It's Wednesday evening and we're in one of the very first screenings of Deadpool & Wolverine in Australia.
The theatre is packed and you can tell we have an expectant audience. Strap in and let's see what this film is all about.
For a start, it is definitely a Deadpool movie - all the usual fourth wall chatter, profanity and wisecracks, gratuitous glorious violence, and wonderful choreography. As a Deadpool movie, it's better than the second movie and only slightly less good than the first one.
Pan out to the bigger picture and that's where the gaping cracks appear. By trying to say goodbye to Fox and say hello to Disney/Marvel, this movie falls flat for me.
Yes, there are cameos from the Fox Universe. And with the first one (intentionally chosen to fool you, say no more), your hopes start to rise that this could be epic. Then you realise that the roster is thin and none of the iconic characters are going to show up, and your hopes fade.
The movie becomes an overblown, too try hard, too smug, and a self-referencing bloody mess. You have to be a mega-fan of Ryan Reynolds to enjoy this properly - it's less Deadpool the character and more "Look at me, Ryan Reynolds, playing Deadpool". It's hard to watch. Look closely and you'll barely recognise a script of any substance at all. It's whisker-thin and you end up feeling like it's a one-liner stand-up show crossbred with a Greatest Hits nostalgia review as opposed to a movie that heralds the start of a fantastic new world of Marvel.
And just in case you didn't work that out, the end credits scene hammers this home as obviously as possible and that left us feeling even more deflated.
I love superhero movies and it's been an incredible 20+ years, through the hits and misses, of both Marvel and DC. I feel blessed to have grown up with the comics and then, as an adult, see those pages come to life through the amazing advances in technology.
However, I simply don't know how Marvel is going to hit gold going forward. DC is possibly about to blow us away with their reboot of their universe. I fear Marvel is screwed and the current slump will continue unless heads roll at the top.
I give this 5/10 because as a Deadpool movie, it's fun. But, you can't ignore the fact this is supposed to lead us into a new, combined and expanded universe. Based on this, it is a steaming pile of Dodo excrement.
The theatre is packed and you can tell we have an expectant audience. Strap in and let's see what this film is all about.
For a start, it is definitely a Deadpool movie - all the usual fourth wall chatter, profanity and wisecracks, gratuitous glorious violence, and wonderful choreography. As a Deadpool movie, it's better than the second movie and only slightly less good than the first one.
Pan out to the bigger picture and that's where the gaping cracks appear. By trying to say goodbye to Fox and say hello to Disney/Marvel, this movie falls flat for me.
Yes, there are cameos from the Fox Universe. And with the first one (intentionally chosen to fool you, say no more), your hopes start to rise that this could be epic. Then you realise that the roster is thin and none of the iconic characters are going to show up, and your hopes fade.
The movie becomes an overblown, too try hard, too smug, and a self-referencing bloody mess. You have to be a mega-fan of Ryan Reynolds to enjoy this properly - it's less Deadpool the character and more "Look at me, Ryan Reynolds, playing Deadpool". It's hard to watch. Look closely and you'll barely recognise a script of any substance at all. It's whisker-thin and you end up feeling like it's a one-liner stand-up show crossbred with a Greatest Hits nostalgia review as opposed to a movie that heralds the start of a fantastic new world of Marvel.
And just in case you didn't work that out, the end credits scene hammers this home as obviously as possible and that left us feeling even more deflated.
I love superhero movies and it's been an incredible 20+ years, through the hits and misses, of both Marvel and DC. I feel blessed to have grown up with the comics and then, as an adult, see those pages come to life through the amazing advances in technology.
However, I simply don't know how Marvel is going to hit gold going forward. DC is possibly about to blow us away with their reboot of their universe. I fear Marvel is screwed and the current slump will continue unless heads roll at the top.
I give this 5/10 because as a Deadpool movie, it's fun. But, you can't ignore the fact this is supposed to lead us into a new, combined and expanded universe. Based on this, it is a steaming pile of Dodo excrement.
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