Deadpool Review

After years of waiting and fan demand, Marvel's merc with a mouth has his own movie. It had been years since Deadpool was seen on film, with the recent purchase of Marvel Studios by Disney and the abomination that was the character in X-Mens Origins: Wolverine, the latter of the two having the most to do with the slow progress of the movie's development. But now the movie Deadpool has finally arrived, fans rejoice.

It's good to see that Fox has fixed its mistake made with the character previously to give the fans what they wanted in the first place. This easily could have turned into another X-Men/Bryan Singer-esque re-imagining of the characters but thankfully the movie sticks to its glorious source material. For those who are unaware, Deadpool a.k.a. Wade Wilson, is a former mercenary turned assassin for hire. When cancer starts showing up all over his body he takes drastic measures and gets involved with a program that will unlock his mutant DNA. Unfortunatley, the DNA ends up mutating his cancer cells to the point where he becomes disfigured and insane. However, his mutation gives him healing powers to the point where he can grow limbs back after amputation. He basically cannot die. But what puts Deadpool apart from other super-hero characters is his humor and his breaking of the 4th wall.

I'm not saying it's hard to give a character like this there own movie but I do understand the hesitation. Deadpool is a very vulgar character and he goes against the norms found in other superheroes. So how do you make a movie around this character? Simple, by making it unlike any superhero movie that came before it.

The story is simple, Wade Wilson, played by Ryan Reynolds, is a former mercenary turned mercenary for hire. He falls in love with a woman named Vanessa, played by Morena Baccarin (Inara from Firefly), but finds out that he has terminal cancer. So he decides to take part in a secret program that may cure his cancer. The program is run by a man named Francis who goes by the name Ajax, he is played by Ed Skrein. His cancer is not cured persay and his skin and face are now disfigured beyond repair. However, his muatation is unlocked which gives him the healing powers I previously mentioned. With his whole body disfigured and not being able to die, Wade looks to get revenge on the people who made him this way, now going by the name Deadpool. He is joined by X-Men Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead, played by Stefan Kapicic and Brianna Hildebrand. They get a laugh here and there but don't really do much save for giving Deadpool a moral center.

I was reminded a lot of Kingsmen when watching this movie. It's a fun, R-rated action movie from Fox that came out around Valentines day. One wonders and possibly hopes if this trend will continue. But what makes Deadpool special is Deadpool. He is a different kind of superhero character, he kills people, breaks the fourth wall and has a more skewed moral center. He can be dark and cruel but also be hilarious at the same time. One thing I enjoyed in the movie was its humor, self referencing and all. It worked well here because it feels natural when Deadpool does it. What did not work was the villains. Ajax and Angel Dust are not big name impressive villains but then again Deadpool is known for fighting lesser known evil figures.

When it comes to recommending this movie I'm a bit skewed. Yes, the movie is fun and fans of the character will enjoy it. But on the other hand, it is an R rated film and it earned that rating for a reason. There is lots of cursing, blood, gore, and sex scenes to fill up a Tarantino movie and then some. It's not a movie to take your 8 year old to see is what I'm getting at. But that choice is up to you, and to those wondering, no I do not support the petition for the PG-13 version of this movie. It's not what fans would have wanted and it would've toned down the character in a bad way. If you're on the fence about seeing it, read up on the character and why people like him. If you like what you find, go see the movie it won't disappoint, but if Deadpool is not for you, I understand. Like Kingsmen it's something special for a popular genre of movies but for some it can be just okay.

Grade: B+

Kung Fu Panda 3 Review

Going off of a title like Kung Fu Panda, you would expect a title like that to be found in the bargain bin of your local grocery store. But honestly, Kung Fu Panda 3 is a good sit down animated family movie. For those who aren't aware of what happened in the last 2 movies here's the story in a nutshell: Po, an obese panda voiced by Jack Black, is chosen to be the Dragon Warrior, a chosen one who keep the world safe. He teams up with a group called "The Furious Five", a group of animals made up of a Tiger, who is voiced by Angelina Jolie, a Mantis, who is voiced by Seth Rogen, a Crane, who is voiced by David Cross, a Snake, voiced by Lucy Liu, and a monkey who is voiced by Jackie Chan. Along with the teacher Master Shifu, who is voiced by Dustin Hoffman, they must protect their village from threats The relationship between Po and the five along with Hoffman's character starts out rocky but Po ends up winning them over. As time goes on Po grows into his role as the Dragon Warrior and it's when kung fu itself is threaten that Po learns about his past. He was abandoned as a baby after his mom is killed by an evil Peacock who believes a Panda will kill him and thinks he is the last Panda in existence. But unbeknownst to him, a village of Panda's lies deep in the mountains where his father along with the rest of his family resigns. This is where the 3rd film starts off

Given all the information presented this sounds pretty weird for an animated kids movie. And that's one of the problems with the movie, it doesn't work well through word of mouth. You have to see the movie in order to understand why people can like it. It's story is basic but the characters and the animation pull through. Po is very likeable character and once the other characters stop being jerks to him they also become enjoyable. But there in lies another problem. For as much as they build up the epicness of the other characters, they get very little lines and are pushed aside for the development of Po.

In this movie, Po discovers his long lost father and the village of Pandas mentioned previously. He goes to the village with his father, who is voiced by Brian Cranston, so that he can discover who he is in order to find himself so he can be a better teacher as Hoffman's character is retiring and passes teaching duties down to Po. But at the same time a villain named Kai, voiced by J. K. Simmons, is looking to take the chi of all the martial arts masters so that he can be the most powerful warrior in the world.

Again the story is very formulaic for the franchise. Po can't do a thing, he goes on this big adventure, and he defeats a villain by learning said thing he couldn't learn in the beginning of the movie. But again its the way the film does it and the morals it gives that makes it enjoyable. It's also a very funny movie. The animators take advantage of the fact that it is an animated movie and use it to give us some good humor. It's not fall out of my seat funny but I got a good laugh now and again. Brian Cranston and Jack Black do a great job working off of each other and its easy to see these two as being father and son.

Where the movie falls flat is with the problems I have mentioned. It's formulaic and I wanted more interaction between characters like Seth Rogen's and David Cross's. With that being said, Kung Fu Panda 3 is a beautifully animated movie with a story that, while over used, is fine as its characters and its humor make it a good sit for kids and adults.

Grade: B-