Tag: Bill Skarsgård

Almost Summer Shandy – ‘Deadpool’ & ‘Deadpool 2’ – Up for Whatever

One of the beauties of the Deadpool films (although I can see how some might see it as an annoyance) is that anything can happen: gunfights, car chases, proper action, fourth wall breaking, super-meta humor, Neil Sedaka, whatever; anything is possible.

In a genre chock-full of cookie-cutter (and safe) movies (not that I don’t enjoy the MCU, but, let’s be real), I find this level of anarchy quite refreshing.

Not to say that these two films don’t have their own fair share of boiler plate material (one of my only real criticisms of the sequel is that the core plot is highly reminiscent of a certain 2012 sci-fi thriller), but, honestly, it’s just nice to have some villains with a goal other than ruling the world with a giant blue space laser.

You know what else is refreshing?  Each movie is a only a solid two hours in length (even less in the case of the first installment).  I can handle long run times perfectly fine, but not every movie has to have a story that (often needlessly) takes two-and-a-half hours to tell.  Sometimes I like to enjoy a nice, tightly-scripted movie that’s incredibly well-paced (especially true of the first; less so in the second, but still more than acceptable).

I suppose the most credit for these films even existing goes to Ryan Reynolds, who worked for an entire decade just to get the first one green-lit, but, second to that, I have to hand it to writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (who first came together on Zombieland, which makes sense).  They seem to genuinely understand the character they’re working with and also how to balance some really effervescent comedic material with other much darker elements, all the while maintaining personal stakes along the way.

Speaking of the character though, Deadpool himself is crass, cynical, violent, sarcastic, and crass (did I say crass?), and the films (like Logan, but for different reasons) are appropriately R-rated.  Not every comic book adaptation needs to be, and some absolutely shouldn’t be, but in this case the 17-and-up rating is downright necessary.  Not that this is all entirely groundbreaking or anything (as Ryan Reynolds well knows, having starred in Blade: Trinity), but I’m nonetheless happy to be getting these at full strength as opposed to some watered-down versions.

Getting back to the movies themselves though, one aspect of the first film I particularly enjoy, and which helps to give it the top-notch pacing it has, is that it chops up the story-line in the first half so you don’t just get the standard origin story in the standard order.  Again, not groundbreaking, but nice that they did something to keep it relatively fresh.

Let’s not overlook the performances though.  Obviously Ryan Reynolds is playing the role he was born to play, but Morena Baccarin is special as well (and I love that their relationship is essentially an R-rated and upgraded version of Holly and Michael from The Office), T.J. Miller works as an ordinary human sideman, Ed Skrein is effectively villainous (even if he isn’t a supervillain), and who doesn’t love Gina Carano doing anything?

Part two brings more of the same in the way that most sequels do, but it does elevate in story and tone (even if the plot is derivative, as I mentioned before), but I think it’s just a half step off in terms of execution compared to its predecessor.

Still though, it’s highly entertaining and full of fun little surprises.  The core cast from the first movie is still firing, Josh Brolin makes a great Cable, Julian Dennison isn’t quite as enjoyable as he was in Hunt for the Wilderpeople but I’m not sure he’s really meant to be anyway, and Zazie Beetz pretty much steals any scene she’s in.

I’ve said this before about Guardians of the Galaxy and Kingsman, and it applies here as well: If you liked the first one, you’ll probably like the second one, too; if you didn’t like the first one, you probably won’t like the sequel, so don’t waste your time.

If you’ve never seen either though, and you’re not easily offended by gratuitous sex and violence (definitely more of the latter than the former), I say give them both a whirl.

And, of course, make sure you stick around til the very end of the first one, and I guess halfway through the credits of the second one.

Enjoy (or don’t)!

Ratings:
Deadpool: ★★★★½
Deadpool 2: ★★★★☆

Movie Review – ‘Atomic Blonde’ – “Sound and Fury…”

Directed by David Leitch
Written by Kurt Johnstad, based on the Oni Press graphic novel series “The Coldest City” written by Antony Johnston and illustrated by Sam Hart
Cast: Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, Eddie Marsan, John Goodman, Toby Jones, James Faulkner, Roland Møller, Sofia Boutella, Bill Skarsgård, Sam Hargrave, Til Schweiger, Daniel Bernhardt
Soundtrack: Tyler Bates

When I first saw the trailer for Atomic Blonde, I wasn’t buying it, but, as time went on, it grew on me, and eventually I realized there was quite a lot to be excited for.

Behind the camera, you’ve got the uncredited co-director of the original (and still superior) John Wick, and, based on the trailer for this film, it looks like he had enough sense to pull the lens back far enough to effectively capture the action (avoiding a Jason Bourne-type situation).  You’ve got one of the screenwriters of 300, someone with an understanding of adapting stylized graphic novels to the big screen (also worth noting that Tyler Bates did the musical score for 300 and both John Wicks).  And, you’ve got a highly respected cast of actors dedicating themselves to what appears to be a genre piece.

So, does it work?

Well…not really, no.

I’d very much compare my experience seeing Atomic Blonde to my experience seeing Carnage Park, in that it lost me, eventually won me over, then lost me again.

I should have absolutely loved this movie: period piece, Cold War, Berlin Wall, East and West Germany, spies, Charlize Theron throwing it down, little nods here and there to other films, but, overall, it just didn’t click.

First of all, almost the entirety of the narrative is framed within a debriefing/interview/interrogation, which just feels tired (a bit film school-y at this point, honestly), but the biggest problem is that the plot is so convoluted (and needlessly so, especially for a film of this type) that by the end I didn’t even care what happened, I was just glad it was over.

Frankly, I don’t think the movie quite knows what it is.  At times it feels like it’s going for a John Wick-type vibe, but it’s not quite cool enough or emotional enough to make that work, and other times it feels like it wants to be a real-life clever spy movie, but it doesn’t have enough intelligence to make that work, so, ultimately it’s just stuck in the middle of the road.

As far as the performances go, I think everyone in the cast does okay with what they’re given; nobody strikes me as an albatross, but nobody really stands out either.  Even Wonder Woman had at least one character that stuck with me, even if I didn’t particularly enjoy the movie.

In terms of what works, there’s one sequence in particular in this film that people are already talking about, and it is fairly impressive in its own right, but I hesitate to call it truly groundbreaking.  Beyond that, I like a lot of the trappings (production design, costumes, period television clips, cool Eighties tunes), but there’s not much else for the film to hang its hat on.

In the end, I didn’t dislike Atomic Blonde enough to give it a failing grade, because there are some good bits, but not enough to justify a theatrical experience.

Ultimately, it feels like a rental (even matinee feels high).

I’m so sorry.

Rating: ★★½ (out of five)

P.S.
There’s no stinger, just in case you decide to not heed my advice.