DEADPOOL
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Ed Skrein, Gina Carano
Director: Tim Miller
108 mins
Deadpool could prove to be harshly divisive amongst the cinemagoing public - as some may love the inanity and insanity of the character, whilst a huge percentage may end up grimacing and turning away. Director Tim Miller has certainly fashioned a unique and at times hilarious action-packer, recounting the life and times of Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds), an exceptionally verbose ex-Special Forces operative now sociopath/ mercenary, whose heart melts upon meeting the stunning prostitute Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). She is someone whose existence matches the darkness of Wade’s. Inevitably they are mutually smitten – and tragedy, quite obviously, beckons. Wade has advanced liver cancer – not to mention a similar infection in his lungs, prostate and brain – so he begins to question his future life’s limited purpose. Suddenly, he is invited to take part in a special government-funded workshop which will not only cure his disease, but give him almost super-human abilities.
Balding and menacing Dr. Ajax (Ed Skrein) however, plans to turn Wade into a super slave and engineers a path that will not only see him gain incredible healing powers and horrifically scarred skin, but also a bloodthirsty, burning desire for revenge. The film comprehends just what it is that makes the red-and-black-suited psycho special, and it certainly utilises those elements well, in some genuinely exciting sequences including Deadpool’s ongoing ability to break the fourth wall, with a sufficient application of just the right degree of cynicism. However, Deadpool’s trump card is Ryan Reynolds – here proving in spite of the atrocity that was Green Lantern (and he refers to this in the script) that he is the perfect choice for the role and in so doing adds an angle of righteous redemption to Deadpool’s story. Reynolds clearly revels in the opportunity to hyperactively chatter uncontrollably and in so doing, he demonstrates outstanding timing and wonderful chemistry with all of the cast.
Deadpool is relatively small-scale for a comic book film, but the production deserves credit for maximising the resources they’ve been allocated. The biggest action sequences offer real spectacle and are stunningly choreographed with acrobatics and hand-to-hand combat and intense gunplay. Thankfully and mercifully, given its rating, it doesn’t push the violence towards unpleasant/unnecessary gratuity.
THE FINEST HOURS
Pine plays Bernie Webber, a guy of minimal charm who knows the sea better than he does his own romantic feelings. He has to be talked into getting engaged to his girlfriend (Holliday Grainger), who evidently finds him more exciting than we in the back row do. Bernie’s decision to take a 36-foot lifeboat into lethal 100-foot waves, to the surprise of his Texan commanding officer (Eric Bana), seems as suicidal as it is stoic: “We all live or we all die, right?” he tells his men. Very profound stuff.
Meanwhile back on the Pendleton is our other hero, Affleck’s chief engineer Ray Sybert. He has adopted similar approach to impending disaster, even as the devastating flood waters rise to the waist and the other sailors resort to panic and potential mutiny. He is an aquatic version of Star Trek’s 'Scotty', issuing commands such as, “We’ve gotta isolate the boiler!” Both characters are as dull as the least monochrome shade of grey, just like the whole film, which barely seems to have been shot in colour, although, I am reliably informed, it was. To add to the misery, the whole thing is bizarrely shot in 3D, and that is even harder to discern. Now finally to those waves, which are the real stars of the piece and which just about manage to make The Finest Hours a moderately worthwhile viewing experience.
