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When it comes to offensive material in movies, the line keeps getting pushed further and further out. Gross-out gags, profanity for profanity’s sake, and ultra-violence are the norm in certain genres, but the majority of the time those elements only seem to be there to cover up storytelling or filmmaking deficiencies.
Not so in Deadpool, which manages to maintain its wit and charm despite being offensive as hell. Ryan Reynolds stars as the titular anti-superhero — real name: Wade Wilson — a mercenary who’s subjected to a torturous experiment that allows him to develop supernatural healing powers, at the expense of having his entire body look like melted cheese.
The film, helmed by first-time feature director Tim Miller, jumps back and forth in time. It trails Deadpool as he tries to hunt Ajax (Ed Skrein), who inflicted much of the pain on him, while also showing earlier, happier times with girlfriend Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). Bridging both worlds is a friendship with Weasel (T.J. Miller), the bartender at the bar full of rogues which Wade/Deadpool frequents.
What is a constant throughout, though, is a stream of never-ending jokes. It starts in the title sequence, which eschews actual names for insults for everybody from Miller to Reynolds, and Wade/Deadpool carries it on, as his sense of humor and mouth have no off buttons. Not all the jokes land, but the vast majority of them do, leaving the audience bludgeoned by an avalanche of comedy.
That theme transfers over to the film’s multiple violent scenes. What Miller and his team, which includes the writers of Zombieland, understand is how to keep the balance between being too inane and too serious. It could be that Deadpool cracks wise even while carrying out his dastardly deeds, or that the bloodshed is gratuitous without being off-putting. But somehow the filmmakers found a way to appeal to a broad audience without treating us like we’re idiots.
They also provide a ton of fan service, referencing both real and movie world events. Deadpool is related to the X-Men universe, with two characters — Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead — making appearances here. Jokes made at the expense of Deadpool’s ill-fated appearance in a previous X-Men film and of Reynolds’ own checkered superhero past are among the funniest in the whole movie.
The biggest reason for the film’s success is the inherent charisma of Reynolds — his good looks don't even figure into the equation. He utilizes multiple funny approaches, including “breaking the fourth wall” (i.e., talking directly to the audience), making it next to impossible to be disgusted by anything he does, even when he does distasteful things. It was Reynolds’ passion for the project that led to its finally seeing the light of day, and he appears to be relishing every second of it.
After a month and a half of stinkers, Deadpool is finally the first movie of 2016 worth paying money to see in the theaters. It’s an equal-opportunity offender, and it’s completely awesome.
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With the release of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, there have now been five films in 10 years for Legendary Pictures' so-called MonsterVerse. Unfortunately for this new film, it comes just months after the release of the universally praised (and now Oscar-winning) Godzilla Minus One, a Japanese film that managed to deliver both great action and a compelling human story.
The difference between the approaches of that film and this film could not be starker, with The New Empire playing out like a Mad Libs version of a monster movie, where nothing makes sense. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) and her daughter Jia (Kaylee Hottle), who were the heart of the previous film, Godzilla vs. Kong, remain in place, with the deaf Jia being one of the few who can communicate with King Kong, who now resides full time in a realm below Earth's surface dubbed Hollow Earth.
Godzilla, meanwhile, remains aboveground, springing into action to take out any other monsters that come out of the woodwork, with widespread destruction a small price to pay for his protection services. What happens in the rest of the film is anyone’s guess, as it’s just a hodgepodge of nonsensical fights that involves a new troop of evil apes, the ramblings of conspiracy theorist/podcaster Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry), and more examples of deus ex machina than have ever been employed in a single film.
Directed once again by Adam Wingard and written by Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett, and Jeremy Slater, the film is the bluntest yet about how little the human characters matter in the story being told. Almost every person in the film is only present to deliver perfunctory lines about what the various monsters are doing in order to give a reason for the movie to move from one place to another. Once the humans are there, they cease to have any importance, as all the attention shifts to the fights between the monsters.
It’s in those scenes that the film might as well be a silent movie, as – save for all the roaring and screeching – there’s little reason to have any sound whatsoever. But unlike silent movies that can get across lots of meaning with their visuals, the fights depicted fail to be exciting in the slightest. The filmmakers shift the hatred and loyalties of the creatures on a dime to suit whatever whim they were having in the moment, hoping that audiences will be blinded by the mayhem and not care that there’s little else to hold their attention.
Anyone who was impressed (as I was) by the intensity of the face-offs between Godzilla and King Kong in the previous film will likely be disappointed this time around. Their one-on-ones are replaced by a jumble of other creatures, including a small ape I’m calling Diddy Kong and a lackluster appearance by the classic monster Mothra. Their battles are a CGI mess that are designed to appeal only to those lucky enough to be able to turn their minds off during movies.
If any film could have gotten away with having A.I. human characters, this is it. Hall and Hottle fade into the background, and the only impact by Henry and a new character played by Dan Stevens comes when they dial their acting up to 11. Even worse, the film includes a ham-handed attempt to include an indigenous tribe in Hollow Earth, one that gives them almost nothing to do except look the part of indigenous people.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is an abomination, a film that contains close to zero charm, humor, or any other kind of emotion. It’s a soulless production that doesn’t know how to properly showcase either its human or monster characters, leaving audiences with almost nothing to enjoy.
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Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire opens in theaters on March 29.