Film Review : "Deadpool & Wolverine"

 What a world we live in. Its a world where writers must keep a careful balance of internet theories to please their audience. In fact, Deadpool's entrance into the Marvel Cinematic Universe pokes fun at this in its smartest moments. It also pushed the bounds of what you expect Disney to allow as the studio shows there is more wiggle room than expected since even half the adult audience might have to Google the meaning of jokes about pegging. Then it is too late, and they already have the money of the more prudish patrons in hand. I am impressed by how they worked in a wide swathe of the company's media output making "Loki" almost required viewing before going into this. Also, the bulk of the Fox films could help when some characters are marched out.  Spider-man and Ghost Rider were the only corners of the bigger Marvel Universe not touched upon with only a few winks in the direction of Peter Parker.   If you are touchy about spoilers then go see the movie, nothing happens that was not part of wider speculation and had not already been spoiled. 

Reynolds and Jackman, make this a buddy cop team-up that works well against the absurdity of premise. The fight scenes between the two were some of the movie's strongest action sequences. The various incarnations of Wolverine worked better than the varied incarnations of Deadpool, I mean where was Gwenpool? Though like many aspects of the movie, If I blinked I might have missed it. Plotwise there was little surprise, stop this and save your world tropes. I have read critics praising the movie villain Cassandra Nova, and it really just felt like Emma Corrin was doing her best Tilda Swinton impersonation as there was no clear motive or really anything to flesh her out, I think Mojo would have made more sense and been a more inspiring link to the X-Men, would have given the baby Deadpool an ore sensical role. Paradox, worked better as his two-faced manipulations of things, with no real powers held more weight. 

It would be misleading to say there were no X-men in the movie, as Colossus, X-23, and Gambit are all part of the team. I think what they were looking for is Storm, Cyclops, or Rogue, and get a glimpse at how they are going to be brought in. We can pretty much not rest assured that Henry Cavill is not going to play Wolverine, as look what happened with the Reed Richards casting in Dr. Strange, just enough fan casting then take a left turn. My favorite parts of the movie were the NSYNC dancing at the beginning and the brief appearance of the Hulk during the search through Wolverine variants. Overall the chemistry between the two leads was strong enough to carry the film in the classic Hollywood formula even when given the Marvel spin. It did not make apologies for being a super-hero movie which is a must for any such film. 

More from Marvel

This week comics are off to a better start as "Uncanny Avengers " was pretty fun despite it being so Deadpool heavy. Punisher was a mess that did not have enough actual Frank Castle in it, so you see how that can be a problem. The first issue of the Unbelievable Gwenpool is pretty stupid. The art is kind of anime, and the character really lacks anything of substance relegating her to a running joke of mixing Gwen Stacy with Deadpool. Looks like to things that could sell on paper, but put into practise there is nothing holding it together. Speaking of Deadpool, the 20th issue of Deadpool is pretty lack luster and doesn't play to the characters strengths and instead finds him trying to be a voice of reason that comes across as being out of character. Howard the Duck finds this character being dragged down the drain by bad writing in an attempt to remember what worked with this character back in the 70s when he was higher pro-file. Moon Knight's 7th issue is a mixed bag. I like the fact the art work looks like it is from Heavy Metal magazine, but the story is so crazy and scattered is barely makes sense. Old Man Logan finds this story line really beginning to drag in the 12th issue. While it's not bad I don't see this Solo series going very far, he is like a Punisher who can tele-port. Thunder-Bolts finds this series treading water. The art was great and the plight of finding food wasn't epic in scope it gave the room to breathe, but they need to get this series moving in a better direction.

Mosaic's first issue is as bad as you probably feared. You do not give a shit about the main character, and the story line is jagged at best. Don't see this book flying or fathom a reason any one would give a shit abut it. The 12th issue of Dare Devil gives us a short but cool fight between Daredevil and Karnak. This serial killer takes a back seat and kind of flushes the argument down the toilet that events don't have to cross over unless they make sense and this seems a little like the In-Humans were being forced into the series. But aside from that little flaw it's a pretty good issue. The first issue of the Great Lakes Avengers is pretty good. I like the art. I am not sure these characters can hold the book and it might need Squirrel Girl. Power-man and Iron Fist is so far one of the better cross-overs into Civil War 2. I wanted to see Luke Cage and Carol go at it more.

This Fall in Marvel or the Fall of Marvel?

So I am a little behind in writing this and after starting this blog 6 years ago as my own passion project I have realized how shitty comics have become in the past 6 years and have to dig deeper to find inspiration to write about them . This is a problem if some one loves comics enough to write about them on a consistent basis then who is to blame when they no longer can find the same joy the once had reading them. Not burned out on Marvel's characters as I played the Future Fight game on a daily basis,I am committed  the characters ...I have Thor tattooed on one arm and eventually want to get the Hulk and Dr. Strange. It's the fact Marvel has gotten rid of so many of the core characters to replace them with social justice versions, which might be the plight of what will happen when Disney buys them finally settled into place. No this doesn't mean I am giving up on this blog, I don't give up my inspiration shifted to having to be a voice that says "Marvel you have lost your way, You are fucking up"

 Sure Amazing Spider-man right now is bringing some good moments, but will it fix the Clone debacle or dig a deeper grave with "Dead No More"?   Dr. Strange is also pretty solid and finds Stephen so far as the same character not a female or colored version of the character though the end of Magic thing is getting a little plodding. Sam Wilson Captain America finds Sam having to stoop low enough to take the fight to US Agent in a way that allow him to beat him.This happens to still make the book better than the 5th issue of the Steve Rogers Captain America book. The 9th issue of Captain Marvel finds the Alpha Flight turn on her. The Dr. Strange annual could have been much better than it was and finds Clea's return being very anti-climatic. Web Warriors needs to be put out of it's misery, but it seems to keep going for no known reason. I didn't bother with Squirrel Girl or X-men 92. Cage's first issue is weird almost like a Crumb book and almost bordering on being racist in it's stereotypes, it feels like Mad Magazine parodying a Luke Cage comic.

Spider-Woman 's 11th issue finds Jessica Drew confronting Carol Danvers and power set is just not enough to do any damage more than hurt here feelings. Hopefull we will see Danvers get her ass kicked good by someone over the course of this though I have a feeling it won't be Tony Stark. Totally Awesome Hulk finds Black Panther going after Cho. He is using a Wakanda Hulk Buster armor of sorts and tries pulling out every trick in the book, but while it's left hanging thanks to stupid sub-plots with Cho's sister, if Cho can't outsmart T'Challa then this book has proven itself unworthy. Speaking of odd fights the 5th issue of Thunderbolts finds Winter Soldier gunning for Miles Morales. I am not sure how Miles who is a kid can hold his own so well against some one with Bucky's experience. If this was Peter Parker I would get it.The 3rd issue of the Kingpin Civil War issue finds this book heading in a direction that is a better depiction of Punisher than the Punisher's own book making this one of the week's best books. The first issue of the Champions is alright, the chemistry of the team needs some work. The art is un-even, better in some places than others often too cartoonish.

The Week in Marvel : 3/2/16

The 7th issue of "Invincible Iron-man" finds Mary Jane Watson being forced into his story for the bulk of the book. War-Machine is in trouble so he brings in Spider-man to help. The at is pretty killer even if the story is all set up here. While it's clever that the Avenger's Mansion was turned into a sex-club for cos-play, Wrecker's rampage and the Quick Sliver & Dead Pool team up fall short of really packing a punch in the 6th issue. Red Skull is back and Sin is drawn pretty hot.  While the art in Nova is a mixed bag I'm not sure how I feel about the clone of his dad, it seems a little like a cop out to me. The 8th issue of Deadpool was alright, not great but entertaining enough. It seems like a very color by numbers Deadpool story that plays it too safe. While it's well drawn and succeeds on many levels Spider-Man's second issue has some problems. Sure Miles is a teenager and has high school drama, I think Spidey handles this better . The big thing is OK Miles beat Black Heart, but not after he schooled the rest of the Avengers who are far more powerful, I'm not buying it. Nova is another book with high school problems, these might even be more serious. I'm cool with the art. Even the Richard Ryder clone is jumping the shark, but I can handle it. The 5th issue of Nova just doesn't gel in the way it's all handled. If we were watching this on screen it would seem like bad CW writing. A-Force's 3rd issue is just bad, if anyone believes they just killed off Dazzler in this book has money waiting on them from a Nigerian prince. Good art alone can't save Guardians Infinity book. The fourth issue seems to be the choking point for most Marvel arches. I am not sure that they need two Guardians of the Galaxy books as well as solo titles for every one no matter how good the movie did.



The first issue of Black Widow really kills it. I'm not the biggest fan of the pencil work, but it is drawn from an interesting perspective with angles that look like they are from a Die-hard film. The book is also paced like a Die- Hard film. Little dialogue, Natasha is escaping from the Helicarrier with extreme prejudice. My only qualm is Natasha could have been drawn better. She looks like she has the body of a 12 year old. Avenger's Standoff Assault on Pleasant Hill, is damn fine story telling. Yes they are still ripping off  Wayward Pines, but the link to the Cosmic Cube is explained and the Thunderbolts role in all this is pretty clear. They pretty much telegraph, how Steve Rogers gets his groove back. Speaking of Rogers he is next up for issue 4 of Old Man Wolverine. But I am getting ahead of myself, Old Man Logan's 3 issue is pretty damn good. Not a big Kate Bishop fan, but the writers got her voice right, and I love the fact Logan says there is no girl- Thor in the future. In other X-related news Uncanny X-men, has some of the company's better art and aside from a lack luster team everything else you could want from an X-men book. I am going to start another column entitled" Save Your Heroes" where I'll answer the question... so you think you can do better? and layout what I think would be a better direction for the book. I get the fact this book is taking the place of X-force, but it could be done in a more interesting manner.

This Week in Marvel : 2/17/16

Ok, this week the Avengers Stand Off Welcome to Pleasant Hill  started off which is leading to Civil War 2. This is basically a massive rip off of  Wayward Pines. Shield designs a fake town with brain washed re-programmed villains, Numbered among them is Bruce Banner. So we know he is not dead. Meaning Cho-Hulk's days as the sole hulk are numbered. Today artwork was laid out with some working pages for an Avengers issue that looks to have the current team of All - New Avengers  minus Jane Foster Thor about to throw down with a horde of heroes that dramatically out numbers them. So far that makes the teams Iron-man, Sam Wilson, Vision, Miles Morales,  and Nova vs
Capt Marvel, Spider-man, War-machine, Foster-Thor, Wasp, Black Panther, Hawkeye, the New Avengers, Deadpool,  the X-men and the In-humans. So the deck is loaded against them unless Steve Rogers, Hercules,  Dr.Strange, Punisher, the Guardians of the Galaxy ( Star Lord was shown on Stark's side ) and Ghost Rider who all appear to not yet be spoken for jump in.



 I read it in the comic book store then I had to read it again online to see if the fourth issue of the Mighty Thor would make any more sense. Odin could have de-powered and cast out Jane Foster with a wave of his hand. It's one thing to be creative , it's another to have no regard for the mythology preceding your story, terrible writing, though the art is improved. The fifth issue of Uncanny Inhumans is a tour of the Quiet Room. Black Bolt's new head quarters, which is a variation of where he hung out during Secret Wars. They build some tension with mis-behavior that Black Bolt will need to lay the smack down on, but it's not the most compelling story. The art is better than most these days.Star Lord has great art , but the story now drags and nothing really happens in this issue, he runs into old friends and gets punched by a girl, what a wuss. The second issue of Sliver Surfer also wastes a little time in it's soap opera and limits his fight with the Thing to two pages and he knocks out Ben with one punch. This really depends upon the circumstances as to how believable that is. I know the Surfer is strong, but that strong? Web Warriors has a few moments like Spider-Ham telling some version of Black Cat that pigs can run faster than humans the book is still a tangled mess, if hundreds of alternate Electros were not enough now add on that many Dr. Ocks. I would prefer to see that many Black Cats, Kravens or Rhinos. It's a tangled mess. Can we kill them all off except for Spider-Man noir, Spider-Ham and Spider- Gwen?

It's good to see Luke and Danny back together. Their first issue back is heavy on the bromance. The art could be better , but overall the book does justice to what these characters are about. Another bromance book that is getting better is Starbrand and Night Mask. Even with the ending of this week's issue still not finding me in a position  of caring if they live or die the book is growing on me. The fourth issue of Squadron Supreme is a vast move in the right direction. Dr. Druid is back up in this bitch, he is more of a bad guy now. Weirdworld seems to click in place here , better than it does in its own book.The 7th issue of Extraordinary X-men is pretty damn good and moves the book in a better direction. They get Night Crawler back and of course justin time for the movie the Apocalypse Wars are about to kick off though I am willing to bet its a slow burn until we get full throttle into that one.

Movie Review : Deadpool

Deadpool is one of those books I skip more often than not because I have reached an exhaustion point with the character, since he not only appears in Uncanny Avengers now, but has multiple books and for the past few years was being forced fed to you due to  his immense popularity. Popularity evident in the almost endless parade of Deadpool cosplay at any convention that was a a fever pitch last year. The movie works off of the same elements that made the character popular an due to the R rating doesnt' have to let up. This redeems the character of Ryan Reynolds previous portrayal in Wolverine Origins. However one thing that should have carried over from the Wolverine movie is absent, namely the Weapon X Program. Instead we have a torture chop shop that is closer to Hostel. Thus creating a vacuum that is filled by made up villains when actual villains from the Marvel Universe could have been used. Deadpool's rogues gallery might not be the strongest on it's own, leaving his scraps from the X-men's table , but there re plenty of villains who have yet to see screen time in the X-men movies that could have fit the bill.

Wait you say, Ajax is in the comics. Sure if we are talking about the big Hulk sized goon from Pantheon. That one is far from a big bad, and I would have been fine with the Pantheon being worked into it. This did not ruin the movie for me since my emotional connection to the character is much less than if this was a Hulk, Thor or Dr. Strange movie. Why did they not make the character Fantomex ? The movie was very entertaining and kept me engaged, I did not feel bad for having to pay 20.00 dollars to see it in Imax, because all the other showings were sold out. As I told me wife the only other movie I am going to pay that much to see again will be Dr. Strange....I guess until 2025 when the Sentry movie comes out or Marvel makes a Hulk solo film.

Everything about the movie was over the top. The action scenes were bloodier than even Daredevil's Netflix show.  We had numerous masturbation references, We had sex scenes , which were just a few degrees less tame than those from Jessica Jones. Is it a kid's movie. Well it depends on how old your child is and how much they like Deadpool. If he is their favorite character, well you are going to have to have a talk with them before and after. He has had little cartoon face time so unless we are talking the video game they would have have to have read the comic book. So they are not a stranger to the kind of adult flavored wackiness, but bringing it to life might be intense and require a bathroom break or eye covering in a few moments like the strip club scene. If they are 12 or older let them have at it. I saw Conan the Barbarian when I was little and it didn't warp me, though I suppose my previous therapist might say that is up for debate.

Will my daughter see this movie? No, but  she doesn't really care about the character, if she wants to see Wonder-Woman on March 25th, well ratings wise it should be a different story. There are plenty f reasons for Deadpool's r-rating all of them are what makes the film work, so props to the studio for not backing down and editing it to a pg-13. Half the dialogue would have needed to be rewritten. Colossus pretty much serves as the movies moral barometer and that would have given his character a less pivotal role. The cgi on him is good and shows how many of the larger than life characters should be handled one day when they hit the screen...I'm thinking Sasquatch when they make a Alpha Flight movie.Speaking of big bruisers, another question is why make up this Angel chick when she could have very well have been Monet?No only do you not have to be a fan of the comic book, but the movie works better if you aren't even thought the tone and the character himself is pretty much intact. No laser beam eyes, though they do poke fun of that depiction as well as Green Lantern. It gladly defies most of the super-hero conventions , except for the origin story which is told in a way that doesn't bog the movie down. The effects and fight scenes are pretty much everything you could want from a Deadpool movie and future Wolverine or Punisher movies could stand to learn from.

Reynolds shows he was in fact perfect for the role with Morena Baccarin once again proving she is more than a pretty face, she adds a bit of an edge to her character and is believable in the role. The girl who plays Negasonic Teenage Warhead, is passable and the villain is typical for what he doesn't would have been better served as real character with more depth. But overall it's a ride that doesn't slow down and keeps you pulled into Deadpools world. Hopefully rumors are right and the Liam Neeson jokes are winks toward him bringing Cable to life which is confirmed in the post-credits scene. One of the better Marvel movies and the best of the X-men films. It was also a great movie for Valentine's.