Buy Deadpool from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3LjPz7H.

    Disclosure: The above link is an affiliate link, which means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

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    Where to watch Deadpool (2016)

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