Anghus Houvouras on whether we really need a Deadpool movie…
“Ryan Reynolds should play Deadpool.”
I’ve been hearing this armchair casting presented online for what seems like a decade. What every comic fan claims to be ‘the perfect casting’. A character that has a huge presence in the comic book community. Certainly not a marquee character by any stretch of the imagination, but a fervent following of fans who have been waiting for the tidal wave of comic book adaptations to sweep the ‘Merc with a Mouth’ onto the big screen. Now their wish has finally come true.
Ryan Reynolds has been confirmed for the role, and the Deadpool movie will presumably make its debut in 2016 crammed into an ever-expanding slate of superhero stories. In spite of all the words wasted proclaiming this concept to be sacrosanct, I’m wondering if this is something we really need to see brought to life for the silver screen. Allow me to extrapolite.
It’s a gimmick, not a character.
Deadpool is, admittedly, a knock-off of DC’s Deathstroke. An attempt at creating a more humorous version of a kill happy mercenary (emphasis on the ‘happy’). The character became known for his humorous asides and snarky comments. Eventually he went from deadly prankster to a fourth-wall-breaking, meta character painfully aware of his existence with the comic books detailing his exploits. The character itself is more appreciated for his wacky antics than a well-developed character with a back story worth exploring.
It’s going to be a super violent 2 hour cartoon.
Picture Jim Carrey’s 1994 hit The Mask. Remember the scenes where he dons the magical mask and turns into an id-driven cartoon character shooting off one-liners as if his life depended on it? Picture that basic concept for two hours. Two hours of Ryan Reynolds in full on shtick mode. Two hours of endless gags and jokes being made.
He works great in small doses.
Unfortunately feature films aren’t really known for their brevity. You know what was great about that FX clip that made it’s way online after Comic-Con? It was brief. Mercifully brief. Some funny moments, beautifully executed CG action, and the whole affair was over in a few minutes. The character has potential. They could have introduced him in an X-Force movie. Used him as the comic relief to a more serious character like Cable. In a standalone movie, a one-joke character like Deadpool with a sarcastic snark like Ryan Reynolds has the potential to be the most grating two hours of your life.
The R-Rating may justify its existence.
The only thing that provides a shred of hope for the Deadpool movie is the R-rating. This will at least ensure the potential for uncharted territory. If 20th Century Fox truly wants to make a Deadpool movie with any hope for originality, then it has to be R-rated. If I was a gambling man, I’m betting we don’t get an R-rated theatrical Deadpool. We’ll no doubt get some watered down PG-13 version with an R-rated or ‘Unrated’ Blu-ray release. I think the odds of an R-rated Deadpool movie hitting theaters is about as likely as an NC-17 Black Widow film.
I think a Deadpool movie is one of those ideas that seems good in theory but will end up being a brutal mess by the time it makes it’s way through the studio system. Just like Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan/Green Lantern. Or Ryan Reynolds in a body switching comedy with Jason Bateman. Or Ryan Reynolds in R.I.P.D.
What do you think about the Deadpool movie? Let us know your thoughts…
Anghus Houvouras is a North Carolina based writer and filmmaker. His latest work, the novel My Career Suicide Note, is available from Amazon. Follow him on Twitter.
Originally published December 9, 2014. Updated April 15, 2018.
