Showing posts with label comic book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label comic book. Show all posts
Saturday, July 28, 2018
Friday, March 4, 2016
It Came From The Cineplex: Deadpool
Deadpool was written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, and directed by Tim Miller (no relation to TJ Miller, who's allegedly an actor in the film). It's based on the Marvel comic character created by Rob Liefeld and Fabien Nicieza.
Reese and Wernick previously wrote Zombieland and G.I. Joe: Retaliation.
Deadpool is Miller's directorial debut. Before this he was a special effects artist, and designed the title sequences for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (the American remake, I presume) and Thor: The Dark World.
The film had a long, and very tortuous journey to the big screen, going all the way back to 2000, when Artisan Entertainment announced they were producing a Deadpool movie. The property then went to New Line Cinema (makers of the Blade trilogy) in 2004. Oddly enough Ryan Reynolds was slated to star even back then. It was then shuffled to 20th Century Fox in 2005, where it languished for another five years. A script was written in 2010, and numerous directors were attached to the property, until 2011, when Tim Miller was finally hired. Why hire an effects artist with no prior experience at directing a film? Your guess is as good as mine.
In 2012, Fox ponied up the dough to shoot some test footage, starring Ryan Reynolds in costume. In 2014 this footage was "accidentally" leaked online, allegedly by Reynolds himself. Fan response to the footage was so positive that Fox finally greenlit the project in 2014. Reynolds cites the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the test footage as the sole reason the film was finally made.
Yep, that's right, this is a Fox film. Despite the fact that Deadpool is a Marvel Comics character, Marvel Studios had absolutely nothing to do with it. Learn the difference between Marvel and Marvel Studios films!
The Deadpool character made his first comic book appearance in The New Mutants #98 way back in 1991. At that time, he was simply a mercenary hired to kill the New Mutants. Later on he became a recurring character in the X-Force comic. As his popularity grew he began guest starring in dozens of other Marvel comics, until he received his own miniseries in 1993. In 1997, Deadpool was given his own comic, written by Joe Kelly. It was here that the current pop culture-referencing, fourth wall-breaking version of the character began to emerge.
This is actually the second time Ryan Reynolds has played the character. He first starred as Deadpool in 2009's woeful X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Unfortunately that particular version of the character was a complete and utterly unrecognizable misfire. Instead of his traditional red and black suit, he appeared shirtless, sporting a series of bizarre tattoos. In addition, this version had a host of new powers, including Cyclops' optic blasts, swords that somehow extended from his arms, and inexplicably, teleportation (!).
But the most perplexing change made to the character was the fact that his mouth was sewn shut! Who the hell thought that was a good idea? He's known as "The merc with a mouth" because of his non-stop quips, so of course it makes perfect sense to make him, er, mouthless. Apparently the cocaine still flows freely among Hollywood executives.
After just three weeks, the film has grossed a whopping $250 MILLION here in the States, and over $600 MILLION worldwide. I'm absolutely gobsmacked by those numbers, especially for a film about such an unknown character. Deadpool's not like Spider-Man or the Hulk. Despite the fact that he's been around in one form or another since 1991, he's virtually unknown to non comic book fans. I figured the general public would shrug when they heard the name and go see something else.
To be honest I was expecting the film to be a huge fizzle. Especially when the relentless marketing campaign began. Rarely have I seen a film hyped and advertised as much as this one was. Nine times out of ten, the harder a studio hawks a film, the more worried they are that it's gonna fail.
The fact that fans on the internet went nuts for the film worried me a bit as well. Many films that generate a huge online buzz end up being box office disasters. It happened with Snakes On A Plane, Watchmen and Scott Pilgrim Saves The World. A movie may excite the nerd community into a frenzy, but if it doesn't catch the fancy of the general public, it's gonna flop. I was expecting the same thing to happen with Deadpool. Happily I was wrong. I guess for once the massive marketing campaign and online buzz worked!
Reese and Wernick previously wrote Zombieland and G.I. Joe: Retaliation.
Deadpool is Miller's directorial debut. Before this he was a special effects artist, and designed the title sequences for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (the American remake, I presume) and Thor: The Dark World.
The film had a long, and very tortuous journey to the big screen, going all the way back to 2000, when Artisan Entertainment announced they were producing a Deadpool movie. The property then went to New Line Cinema (makers of the Blade trilogy) in 2004. Oddly enough Ryan Reynolds was slated to star even back then. It was then shuffled to 20th Century Fox in 2005, where it languished for another five years. A script was written in 2010, and numerous directors were attached to the property, until 2011, when Tim Miller was finally hired. Why hire an effects artist with no prior experience at directing a film? Your guess is as good as mine.
In 2012, Fox ponied up the dough to shoot some test footage, starring Ryan Reynolds in costume. In 2014 this footage was "accidentally" leaked online, allegedly by Reynolds himself. Fan response to the footage was so positive that Fox finally greenlit the project in 2014. Reynolds cites the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the test footage as the sole reason the film was finally made.
Yep, that's right, this is a Fox film. Despite the fact that Deadpool is a Marvel Comics character, Marvel Studios had absolutely nothing to do with it. Learn the difference between Marvel and Marvel Studios films!
The Deadpool character made his first comic book appearance in The New Mutants #98 way back in 1991. At that time, he was simply a mercenary hired to kill the New Mutants. Later on he became a recurring character in the X-Force comic. As his popularity grew he began guest starring in dozens of other Marvel comics, until he received his own miniseries in 1993. In 1997, Deadpool was given his own comic, written by Joe Kelly. It was here that the current pop culture-referencing, fourth wall-breaking version of the character began to emerge.
This is actually the second time Ryan Reynolds has played the character. He first starred as Deadpool in 2009's woeful X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Unfortunately that particular version of the character was a complete and utterly unrecognizable misfire. Instead of his traditional red and black suit, he appeared shirtless, sporting a series of bizarre tattoos. In addition, this version had a host of new powers, including Cyclops' optic blasts, swords that somehow extended from his arms, and inexplicably, teleportation (!).
But the most perplexing change made to the character was the fact that his mouth was sewn shut! Who the hell thought that was a good idea? He's known as "The merc with a mouth" because of his non-stop quips, so of course it makes perfect sense to make him, er, mouthless. Apparently the cocaine still flows freely among Hollywood executives.
After just three weeks, the film has grossed a whopping $250 MILLION here in the States, and over $600 MILLION worldwide. I'm absolutely gobsmacked by those numbers, especially for a film about such an unknown character. Deadpool's not like Spider-Man or the Hulk. Despite the fact that he's been around in one form or another since 1991, he's virtually unknown to non comic book fans. I figured the general public would shrug when they heard the name and go see something else.
To be honest I was expecting the film to be a huge fizzle. Especially when the relentless marketing campaign began. Rarely have I seen a film hyped and advertised as much as this one was. Nine times out of ten, the harder a studio hawks a film, the more worried they are that it's gonna fail.
The fact that fans on the internet went nuts for the film worried me a bit as well. Many films that generate a huge online buzz end up being box office disasters. It happened with Snakes On A Plane, Watchmen and Scott Pilgrim Saves The World. A movie may excite the nerd community into a frenzy, but if it doesn't catch the fancy of the general public, it's gonna flop. I was expecting the same thing to happen with Deadpool. Happily I was wrong. I guess for once the massive marketing campaign and online buzz worked!
I think Deadpool's massive success is a case of a film being in the exactly the right place at the right time. Deadpool gleefully makes fun of standard superhero movie tropes, especially those from Marvel films. If this movie had been made prior to 2008, when Iron Man debuted, I don't think it would have been the hit that it is. You can't make a satire unless there's material to make fun of. That's why this is the perfect time and place for it.
Much is being made of the film's R-rating. While it's no doubt the most successful R-rated comic book movie, it's far from the first. The Crow, Watchmen, the Kick-Ass films, Kingsman: The Secret Service, every Punisher movie, 300, Dredd, Sin City, the Blade trilogy and Spawn were all rated R.
Once again, the Comic Book Inverse Accuracy Law, which I made up myself, is in full effect here. The law states:
The odds of a comic book movie or TV series staying true to the source material is inversely proportional to how much I care about the property in question.
In other words, when I truly care about a comic book, such as the Fantastic 4, then Hollywood will make a film in which the characters are virtually unrecognizable. They won't look, or more importantly act, anything like themselves.
On the other hand, when I couldn't possibly care less about a property, then we get a lavishly accurate rendition, faithful to the source material in every measurable sense.
That's exactly what's happened with Deadpool. I don't dislike the character, but he came along about the time I stopped buying comics, and I have no feelings about him one way or the other. So of course Fox makes the most accurate and precise comic to film adaptation in history. Whaddya gonna do?
SPOILERS!
The Plot:
We begin in the middle of the movie, as Wade Wilson, aka Deadpool (played by Ryan Reynolds), is riding in a cab. He chats with Dopinder, the driver, asking him about a photo of a woman on the dash. Dopinder says she was his girlfriend, but he lost her to his more successful cousin. Deadpool tells him he needs to fight for what he wants in life. He tells Dopinder to stop in the middle of a bridge, then leaps out of the cab, stiffing him.
Deadpool then waits on the bridge until he sees a group of vans approaching. He jumps down and lands in one of the vans, causing a huge pileup. He tells the thugs he's looking for Francis, aka Ajax, the supervillain scientist who gave him his powers and disfigured him.
Meanwhile at Professor Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters, home of the X-Men, Colossus sees a news report on Deadpool and decides to stop him. He takes his protege Negasonic Teenage Warhead with him.
Back at the bridge, Deadpool suddenly realizes he left his bag of weapons at home, and only has twelve rounds in his gun. He makes them all count, killing every one of the thugs in a glorious orgy of R-rated violence.
Flashback to a year earlier, where Wade Wilson works as a small-time mercenary and "enforcer" in New York. He regularly visits Sister Margaret's School For Wayward Girls, an ironically named bar for mercs. The patrons regularly bet on who'll die in a "dead pool." Wade meets a prostitute named Vanessa, and the two quickly fall in love. Things go well for them until Wade learns he has inoperable cancer. Back at the bar, Wade is approached by a man in black who calls himself The Recruiter. He says he works for an organization that can cure him, as well as give him super powers. He gives Wade his card and leaves.
Flash forward to the present, when Ajax appears on the bridge, steals a motorcycle and rides toward Deadpool. Out of ammo, he throws his sword at the front wheel of the bike, causing Ajax to crash. He then impales him against the bridge with his other sword. Ajax is a mutant who can't feel pain, so he simply sits there and laughs. Deadpool constantly calls Ajax by his real name of "Francis," which irks the supervillain no end. He lifts up his mask and says he wants Ajax to cure him.
Just then Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead arrive. Colossus wants to take Deadpool back to the X-Mansion to get him to join the X-Men. Deadpool doesn't want to go and begins punching Colossus (a Russian mutant whose body is made of organic steel), but all he does is break his hands and foot. Colossus handcuffs Deadpool and drags him away. Deadpool cuts off his own hand to escape and hops into a passing garbage truck.
In another flashback, Wade feels he's out of alternatives, so he sneaks out of Vanessa's apartment and accepts the Recruiter's offer. He meets with Ajax and his superpowered assistant Angel Dust. Ajax injects Wade with an experimental serum and begins torturing him, claiming stress will activate his mutant genes. Wade finds out that Ajax's plan is to turn him into some sort of superpowered, mindless soldier. He also finds out that Ajax's real name is Francis and begins taunting him. Ajax angrily ramps up the torture. Wade's mutant cells activate, curing his cancer and making him virtually invulnerable. He's now able to heal from any injury, but the down side is his skin and face are horribly disfigured. Wade causes an explosion, which frees him from his capsule. He battles with Ajax, who handily beats him. Ajax tells him he's the only one who can fix his face, but won't do so as a punishment. He leaves Wade for dead as the facility collapses on top of him.
Wade survives of course, but fears Vanessa will be repulsed by his altered appearance, so he refuses to let her know he's still alive. He visits his pal Weasel at the bar, and says he wants to find Ajax and force him to fix his face. Weasel says Ajax thinks he's dead, so he should take advantage of that and wear a disguise. Wade takes his advice, makes a superhero costume and calls himself "Deadpool." He begins running rampant through the criminal underworld searching for Ajax. He finds The Recruiter and kills him after extracting Ajax's whereabouts from him.
Back in the present, Deadpool goes to his apartment, which he shares with an elderly black blind woman called Blind Al. He stays there until his hand grows back. Meanwhile Ajax goes to the bar to find Deadpool. He sees a photo of Wade and Vanessa there, realizes Deadpool's secret identity, and comes up with a plan to hurt him.
Weasel talks Deadpool into contacting Vanessa. He goes to the strip bar where she works, but can't bring himself to face her. Backstage Vanessa gets a message that an old boyfriend is waiting for her out back. Thinking it's Wade, she rushes into the alley, where Ajax captures her. Deadpool follows and sees her handbag on the ground and realizes she's been taken (where's Liam Neeson when you need him?).
Deadpool then gears up and goes to rescue Vanessa. He stops at the X-Mansion and picks up Colossus and Negasonic. He calls Dopinder, and the three of them cram into his cab. He drops them off at Ajax's hideout, which is in what appears to be a scuttled S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, but that can't be, because this isn't a Marvel Studios movie! Dopinder drives off, and Deadpool realizes he left his gun bag in his cab. D'oh!
The three mutants begin battling their way through Ajax's goons. Deadpool taunts Ajax by spelling out "Francis" with the bodies of his dead men. He climbs up to the deck of the not-Helicarrier and sees Ajax has Vanessa locked in a chamber just like the one that activated his powers. Deadpool and Ajax have an epic sword duel. Meanwhile Angel Dust pins Colossus and tries to pull his head off. Negasonic powers up and blasts her. The blast strikes the not-Helicarrier, which destabilizes it. It begins tilting as it collapses, and debris slides off the deck. Deadpool catches Vanessa's chamber and tosses it to safety.
Deadpool finds the injured Ajax and holds a gun to his head, demanding he fix his face. Ajax laughs and says he was lying about being able to cure him, and he's stuck as he is. Colossus tries to talk Deadpool out of killing Ajax, giving an impassioned speech on what it means to be a hero. In the middle of the speech Deadpool just shoots Ajax in the head and walks off.
Deadpool apologizes to Vanessa for abandoning her. She lifts up his mask and says his new face will take some getting used to, but she can handle it and kisses him.
On the other hand, when I couldn't possibly care less about a property, then we get a lavishly accurate rendition, faithful to the source material in every measurable sense.
That's exactly what's happened with Deadpool. I don't dislike the character, but he came along about the time I stopped buying comics, and I have no feelings about him one way or the other. So of course Fox makes the most accurate and precise comic to film adaptation in history. Whaddya gonna do?
SPOILERS!
The Plot:
We begin in the middle of the movie, as Wade Wilson, aka Deadpool (played by Ryan Reynolds), is riding in a cab. He chats with Dopinder, the driver, asking him about a photo of a woman on the dash. Dopinder says she was his girlfriend, but he lost her to his more successful cousin. Deadpool tells him he needs to fight for what he wants in life. He tells Dopinder to stop in the middle of a bridge, then leaps out of the cab, stiffing him.
Deadpool then waits on the bridge until he sees a group of vans approaching. He jumps down and lands in one of the vans, causing a huge pileup. He tells the thugs he's looking for Francis, aka Ajax, the supervillain scientist who gave him his powers and disfigured him.
Meanwhile at Professor Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters, home of the X-Men, Colossus sees a news report on Deadpool and decides to stop him. He takes his protege Negasonic Teenage Warhead with him.
Back at the bridge, Deadpool suddenly realizes he left his bag of weapons at home, and only has twelve rounds in his gun. He makes them all count, killing every one of the thugs in a glorious orgy of R-rated violence.
Flashback to a year earlier, where Wade Wilson works as a small-time mercenary and "enforcer" in New York. He regularly visits Sister Margaret's School For Wayward Girls, an ironically named bar for mercs. The patrons regularly bet on who'll die in a "dead pool." Wade meets a prostitute named Vanessa, and the two quickly fall in love. Things go well for them until Wade learns he has inoperable cancer. Back at the bar, Wade is approached by a man in black who calls himself The Recruiter. He says he works for an organization that can cure him, as well as give him super powers. He gives Wade his card and leaves.
Flash forward to the present, when Ajax appears on the bridge, steals a motorcycle and rides toward Deadpool. Out of ammo, he throws his sword at the front wheel of the bike, causing Ajax to crash. He then impales him against the bridge with his other sword. Ajax is a mutant who can't feel pain, so he simply sits there and laughs. Deadpool constantly calls Ajax by his real name of "Francis," which irks the supervillain no end. He lifts up his mask and says he wants Ajax to cure him.
Just then Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead arrive. Colossus wants to take Deadpool back to the X-Mansion to get him to join the X-Men. Deadpool doesn't want to go and begins punching Colossus (a Russian mutant whose body is made of organic steel), but all he does is break his hands and foot. Colossus handcuffs Deadpool and drags him away. Deadpool cuts off his own hand to escape and hops into a passing garbage truck.
In another flashback, Wade feels he's out of alternatives, so he sneaks out of Vanessa's apartment and accepts the Recruiter's offer. He meets with Ajax and his superpowered assistant Angel Dust. Ajax injects Wade with an experimental serum and begins torturing him, claiming stress will activate his mutant genes. Wade finds out that Ajax's plan is to turn him into some sort of superpowered, mindless soldier. He also finds out that Ajax's real name is Francis and begins taunting him. Ajax angrily ramps up the torture. Wade's mutant cells activate, curing his cancer and making him virtually invulnerable. He's now able to heal from any injury, but the down side is his skin and face are horribly disfigured. Wade causes an explosion, which frees him from his capsule. He battles with Ajax, who handily beats him. Ajax tells him he's the only one who can fix his face, but won't do so as a punishment. He leaves Wade for dead as the facility collapses on top of him.
Wade survives of course, but fears Vanessa will be repulsed by his altered appearance, so he refuses to let her know he's still alive. He visits his pal Weasel at the bar, and says he wants to find Ajax and force him to fix his face. Weasel says Ajax thinks he's dead, so he should take advantage of that and wear a disguise. Wade takes his advice, makes a superhero costume and calls himself "Deadpool." He begins running rampant through the criminal underworld searching for Ajax. He finds The Recruiter and kills him after extracting Ajax's whereabouts from him.
Back in the present, Deadpool goes to his apartment, which he shares with an elderly black blind woman called Blind Al. He stays there until his hand grows back. Meanwhile Ajax goes to the bar to find Deadpool. He sees a photo of Wade and Vanessa there, realizes Deadpool's secret identity, and comes up with a plan to hurt him.
Weasel talks Deadpool into contacting Vanessa. He goes to the strip bar where she works, but can't bring himself to face her. Backstage Vanessa gets a message that an old boyfriend is waiting for her out back. Thinking it's Wade, she rushes into the alley, where Ajax captures her. Deadpool follows and sees her handbag on the ground and realizes she's been taken (where's Liam Neeson when you need him?).
Deadpool then gears up and goes to rescue Vanessa. He stops at the X-Mansion and picks up Colossus and Negasonic. He calls Dopinder, and the three of them cram into his cab. He drops them off at Ajax's hideout, which is in what appears to be a scuttled S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, but that can't be, because this isn't a Marvel Studios movie! Dopinder drives off, and Deadpool realizes he left his gun bag in his cab. D'oh!
The three mutants begin battling their way through Ajax's goons. Deadpool taunts Ajax by spelling out "Francis" with the bodies of his dead men. He climbs up to the deck of the not-Helicarrier and sees Ajax has Vanessa locked in a chamber just like the one that activated his powers. Deadpool and Ajax have an epic sword duel. Meanwhile Angel Dust pins Colossus and tries to pull his head off. Negasonic powers up and blasts her. The blast strikes the not-Helicarrier, which destabilizes it. It begins tilting as it collapses, and debris slides off the deck. Deadpool catches Vanessa's chamber and tosses it to safety.
Deadpool finds the injured Ajax and holds a gun to his head, demanding he fix his face. Ajax laughs and says he was lying about being able to cure him, and he's stuck as he is. Colossus tries to talk Deadpool out of killing Ajax, giving an impassioned speech on what it means to be a hero. In the middle of the speech Deadpool just shoots Ajax in the head and walks off.
Deadpool apologizes to Vanessa for abandoning her. She lifts up his mask and says his new face will take some getting used to, but she can handle it and kisses him.
Thoughts:
The screenwriters do their best to disguise this by presenting it in flashback form, to give it the illusion of complexity. If you rearranged all the scenes into chronological order, you'd have a pretty standard superhero origin story— the exact kind Deadpool is so anxious to skewer!
• Fox studio executives had absolutely no faith in this film (he, just like me!) and feared it would be a financial disaster. To hedge their bets, they ordered director Tim Miller to trim $7 million from the budget.
When I first read about this I was outraged, but after seeing the film I think Fox inadvertently did the film a favor. Unlike most superhero movies, the stakes in Deadpool are actually pretty small— it boils down to a guy trying to save his girlfriend. The world isn't in jeopardy, no cities are crushed and there's no bolt of blue energy stabbing up into the sky. This smaller scale actually benefits a hero like Deadpool.
When I first read about this I was outraged, but after seeing the film I think Fox inadvertently did the film a favor. Unlike most superhero movies, the stakes in Deadpool are actually pretty small— it boils down to a guy trying to save his girlfriend. The world isn't in jeopardy, no cities are crushed and there's no bolt of blue energy stabbing up into the sky. This smaller scale actually benefits a hero like Deadpool.
I have a bad feeling that now that the film has succeeded beyond anyone's wildest dreams, the sequel is going to be a big budget, overblown mess.
• Does Deadpool's costume look familiar to you? Well, there's a reason for that. Artist Rob Liefeld has admitted that Deadpool was, ahem, inspired by a DC character called Deathstroke.
Supposedly when he first showed the character to writer Fabian Nicieza, he said, "Hey, that looks like Deathstroke!" Deathstroke's real name was Slade Wilson, so in a burst of originality, Nicieza christened Deadpool as Wade Wilson. Why, that's a completely different name!
• Deadpool is the fifth comic book movie Ryan Reynolds has been in. He previously played Hannibal King in Blade: Trinity, an abortive version of Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Hal Jordan in Green Lantern, and Nick Walker in R.I.P.D.
• Are you scratching your head because you don't remember ever seeing Negasonic Teenage Warhead in any X-Men comics? Well, don't feel bad. The character appeared exacly one time, in New X-Men #115 in 2001. In fact it looks like she was a redshirt, created solely as cannon fodder, as she was killed off in the very same issue in which she first appeared. No doubt the Deadpool producers chose her because she's one of the most obscure (and no doubt most easily available) X-Men possible.
Supposedly when he first showed the character to writer Fabian Nicieza, he said, "Hey, that looks like Deathstroke!" Deathstroke's real name was Slade Wilson, so in a burst of originality, Nicieza christened Deadpool as Wade Wilson. Why, that's a completely different name!
• Deadpool is the fifth comic book movie Ryan Reynolds has been in. He previously played Hannibal King in Blade: Trinity, an abortive version of Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Hal Jordan in Green Lantern, and Nick Walker in R.I.P.D.
• Are you scratching your head because you don't remember ever seeing Negasonic Teenage Warhead in any X-Men comics? Well, don't feel bad. The character appeared exacly one time, in New X-Men #115 in 2001. In fact it looks like she was a redshirt, created solely as cannon fodder, as she was killed off in the very same issue in which she first appeared. No doubt the Deadpool producers chose her because she's one of the most obscure (and no doubt most easily available) X-Men possible.
The movie version looks nothing like her comic counterpart, and her powers are quite different as well. In the comic she was a telepath with precognitive powers, not someone who could explode at will. Look at that image of her above. If that drawing wasn't based on the Reverend Mother from the 1984 Dune movie, then I'll eat my hat.
Personally I think Movie Negasonic is far more interesting than her the comic version. Her explosive movie powers certainly make more sense for someone with "Warhead" in their name.
By the way, Negasonic Teenage Warhead is named after a song by the band Monster Magnet.
• Supposedly Ryan Reynolds liked playing the character so much that he… "permanently borrowed" one of the Deadpool costumes and took it home.
Thing is, he doesn't seem to have any discernible talent. I've never heard him say anything that's actually funny. Most of his lines in this film ("You look like an avocado had sex with an older avocado") thud to the floor like sacks of wet cement. It's like the guy who bags my groceries suddenly got an agent and began starring in TV and films.
• Deadpool's primary superpower is his mutant healing ability, which allows him to recover from any wound. He even regrows his hand after he deliberately cuts it off to escape Colossus.
I wonder how far his healing ability goes? A hand is one thing. What would happen if you cut off his head? Would he grow that back? Would he be like a planarian, and his body would grow a new head, while his head grew a new body?
• I'm honestly amazed that Deadpool keeps his mask on throughout most of the film. In most superhero movies, the main character rips his mask off every chance he gets (as in the Spider-Man and Captain America movies). That's because the pinheads that run the studios want the audience to be able to see the faces of their high-priced talent as much as possible. The fact that Ryan Reynold's face is hidden behind a full head mask for most of the film is nothing short of a miracle.
• I'm honestly amazed that Deadpool keeps his mask on throughout most of the film. In most superhero movies, the main character rips his mask off every chance he gets (as in the Spider-Man and Captain America movies). That's because the pinheads that run the studios want the audience to be able to see the faces of their high-priced talent as much as possible. The fact that Ryan Reynold's face is hidden behind a full head mask for most of the film is nothing short of a miracle.
Of course the fact that Reynolds looked like this for a good chunk of the film may be a factor in why he remained masked so much.
• I'm kind of surprised there was no payoff for the Dopinder subplot. As he drives Deadpool and the others to the not-Helicarrier, he admits he abducted his cousin and has him stashed in the trunk of the cab. Deadpool pretends to scold him (while secretly approving) and… that's the last we hear about the incident! Did he really go through with the abduction? Did he (gasp) actually kill his cousin, as Deadpool urged?
• Deadpool, Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead take a cab to confront Ajax. Due to his enormous bulk, Colossus has to squeeze himself uncomfortably into the back seat.
I get the joke, but part of me has to ask why Colossus didn't just, oh, I don't know, turn back to human form during the cab ride.
• My favorite bit in the film— Deadpool and the others arrive at Ajax's not-Helicarrier, and Angel Dust, who's standing on the deck far above, glares down at them. Deadpool says, "Ooh, watch, she's gonna do a superhero landing!" Sure enough, Angel Dust leaps several hundred feet and lands in the traditional super pose, with one knee and fist planted firmly on the ground. Haw!
If you've seen even one superhero movie in your life, you'll be very familiar with that pose.
• Because this is a film about a Marvel character, there are tons of references, Easter eggs and shout outs. Ryan Reynolds claims there are at least a hundred, but he may have been exaggerating. Here are a few I noticed:
— In the opening "bullet time" credits, we see a wallet containing a photo of Ryan Reynolds in his Green Lantern costume, from the movie of the same name. There's also a coffee cup labeled "Rob L," referring to Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld, and a copy of a 2010 People Magazine with Ryan Reynolds on the cover (proclaiming him the Sexiest Man Alive).
— Deadpool contains several references to Hugh Jackman, who plays Wolverine in the various X-Men films. In the comics, Deadpool received his invulnerability from a serum derived from Wolverine's blood. By the way, this is the first film set in the X-Men Universe in which Wolverine doesn't appear.
— Before he becomes Deadpool, Wade wears a t-shirt with Bea Arthur's face on it, as he deals with a sleazy pizza delivery guy. This is a reference to the comic, in which Deadpool has an abnormal attraction to Arthur and The Golden Girls. Also, the pizza boxes in this scene are labeled "Feige's Favorites," which is obviously a shoutout to Marvel President Kevin Feige.
— Deadpool consistently implies that The Recruiter is a pedofile, and at one point even calls him "Jared." That's a squicky nod to former Subway spokesman Jared Fogle, who got in some pedo-y hot water last year.
— As Wade is being wheeled into Ajax's lab on a stretcher, he says, "And don't make the super suit green. Or animated!" This is a reference to the 2011 Green Lantern movie, in which Reynolds starred. You know, that movie gets a lot of crap from fandom, but I didn't hate it as much as most of the humans on Earth.
— In the lab, Wade is wheeled past a mutant with boney growths protruding from her back. This is probably supposed to be Marrow, a character from the X-Men comics.
— Also in the lab, Ajax becomes exasperated by Wade's constant quips and threatens to sew his mouth shut. That's obviously a nod to the previously mentioned "mouthless" Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
— Wade's girlfriend Vanessa is in the comics, where she has superpowers and goes by the codename "Copycat." I wonder if they'll address this in the inevitable sequel?
— When Colossus handcuffs Deadpool, he says he's taking him to see Professor X. Deadpool says, "Which one, McAvoy or Stewart? These timelines are so confusing!" Obviously this is a reference to the fact that both James McAvoy and Patrick Stewart have played the Professor. Heck, in X-Men: Days Of Future Past they both played him at the same time!
— During the lengthy bridge sequence, there's an exit sign labeled "Nicieza Street," which is a shoutout to Deadpool writer Fabian Nicieza. There's a "Parker Avenue" sign as well, which is most likely a reference to Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man.
— There's a very twisted reference in the film that may sail over the heads of most audience members. On the bridge, Deadpan cuts off his own hand to escape from Colossus. As he does so, a geyser of blood splatters all over Colossus' face. Deadpool says, "Are you there God? It's me, Margaret." That's the title of the famous novel by Judy Blume, which is a coming of age story of a young girl who, among other things, gets her first period (!).
— The mouthless Deadpool is referenced again in Vanessa's apartment. Wade holds up an action figure of the X-Men Origins: Wolverine version of Deadpool and says, "My most prized possession!" He then tosses it aside and reveals he was actually talking about his Wham! record album.
— Weasel convinces Deadpool to tell Vanessa he's still alive. As he leaves to meet with her, Weasel says, "Go get her, Tiger!" That's a paraphrase of Mary Jane Watson's catchphrase from the Spider-Man comics and films.
— As I mentioned in the plot outline, the final battle takes place on what is obviously meant to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier from The Avengers films (among others). That can't be! Helicarriers belong to Marvel Studios, and exist only in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Due to legal and contract reasons, Fox can't use them. Somehow Fox managed to slip one in under the radar though. If you look close it's not the exact same design as the ones in the Marvel Studios movies, but it's pretty darned close. It's definitely a crashed and decommissioned Helicarrier.
— During the final battle, Deadpool takes out most of Ajax's soldiers. He stops when he recognizes one of them, and shouts, "Bob!" In the comic, Deadpool often teams up with a character named "HYDRA Bob. He works for the evil organization, but isn't really into it, seeing it as just another job. Again, due to licensing, Fox can't legally use the name "HYDRA," so in this film the character's just called "Bob." Whatever they call him, he's definitely HYDRA Bob though.
— In the mid credits scene, Deadpool appears in a robe and tells the audience to leave.
This is a pretty good recreation of the end credits scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, in which he also breaks the fourth wall and tells the audience the movie's over. Cool!
• Artist Rob Liefeld gets a "created by" credit at the end of the film, along with writer Fabian Nicieza. It's true they created the character, but their version was vastly different from the current version seen in the comics and this film. Their Deadpool started out as a mercenary hired to kill the New Mutants, and was a cipher with little or no personality.
Deadpool was given his own comic title in 1997, which was written by Joe Kelly. He's the one responsible for transforming the character into the wisecrack-spouting, fourth wall-breaking version that's so popular today.
• I'm kind of surprised there was no payoff for the Dopinder subplot. As he drives Deadpool and the others to the not-Helicarrier, he admits he abducted his cousin and has him stashed in the trunk of the cab. Deadpool pretends to scold him (while secretly approving) and… that's the last we hear about the incident! Did he really go through with the abduction? Did he (gasp) actually kill his cousin, as Deadpool urged?
• Deadpool, Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead take a cab to confront Ajax. Due to his enormous bulk, Colossus has to squeeze himself uncomfortably into the back seat.
I get the joke, but part of me has to ask why Colossus didn't just, oh, I don't know, turn back to human form during the cab ride.
If you've seen even one superhero movie in your life, you'll be very familiar with that pose.
• Because this is a film about a Marvel character, there are tons of references, Easter eggs and shout outs. Ryan Reynolds claims there are at least a hundred, but he may have been exaggerating. Here are a few I noticed:
— In the opening "bullet time" credits, we see a wallet containing a photo of Ryan Reynolds in his Green Lantern costume, from the movie of the same name. There's also a coffee cup labeled "Rob L," referring to Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld, and a copy of a 2010 People Magazine with Ryan Reynolds on the cover (proclaiming him the Sexiest Man Alive).
— Deadpool contains several references to Hugh Jackman, who plays Wolverine in the various X-Men films. In the comics, Deadpool received his invulnerability from a serum derived from Wolverine's blood. By the way, this is the first film set in the X-Men Universe in which Wolverine doesn't appear.
— Before he becomes Deadpool, Wade wears a t-shirt with Bea Arthur's face on it, as he deals with a sleazy pizza delivery guy. This is a reference to the comic, in which Deadpool has an abnormal attraction to Arthur and The Golden Girls. Also, the pizza boxes in this scene are labeled "Feige's Favorites," which is obviously a shoutout to Marvel President Kevin Feige.
— Deadpool consistently implies that The Recruiter is a pedofile, and at one point even calls him "Jared." That's a squicky nod to former Subway spokesman Jared Fogle, who got in some pedo-y hot water last year.
— As Wade is being wheeled into Ajax's lab on a stretcher, he says, "And don't make the super suit green. Or animated!" This is a reference to the 2011 Green Lantern movie, in which Reynolds starred. You know, that movie gets a lot of crap from fandom, but I didn't hate it as much as most of the humans on Earth.
— Also in the lab, Ajax becomes exasperated by Wade's constant quips and threatens to sew his mouth shut. That's obviously a nod to the previously mentioned "mouthless" Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
— Wade's girlfriend Vanessa is in the comics, where she has superpowers and goes by the codename "Copycat." I wonder if they'll address this in the inevitable sequel?
— When Colossus handcuffs Deadpool, he says he's taking him to see Professor X. Deadpool says, "Which one, McAvoy or Stewart? These timelines are so confusing!" Obviously this is a reference to the fact that both James McAvoy and Patrick Stewart have played the Professor. Heck, in X-Men: Days Of Future Past they both played him at the same time!
— During the lengthy bridge sequence, there's an exit sign labeled "Nicieza Street," which is a shoutout to Deadpool writer Fabian Nicieza. There's a "Parker Avenue" sign as well, which is most likely a reference to Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man.
— There's a very twisted reference in the film that may sail over the heads of most audience members. On the bridge, Deadpan cuts off his own hand to escape from Colossus. As he does so, a geyser of blood splatters all over Colossus' face. Deadpool says, "Are you there God? It's me, Margaret." That's the title of the famous novel by Judy Blume, which is a coming of age story of a young girl who, among other things, gets her first period (!).
— The mouthless Deadpool is referenced again in Vanessa's apartment. Wade holds up an action figure of the X-Men Origins: Wolverine version of Deadpool and says, "My most prized possession!" He then tosses it aside and reveals he was actually talking about his Wham! record album.
— Weasel convinces Deadpool to tell Vanessa he's still alive. As he leaves to meet with her, Weasel says, "Go get her, Tiger!" That's a paraphrase of Mary Jane Watson's catchphrase from the Spider-Man comics and films.
— As I mentioned in the plot outline, the final battle takes place on what is obviously meant to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier from The Avengers films (among others). That can't be! Helicarriers belong to Marvel Studios, and exist only in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Due to legal and contract reasons, Fox can't use them. Somehow Fox managed to slip one in under the radar though. If you look close it's not the exact same design as the ones in the Marvel Studios movies, but it's pretty darned close. It's definitely a crashed and decommissioned Helicarrier.
— During the final battle, Deadpool takes out most of Ajax's soldiers. He stops when he recognizes one of them, and shouts, "Bob!" In the comic, Deadpool often teams up with a character named "HYDRA Bob. He works for the evil organization, but isn't really into it, seeing it as just another job. Again, due to licensing, Fox can't legally use the name "HYDRA," so in this film the character's just called "Bob." Whatever they call him, he's definitely HYDRA Bob though.
• Artist Rob Liefeld gets a "created by" credit at the end of the film, along with writer Fabian Nicieza. It's true they created the character, but their version was vastly different from the current version seen in the comics and this film. Their Deadpool started out as a mercenary hired to kill the New Mutants, and was a cipher with little or no personality.
Deadpool was given his own comic title in 1997, which was written by Joe Kelly. He's the one responsible for transforming the character into the wisecrack-spouting, fourth wall-breaking version that's so popular today.
It kind of stinks that Kelly didn't get a credit as well. Yes, without Liefeld and Nicieza there'd be no Deadpool, but without Kelly we wouldn't be sitting here talking about this film.
Deadpool is an ultra violent and profane superhero movie that manages the difficult feat of skewering the genre while telling a decent story of its own. I give it a B+.
Deadpool is an ultra violent and profane superhero movie that manages the difficult feat of skewering the genre while telling a decent story of its own. I give it a B+.
Monday, April 6, 2015
Everybody Out Of The (Dead) Pool!
The costume looks to be extremely faithful to the source material, and is a prime example of what I call The Comic Book Movie Costume Inverse Accuracy Law. It's a little fundamental rule of the universe I made up that states:
In other words, if I'm a huge and devoted fan of a character or property, the movie version will inevitably be virtually unrecognizable. If I have no particular interest in a character, then the film version will be a slavishly recreated copy of the source material.The odds of a comic book movie or TV series staying true to the source material is inversely proportional to how much I care about the property in question.
Meanwhile, after botching them twice before, Fox is rebooting The Fantastic 4 — my all-time favorite comic book— yet again. Everything about this project seems deliberately designed to be as off-model as possible, from the ages of the characters to the race-swapped Human Torch and even the Thing, who looks like nothing more than a walking, corn-studded turd. Thanks a lot, Fox.
The Deadpool film would seem to contradict the usual movie studio mantra that comic costumes are impossible to recreate in the real world, or that they'd look ridiculous in real life (which Fox actually said prior to the first X-Men film back in 2000). Obviously this Deadpool costume proves that was all nothing but a bald-faced lie.
Now that Deadpool has shown us that comic-accurate costumes are indeed possible, I look forward to seeing more exact recreations in the comic months.
Monday, February 23, 2015
It Came From The Cineplex: Kingsman: The Secret Service
We're still in the dreaded Beginning Of The Year Film Dumping Ground, but don't despair! There's a light at the end of the tunnel, as there are actually one or two movies out there worthy of your time. Like this one! It's been a long, long time since I've had this much fun watching a movie!
Kingsman: The Secret Service was written by Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn, and was also directed by Vaughn.
It's very loosely based on the comic book The Secret Service by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons. Millar was the writer of the Wanted and Kick-Ass comics, both of which became feature films. Gibbons was co-writer and artist of the Watchmen graphic novel, which also got the movie treatment.
Matthew Vaughn is also no stranger to comic book films, as he wrote and directed both Kick-Ass and X-Men: First Class.
In addition to Vaughn as director, the film also has a very comic book-y cast, featuring Samuel L. Jackson (The Avengers), Michael Caine (the Dark Knight films), Mark Hamill (who played the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series and the Trickster in the 1990s The Flash series), and Mark Strong (Kick-Ass).
The movie pays homage to the early James Bond films and their various tropes, subverting them without resorting to outright mocking. Colin Firth's dapper and deadly Galahad character owes much to John Steed of The Avengers (the one with Diana Rigg, not the Marvel one), while the "Green Recruit Joins A Secret Organization" plot line is quite similar to that of Men In Black. It also revels in its insane level of over-the-top comic book violence, much like Vaughn's Kick-Ass did.
Colin Firth was an unusual choice for an action hero, but was surprisingly believable in the role. Watch out, Liam Neeson!
The movie was set to premiere on November 14, 2014, but was pushed back to Mark 6, 2015. It was later moved up to October 24, 2015, but ultimately released on February 13, 2015. Jesus, make up your mind, guys!
Constant schedule shufflings like this are usually a sure sign the studio's got a bomb on their hands, but it turned out to not be the case this time.
SECRET SPOILERS AHEAD!
The Plot:
Seventeen years ago, a team of Kingsmen (a super secret British spy agency) travels to the Middle East on a mission. Led by Galahad (played by Colin Firth), the operation goes horribly wrong and a fellow agent is killed. Galahad visits the agent's widow and young son Eggsy, giving the boy a medal with a phone number on the back. He tells Eggsy that if he ever needs help of any kind, to call the number.
In the present day Eggsy (played by Taran Egerton) is now an unemployed young Londoner living with his mother, half sister and abusive stepfather. Eggsy's highly intelligent, but lacks motivation and purpose (don't we all?). After being arrested for stealing a car, he calls the number on the back of the medal. Galahad arranges his release and tells him of the existence of the Kingsmen, and urges him to join the organization.
Eggsy agrees and is taken to a secret underground bunker, where he and several other recruits compete for the chance to become the new Agent Lancelot (who was recently killed). The training is supervised by Merlin (Mark Strong). Through the power of a montage, the contestants are eliminated until only two remain— Eggsy and a young woman named Roxy.
Meanwhile, evil internet billionaire Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) announces he's giving away free cell phone and internet access to the world. Galahad poses as a billionaire and meets with Valentine to gather intel. Valentine says the rampant, unchecked human population is a virus, and global warming is the Earth's equivalent to a fever. He has a plan to cull the excess population before the virus kills the host.
To that end, Valentine has invented a signal that causes humans to become uncontrollably violent and kill one another. He abducts various celebrities, politicians and scientific minds and installs chips in their heads to protect them from his rage signal. He then plans to broadcast the signal throughout the world, causing humanity to destroy itself. Once that's done, he and his hand-picked group will remake the world in their own image.
Eggsy fails the final test and Roxy becomes the new Lancelot. Galahad tries to stop Valentine, but is killed by him. Eggsy then discovers that Arthur (Michael Caine), the head of the Kingsmen, has been compromised by Valentine. Eggsy kills Arthur, then teams up with Merlin and Lancelot to stop Valentine and save the Earth before it's too late.
Lancelot floats into the upper atmosphere in a high-altitude balloon and takes out one of Valentine's satellites, disrupting the rage signal. Eggsy and Merlin infiltrate Valentine's lair. Eggsy battles Valentine's assistant Gazelle, a woman with razor sharp prosthetic blade legs. He defeats her, kills Valentine, and saves the world.
Eggsy becomes the new Galahad, dressing just like his former mentor, and rescues his mother and sister from her abusive husband.
Thoughts:
• In the comic book, Eggsy's character is named Gary London. In the film, he's Gary "Eggsy" Unwin. I wonder... did they call him Eggsy in the film because he's played by Taran Egerton? Or was that just a coincidence?
• This is some extreme title nitpicking her, but what the heck. Why is the film called KingsMAN? The organization is called KingsMEN. Is it referencing the tailoring shop, which is called Kingsman? Or is it alluding to Eggsy himself, who becomes a new Kingsman? Either way, it just sounds wrong.
• Things I Learned From This Movie: The existence of bespoke suits. "Bespoke" is a posh way of saying "customized" or "tailored."
By the way, all the Kingsmen's clothing and accessories were created by real life Savile Row clothiers in London, and can actually be purchased if you have the notion to dress like a gentleman spy (and have several thousand dollars to spare).
Oh, and the thick black 1960's glasses Firth wears in the film are a nod to Michael Caine's Harry Palmer in The Ipcress File.
• There are a couple of homages to classic 1960s TV spy series in the movie. The entry to the Kingsmen's headquarters is through a posh tailor shop, just like in The Man From Uncle. Later when Galahad is showing Eggsy his spy gear, he demonstrates a shoe with a spring-loaded blade in the toe, saying that older models used to have a phone in the heel, which is just like Maxwell Smart's footwear in Get Smart.
• There's a big, potentially fatal plot hole in the film— specifically the Kingsmen's selection process for new agents. Instead of discreetly inducting one new recruit, for some reason they hold a grueling Survivor-style elimination contest to fill the empty slot. Eggy's just one of eight or nine potential recruits vying for the coveted agent vacancy. That's certainly a novel approach for a top secret spy organization!
At first I thought maybe when a recruit washed out of the program, the Kingsmen would wipe his or her memory with the amnesia drug that Galahad used in the film. But Eggsy flunks the final test, and nothing happens to him. Galahad doesn't use his amnesia drug on him.
And later on when Eggsy infiltrates Valentine's super villain lair, he encounters his former fellow contestant Charlie, who was also eliminated from the program. Charlie definitely remembers Eggsy blows his cover, so obviously his memory wasn't wiped either.
So apparently whenever a recruit is rejected, the Kingsmen just turn them loose and hope they don't start blabbing about their existence.
• I'm not a fan of the weird lisp affected by Samuel L. Jackson in the film. He convinced director Vaughn to let him play the part that way, saying, "I did the lisp because people tend to dismiss people who have defects."
• There's a big, potentially fatal plot hole in the film— specifically the Kingsmen's selection process for new agents. Instead of discreetly inducting one new recruit, for some reason they hold a grueling Survivor-style elimination contest to fill the empty slot. Eggy's just one of eight or nine potential recruits vying for the coveted agent vacancy. That's certainly a novel approach for a top secret spy organization!
At first I thought maybe when a recruit washed out of the program, the Kingsmen would wipe his or her memory with the amnesia drug that Galahad used in the film. But Eggsy flunks the final test, and nothing happens to him. Galahad doesn't use his amnesia drug on him.
And later on when Eggsy infiltrates Valentine's super villain lair, he encounters his former fellow contestant Charlie, who was also eliminated from the program. Charlie definitely remembers Eggsy blows his cover, so obviously his memory wasn't wiped either.
So apparently whenever a recruit is rejected, the Kingsmen just turn them loose and hope they don't start blabbing about their existence.
• I'm not a fan of the weird lisp affected by Samuel L. Jackson in the film. He convinced director Vaughn to let him play the part that way, saying, "I did the lisp because people tend to dismiss people who have defects."
Jackson knows of what he speaks, because he stuttered when he was young and worked hard to overcome it.
• Mark Hamill plays Professor Arnold, a climatologist kidnapped by Valentine. In the comic, the villain is named Dr. Arnold, and the first celebrity he kidnaps is Mark Hamill. Wakka wakka!
• Sofia Boutella plays Gazelle, Valentine's blade-legged henchman, er, woman. For the record, Boutella is not a double amputee, but is a renowned dancer. Her legs were replaced with blades through the magic of cgi.
Many classic Bond villains and henchmen had some sort of deadly handicap like Gazelle's. In Dr. No, the title character had metal hands, Tee-Hee had a metallic hook hand in Live And Let Die, and in Moonraker and The Spy Who Loved Me, Jaws had a set of metal choppers.
Irony Alert! This sounds like internet bushwah to me, but supposedly the producers approached Olympic amputee Oscar Pistorious, who really does have blades for legs, about playing the Gazelle role. He declined, wanting to focus on running instead of playing a psychotic killer in a movie. Of course in 2013 Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
• Moviegoers will no doubt be divided over the "Church Massacre" sequence, in which Galahad kills a hundred or so rage-induced members of a Kentucky congregation. For the record I loved it, and was very impressed with Colin Firth's fighting moves. Who knew the star of Bridget Jones's Diary was such a badass?
• I really wish Galahad hadn't been killed. His death was the only part of the film I didn't like. I get that it was done for plot purposes, but surely there was another way to show the stakes were high. If there's a sequel, do not be surprised if he returns somehow.
• When we see the conference room in the Kingsmen's headquarters, there are twelve chairs. That makes sense, as all the agents have King Arthur code names, and most versions of the story list twelve Knights Of The Round Table (Arthur, Lencelot, Galahad, Gawain, Geraint, Percival, Bors The Younger, Lamorak, Kay, Gareth, Bedivere, Gaheris and Tristan).
I'm assuming there are more than twelve people in the organization— there have to be secretaries, IT technicians and custodians, right? So the Arthurian names must be reserved for just the top level agents.
I'm assuming there are more than twelve people in the organization— there have to be secretaries, IT technicians and custodians, right? So the Arthurian names must be reserved for just the top level agents.
• Right before Valentine puts his evil plan into motion, he notices that his "chosen one" guests seem down and aren't having a good time. He gives them a pep talk, using Noah's Ark as a metaphor.
He says, "Noah and the ark. Was God the bad guy? Was Noah the bad guy? What about those little animals marching two by two? No!" Somehow this works up the crowd and they all perk up and are into the plan again.
Um... I hate to break it to Valentine, but God most definitely is the villain of Noah's Ark. He gets pissed when humanity, which he himself created, starts with the sinning, so he tells Noah to build and ark in order to save a chosen few while he floods the whole world and starts over.
Um... I hate to break it to Valentine, but God most definitely is the villain of Noah's Ark. He gets pissed when humanity, which he himself created, starts with the sinning, so he tells Noah to build and ark in order to save a chosen few while he floods the whole world and starts over.
What about all the infants that God drowned in the flood? What sin could they possibly have committed, other than soiling their diapers? What about all the animals God killed? How the hell does an animal sin? Think of the billions of lives God snuffed out with the flood. Seems a bit overkill to me. I don't see how anyone could look at that story and NOT see God as a Bond villain.
• All of Valentine's guards and chosen people have microchips implanted in their heads, to protect them from the rage signal. Merlin figures out that he can incapacitate Valentine's people by overloading the chips, causing their heads to explode in an orgy of gore and violence.
The exploding head effects looked extremely fake to me, like tiny, garishly-colored mushroom clouds. I'm assuming they made them look fake on purpose, to make the scene a little less bloody and horrific.
• Just a couple of days after this film was released, an episode of Marvel's Agent Carter series used the exact same "rage signal" plot. I'm sure it was just a coincidence, but it's funny how they both came out on practically the same day.
• Eggsy relays a message to his mother to lock her baby daughter in the bathroom for safety. She does so right before the rage signal starts up, causing her to try and break down the bathroom door in order to kill her daughter.
Oddly enough the signal doesn't seem to affect the baby. The signal's coming from the Mom's phone— did the bathroom door muffle the rage signal, or does it just not work on infants?
It would have been funny if it had though, seeing the mom and baby trying to claw through the door to get to one another.
• Eggsy relays a message to his mother to lock her baby daughter in the bathroom for safety. She does so right before the rage signal starts up, causing her to try and break down the bathroom door in order to kill her daughter.
Oddly enough the signal doesn't seem to affect the baby. The signal's coming from the Mom's phone— did the bathroom door muffle the rage signal, or does it just not work on infants?
It would have been funny if it had though, seeing the mom and baby trying to claw through the door to get to one another.
• Valentine activates the rage signal by pressing his hand on his fancy hi-tech touch screen computer desk. As long as his hand is touching the desk, the signal will be broadcast. If he lifts his hand for even a second, the signal's interrupted.
Well that was certainly convenient! Not to mention stupid on Valentine's part. Why make such a cumbersome interface? It'd be like having to hold down the print key on your keyboard for as long as it takes your document to print. Why wouldn't Valentine just set it up so he pressed a button and was done with it?
They try to smooth this over with a lame explanation, but obviously this was done for plot trickery reasons, so that once Eggsy killed Valentine he'd slump to the floor and the rage signal would stop instantly. It was still mighty clunky though.
Kingsman: The Secret Service is a fun and gleefully violent homage to classic Bond films and the gentleman spy genre, and one of the few bright spots in the otherwise dismal beginning of the year movie landscape. I give it an A-.
Kingsman: The Secret Service is a fun and gleefully violent homage to classic Bond films and the gentleman spy genre, and one of the few bright spots in the otherwise dismal beginning of the year movie landscape. I give it an A-.
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
The Flash Season 1, Episode 1: Pilot
So I watched the new Flash TV series tonight. I wasn't going to bother with it because I didn't want to start on a new show, but ultimately thought, eh, why not? I'll check out the first episode at least.
I liked it! Much more than I thought I would. In fact I like it more than I do Arrow. They managed to pack amazing amount of story into the 43 minute run time. It was more like a mini movie than a TV show. It set up the series perfectly and was actually pretty true to the comic book too. And best of all, it was fun! No grim and gritty brooding "heroes" anywhere to be seen. Yet.
It got a little too CW from time to time for my tastes, but I suppose that's to be expected, as executive producer and co-writer Greg Berlanti also worked on teen angst-fest Dawson's Creek. Berlanti also co-wrote the recent Green Lantern movie, which I didn't hate as much as the rest of the world.
This is the second time we've had a Flash TV series, of course. CBS aired one back in 1990 that was also pretty good, but it only lasted a season because it just couldn't compete with the ratings juggernaut that was The Cosby Show.
I don't know if I'll review this show every week as my time is stretched thin enough already. Any more shows and I'm gonna have to add to the Bob Canada's BlogWorld payroll.
SPEEDY SPOILERS AHEAD!
The Plot:
Twelve year old Barry Allen (OK, he's in his twenties, but he looks twelve) is a geeky crime scene investigator who absolutely isn't meant to remind of us Peter Parker. He's in love with his best friend Iris West just as much as he is with the particle accelerator built by his hero, Dr. Harrison Wells. When Wells activates the accelerator, it overloads and sends a weird energy discharge throughout Central City, the realistically named home town of Barry.
The accelerator discharge causes a bolt of lightning to hit Barry, knocking him into a rack of "unidentified" chemicals, because all scientists keep such things in their labs without knowing what they are. This accident follows the comic book origin very closely for once, and puts Barry into a coma.
Barry wakes up nine months later, which I'm sure wasn't meant to be any kind of rebirth metaphor, and discovers that he now has super speed. Dr. Wells, who's been confined to a wheelchair as a result of the accident, which I'm sure wasn't meant to be ironic, wants to study Barry and his new abilities. Wells' assistants, Dr. Caitlin Snow and Cisco Ramon, who absolutely will never become Killer Frost and Vibe, help Barry deal with his condition.
SPEEDY SPOILERS AHEAD!
The Plot:
Twelve year old Barry Allen (OK, he's in his twenties, but he looks twelve) is a geeky crime scene investigator who absolutely isn't meant to remind of us Peter Parker. He's in love with his best friend Iris West just as much as he is with the particle accelerator built by his hero, Dr. Harrison Wells. When Wells activates the accelerator, it overloads and sends a weird energy discharge throughout Central City, the realistically named home town of Barry.
The accelerator discharge causes a bolt of lightning to hit Barry, knocking him into a rack of "unidentified" chemicals, because all scientists keep such things in their labs without knowing what they are. This accident follows the comic book origin very closely for once, and puts Barry into a coma.
Barry wakes up nine months later, which I'm sure wasn't meant to be any kind of rebirth metaphor, and discovers that he now has super speed. Dr. Wells, who's been confined to a wheelchair as a result of the accident, which I'm sure wasn't meant to be ironic, wants to study Barry and his new abilities. Wells' assistants, Dr. Caitlin Snow and Cisco Ramon, who absolutely will never become Killer Frost and Vibe, help Barry deal with his condition.
They give him a special suit that can withstand super speed and Barry becomes the Flash, Central City's protector. He apparently has never heard of a secret identity, as he blabs it to his surrogate father, Detective Joe West. Joe asks Barry to keep his powers from Iris for plot complication reasons, and vows to help Barry clear his father's name.
Thoughts:
• I'm not totally sold on Grant Gustin as The Flash. His acting was OK; it's his youthful looks that are throwing me. As one of the characters pointed out in the pilot, he looks like he's about twelve years old.
Not only is it hard for me to buy him as a superhero, but I'm also having trouble picturing him as a crime scene investigator. Is that a job high school kids normally have? No wonder his boss doesn't take him seriously, it's like watching a little kid reciting forensic dialogue. Hopefully he'll grow on me as I keep watching.
Gustin bears more than a passing resemblance to Andrew Garfield, and plays Barry Allen in a very Peter Parker-like manner. Barry even gushes over Dr. Wells' particle accelerator, just like Parker did with Dr. Octavius' technobabble machine in Spider-Man 2.
• This is at least the third show on the air right now that begins with the exact same "My name is _________" narration (the other two being Arrow and Forever). I don't watch all that much TV, so there may even be others I don't know about.
It works, I suppose, but it's not as much fun as the "explain the premise theme songs" that The Beverly Hillbillies and The Brady Bunch had.
• Although Arrow has featured super powered characters from time to time, it's a fairly grounded and relatively realistic show. Adding the Flash to the same universe means that Oliver Queen suddenly lives in a world filled with people who can run so fast they go back in time or generate tornadoes with their mind. I wonder how all this will affect the overall tone of Arrow?
Dr. Wells explains to Barry that the accelerator explosion bathed Central City in other-dimensional energies, which may have caused others to develop superpowers.
This is the exact same thing they did on Smallville, in which the kryptonite meteors caused a rash of super folk that popped up one per week. Maybe that's how they'll explain the increased metahuman population on Arrow.
• In a flashback scene, Barry sees his mother surrounded by a vortex of red and yellow energy. A blurry yellow shape comes into focus for a second before his mother disappears.
I'm assuming the yellow shape will turn out to be the Reverse Flash, also known as Professor Zoom. He's the Flash's nemesis from the comic. Lord knows what they'll call him here though. I'm betting either name would probably be too comic booky for this comic book show.
• The Arrow appearance felt a little forced to me. Barry runs (!) the 600 miles to Starling City for no real reason other than to shoehorn in a cameo by his pal Oliver Queen. Any second I expected Oliver to say, " Well Barry, I look forward to seeing your adventures every Tuesday night at 8pm, 7 pm Central Time."
Of course this isn't the first time the two characters have met. Barry wandered onto the set of Arrow a couple of times last year in Season 2, to lay the groundwork for this series.
• One thing I've never liked about DC Comics: their fake city names. Superman lives in Metropolis, Batman lives in Gotham City, Arrow in Starling City and The Flash in Central City.
This is all well and good until you need to show where one of these fictitious burgs lies on a map. Where's Metropolis? Is it near New York City? IS it New York City? How far does it lie from Gotham?
DC's fake cities always pulled me right out of the story and reminded me that none of this stuff was real. Give me Marvel Comics any day, where their heroes all punched and flew around right in New York City, baby!
• Barry's not very good at keeping a secret identity. By the end of the pilot at least four people know he's really the Flash. So why even bother with the mask?
• There were a crap ton of Easter Eggs and comic book references in the pilot. Here are a just a few:
• There were a crap ton of Easter Eggs and comic book references in the pilot. Here are a just a few:
• The Big Belly Burger diner is a staple of DC Comics, and has also appeared in Arrow.
• STAR Labs is heavily featured in the comics and Arrow as well.
• TV Reporter Linda Park is from the Flash comic. She ended up marring the comic version of Wally West, aka Kid Flash and later THE Flash.
• Jitters, the coffee shop in which Iris works, is from the comics.
• At one point Barry crashes, at super speed, into a laundry truck labeled Gambi Cleaners.
In the comics, a tailor named Paul Gambi created the costumes for most of the Flash's rouges gallery.
• Barry tries out his new abilities at the Ferris Air testing facility. Ferris Air was where Hal Jordan, aka the Green Lantern, worked as a test pilot.
• The idea of the Flash running really fast around a tornado in order to dissipate it came directly from a 1969 Flash comic.
• Barry's dad is played by John Wesley Shipp, who starred in the 1990 Flash TV series.
• Iris' boyfriend is Detective Eddie Thawne. In the comics, Thawne becomes the Reverse Flash (well, one of them anyway).
• In the comics, Dr. Caitlin Snow is the civilian identity of Killer Frost, a super villain with icy powers. Also in the comics, Cisco Ramon is the real name of the superhero Vibe, who has vibratory powers.
Whether these two characters will actually become metahumans remains to be seen, but I'd say it's a good bet.
• As Dr. Wells gives Barry a tour of the destroyed STAR Labs, they walk by a broken cage labeled "GRODD." This is a reference to Gorilla Grodd, a super intelligent talking ape who's a longtime enemy of the Flash in the comics.
Does that mean we'll see Grodd in the series? Can they do a passable talking gorilla on a TV budget?• This is some major nitpicking here, but what the heck. When we see Iris at the coffee shop, she's walking around giving refills to various customers, pouring coffee into their cups from a single pitcher. In this day and age of ridiculously complex coffee orders, what are the odds that every one of those customers are drinking the exact same triple venti half-caff no foam lattes?
A couple things here. First of all, I'm assuming the "Crisis" in the headline refers to DC Comics' 1985 mini series Crisis On Infinite Earths, a story which tried but failed mightily to unify DC's various and sundry universes (universi?).
It would be awesome if they did a Crisis storyline in the series, but if they did it would have to be a stripped-down, economy model. There's no way they could do it on TV– they'd need an Avengers-sized budget to do proper justice to a story like that.
Secondly, the idea that there will ever be a newspaper dated 2024 is laughable at best. The newspaper did have kind of a shimmery, transparent look to it, so I guess it's possible it was supposed to be some sort of flexible tablet display or hologram. Still, it struck me as funny. Well, not funny ha-ha, as there's nothing humorous about the death of newspapers, but you know what I mean.
And so there we have The Flash pilot. It did an admirable job of world building and setting up the story lines for the season and it's got me hooked after just one episode. I can't wait to see what happens next week!
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