Deadpool (2016) film review

Year: 2016
Running Time: 108 minutes
Director: Tim Miller
Writers: Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza (character), Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (screenplay)
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, T.J. Miller, Gina Carano, Stefan Kapicic, Brianna Hildebrand, Karan Soni

Deadpool  opens in Australian cinemas on February 11 and is distributed by 20th Century Fox. To be released in the United States on February 12.

Deadpool is essentially Marvel making fun of itself and it's legion of superhero films while at the same time telling a conventional superhero story about an unconventional superhero. The result is hilarity at the hands of an individual who is the type you were told by your parents not to laugh at so not to encourage them, but is the amusing and welcomed breath of fresh air into the Marvel realm.

Life seems to be going well for Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds). He's turned his life around to be with the love of his life, Vanessa (Morena Baccain), but everything falls to pieces when he is diagnosed with terminal cancer. In his desperation, he accepts an offer to be the subject in a number of tests that he hopes will cure him. Instead, he  becomes part of a horrible illegal scheme left horribly scarred by the sadistic Ajax (Ed Skrein), but he is also cured of his cancer and left with the ability to self heal from any injury. Wade uses his new found powers to re-establish himself as the red suited anti-hero, Deadpool and makes it his quest to track down Ajax, who he believes has the power to cure him from his scarring.

There is no quality that people admire more than the ability to poke fun at and laugh at oneself, and this is what makes Deadpool such a success. However, the film is not an actual spoof as much as it is the story of an unlikely and unconventional hero which just happens to have a great deal of superhero related humour written into the screenplay. This good-natured jab at oneself is evident right from the opening credits when the laughs swiftly begin rolling in and it is undoubtedly the best and most hilarious opening credits one will ever see. From there on in, superhero genre films are mocked in every way, including the stereotypical characters and their recurring characteristics and the predictable cinematography. Ryan Reynolds even makes fun of himself and his past endeavour as the Green Lantern. What is interesting is that the story of Wade Wilson is rather typical of the type of film Deadpool is making fun of, but it is the execution of this story that makes one forget this and focus on the original aspect of the screenplay.

Deadpool attempts to briefly tackle heavy subjects during the film including the desperation a terminal illness places on the individual and family members and the exclusion of those who are physically different (the latter being typical of an X-Men film which Deadpool is like the black sheep cousin to). However, with the brevity of these subjects there is no room for emotion and in a film that is as satirical as this it is probably just as well because any hard emotions would seem out of place.

As a result of the lack of emotion, the performances in the film cannot be judged in a regular fashion and if they were all would seem lack lustre and mediocre at best. However, Ryan Reynolds has been given the chance to resurrect the character he played in 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine and he takes full advantage of making Wade Wilson/ Deadpool a memorable lead character with his often inappropriate, but exceptionally witty sense of humour. Reynolds' character this time around is not a replica of the one we saw in Wolverine because with X-Men: Days of Future Past in 2014, the Marvel universe was able to be undone (even though there is still a reference or two in Deadpool to the 2009 film). Reynolds has made the character of Deadpool completely his and even though the saying is overused, he is a superhero like no other. He is basically the character you would hate in real life, but have a fantastic time watching on screen with his black humour and clever one-liners, many of which were ad-libbed by Reynolds.

As one may be able to predict from the marketing of the film and the MA15+ Australian rating (R rating in the USA), Deadpool is a particularly grown up Marvel film and is not to be confused with being a family superhero film. There is a high level of profanity and is rather sexually explicit, though not quite as crude as the marketers would have you believe. It is also spectacularly violent with gut-wrenching injuries and much blood and gore as a result of well choreographed samurai sword and gun fights. However, in these moments the film is particularly well shot and edited with impressive production design and CGI, especially in the final scenes. The film's dark sense of humour is reflected in it's quirky, but clever pairing of music and particular violent scenes.

It is such a cliché to say that Deadpool is a superhero film like no other, but that is exactly what it is. Story-wise it may reflect a film we have seen a great many times, but at the same time it knows it and relishes in laughing at itself and letting everyone else do so also.

7.5/10



WARNING: Trailer does involve strong language

Woman in Gold (2015) film review

Year: 2015
Running Time: 109 minutes
Director: Simon Curtis
Writers: E. Randol Schoenberg and Maria Altmann (life stories), Alexi Kaye Campbell (screenplay)
Cast: Helen Mirren, Ryan Reynolds, Daniel Bruhl, Tatiana Maslany, Katie Holmes, Max Irons, Charles Dance

Woman in Gold is a biographical film that does a fine job of telling the story of Maria Altmann and her family, but it's dramatization struggles to remain immune from the curse of cliché. Based on the ground-breaking case of the Republic of Austria v. Altmann, Woman in Gold is the tale of Austrian born Maria Altmann (Helen Mirren) who's family were the owners of the incredible painting by Gustav Klimt of her aunt, Adele (Antje Traue) entitled "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer" until their home was invaded by Nazis who took possession of the everything including the painting. Now living in Los Angeles in the 1990's, Maria seeks the assistance of young lawyer, Randol Schoenberg (Ryan Reynolds) to help her seek justice for having her family's property stolen. Her journey takes her back to the country she vowed never to return to and to face the past she wanted to forget.

Maria Altmann's life story is told wonderfully on screen. From her life of hardships in war torn Vienna to her later years fighting for justice in the United States, her fight for her life and then for justice is well documented and very thorough. Altmann's earlier years in Vienna (as portrayed by Tatiana Maslany) are particularly well done, as great suspense is generated with her and her husband's (Max Irons) quest to leave the Nazi dominated city and her inevitable separation from her family is extremely emotional. However, the scenes set in the 1990's struggle for the same type of suspense. While the real life proceedings in the case were undoubtedly eventful and extremely important, it's dramatization in the film is somewhat cliché and feels almost overdone. There are several features of the film which were changed from the reality for dramatic effect (such as Randol working without pay for years), but these changes come across as extremely cliché due to the heroism that is attempted to be attached to the characters and their situations.

However, what is done well in the scenes set in Maria's later life are the internal struggles that she experiences in deciding whether to go ahead with her case. The portrait in question which is now on display in New York City's Neue Galerie, was much loved by the Austrian people when it was hung in their country. This is one of the ethical dilemmas that Maria is faced with in the film as she does not want to take something away that is so important to her homeland, yet she believes that justice must be served. The other dilemma she is faced with is whether she should just let the past be the past or if she should seek to reclaim something that belonged to her family half a century earlier. It is indeed a painful thing for her to revisit the past and to once again see the place she left because of the horrors that were occurring there. Maria's journey is an emotional one for her as it means going back to a place she vowed never to return to. She is also faced with the pressure of outsiders making their opinion that she should just let it all go very vocal. Yet her belief in doing what is right by her family who are now gone, but always a part of her is very admirable.

Woman in Gold is beautifully shot with some incredibly lovely images. The beauty of the city of Vienna is well captured on camera with glorious shots of it's sights including the Hofburg Palace. The Vienna occupied by Nazis and the Vienna Maria returns to have two completely different atmospheres. Of course this is created by the oppression felt by the Nazis which is not there upon returning, but the cinematography allows for the feeling of a dark cloud constantly following the characters during the war. The soundtrack by Hans Zimmer and Martin Phipps is absolutely exquisite.

Helen Mirren does a very good job in the lead as Maria Altmann. She gives a solid performance as a woman who is exhausted from her years of guilt over leaving her family and bitterness towards her home country. The one problematic thing about Mirren's Maria is that her past between when she first arrives in America and when she looks for a lawyer is a mystery. There is no word of when her husband died or whether they had any children (which she did indeed as she had three sons and one daughter). Ryan Reynolds also gives a very good performance and shows a great deal of emotion especially when he acknowledges his own Austrian heritage. Tatiana Maslany doe exceptionally well as the younger Maria and the pairing of her and Max Irons works extremely well.

Extremely well made and a fine tribute to both Maria Altmann and other families who suffered the hardships her and her family once did, Woman in Gold is entertaining but would be taken more seriously if it did not try to overdramatize itself. The story itself is incredible enough without inserting Hollywood clichés into it.

7/10

R.I.P.D. (2013)

Year: 2013
Running Time: 96 minutes
Director: Robert Schwentke
Writers: Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Bacon, Mary-Louise Parker, Stephanie Szostak

R.I.P.D. is now showing in cinemas everywhere.

R.I.P.D. isn't the stuff that classics are made of, but that doesn't stop it from being an entertaining 96 minutes in the cinema.

Based on the comics of the same name, the concept behind R.I.P.D. is an enjoyable one. Although at first glance it may seem as though this a mash up of several past films, it's translation to the screen is seemingly original. The movie itself is not faultless by any means, but is action packed and amusing, helped along by Jeff Bridges' charismatic performance.

Boston police officer, Nick (Ryan Reynolds) is clearly not having a good day. What else can you call the day when he is called out to a job, only to find that his partner of five years, Hayes (Kevin Bacon) is actually one of the bad guys and shoots him dead? On his way up to be judged, he finds himself in the interrogation room at the R.I.P.D, the office of the law enforcement officers who have passed on but still return to Earth in order to protect them from the destructive souls who do not wish to pass on. Nick and his new partner, Roy (Jeff Bridges) set off back to Earth in pursuit of Hayes to stop his evil plan of bringing all these souls back to the world and unleash mayhem.

R.I.P.D. is entertaining, but not entertaining enough to be over-whelmed. The story is interesting enough to be intrigued and left in suspense as to what is going to happen. Let's face it, the actual outcome of the film is not unpredictable, but how they reach that outcome is. If you look too closely into the story, it does start to reveal the holes in the concept. This is especially true with the idea of the avatars and who can see what. .

At times, the cinematography can be amazing and the action sequences riveting. It truly takes advantage of 3D and scenes that involve the path between Heaven and Earth are amazing to behold. However, there are scenes where the CGI is extremely dodgy and unrealistic. Funnily enough these scenes almost every time involve Ryan Reynolds character looking a cross between a computer generated video game character and a doll. The use of music can sometimes be a bit over the top rather than having a positive effect on the film.

Ryan Reynolds performance is mediocre at best. He is pretty much void of emotion throughout most of the film and his character just a little too boring for the lead character and expected hero. However, it is Jeff Bridges who steals the show. His character is charismatic and full of life. Bridges has the luxury of being the one who delivers the best lines and most comedy relief in the film. Mary-Louise Parker is also amusing as Proctor and Kevin Bacon once again becomes a convincing villain.

R.I.P.D. is definitely more original than many other action films gracing our cinema screens presently and therefore makes it entertaining and a bit of fun. Cracks develop if you think about it too much so the trick is to just accept it for what it is and enjoy what you see.

6/10




You may have also seen Jeff Bridges in.....
Crazy Heart as Bad Blake
True Grit as Rooster Cogburn

You may have also seen Mary-Louise Parker in....
Red 2 as Sarah

You may have also seen Kevin Bacon in.....
X Men: First Class as Sebastian Shaw