Home » A Comics View Askew » Will Deadpool Live up to Expectations?
I know the movie doesn’t come out until February 12 of 2016, but I have to say I am more than a little excited about it. If you are a fan of the character, that alone should be enough to get you stoked, but there is so much more about this picture that I think is being done right, at least so far. I will reserve the right to reverse my opinion once it comes out, but I don’t think that will happen.
So what is it about the Deadpool movie that has me so stoked? You can sum it up this way, the commitment to the character. Not since the original Spider-man movie starring, Toby Maguire, has Hollywood taken this much effort to bring us not just the character, but the essences of that character is to life. Not to mention they got the costume spot on, something that I wish more of the other comic book movies would try and do. The costume is a critical part of what makes comics great, and despite what Hollywood thinks, the public expects it to look right. Don’t get me started with how much I want to strip Superman’s costume off him and throw in into a washer.
I know a lot of you are probably screaming that the new Marvel shared universe is cranking out great movies, and you’re right. To date I have been very pleased with how Disney has handled the transformation of Marvel characters from comic book to the big screen. They have kept the core of most of those characters intact. Being a huge fan of Captain America, I have been especially pleased with those movies. Despite this, the Marvel movies are still subject to some meddling. Slight changes to the timelines, character backgrounds, and such changes are inevitable when Hollywood gets involved. The super egos of Hollywood types can’t handle something without trying to alter it. I think it’s their way of feeling more involved. The reality is, with a proven product, all you need is good casting, directing and production. The big wigs, who think they know American movie goers, are constantly changing things to try and appeal to a wider audience base, when the number-one thing that appeals to everyone is a well done movie. This is where they start meddling and adjusting things to try and appeal to more and more people and end up running things. That being said, I’m happy with how Sony is handling Deadpool so far.
20th Century Fox has already shown that they are sticking to what makes Deadpool such a fan favorite, the humor, and the brutality that is Deadpool. When Fox announced that they were going to release the movie as a rated-R film, I realized someone in charge of the production knew what they were doing. Deadpool is not something that can be watered down. I’ve also been happy with the promotional media flooding the internet. At first I thought it was just the well done work of fans, but when you realize it’s actually the studio promoting the movie, that sealed the deal for me. The promotional faux interview between Ryan Reynolds and Mario Lopez for Extra shows you that these people understand what makes Deadpool so great.
So this is my prediction, and it’s not one that will make Disney happy. I predict that the Deadpool movie will be every bit as successful as Guardians of the Galaxy, if not more. If I know one thing, it’s that when Hollywood doesn’t meddle with the source material of a character, the movie has a better chance of being successful, regardless of its rating.