Tim Miller
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Connections, in both directions
Naturally, that folly gets cheekily referenced here, as do Green Lantern and the Blade series; there are more allusions than plot points in this movie, with screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick packing in nods not just to Reynolds’ history of aborted crime-fighting series, but also to the Spin Doctors, Adventure Time, Bernadette Peters, Taken, Alien 3, and Jared from Subway.
(That’s not to mention the trailblazing “Blade” series, which Reynolds inexplicably namedrops in one of the picture’s hundred throwaway pop culture references.)
I liked the bit where Deadpool's stoner buddy (T.J. Miller) references Blade II because I remembered that Reynolds was notoriously in Blade: Trinity and I recall reading that Wesley Snipes was perpetually stoned on that shoot and sent memos to the director signed "Blade."
While the wildly popular “X-Men” and “Avengers” franchises — including “Iron Man,” “Thor” and other feeder films — have never strayed beyond PG-13 territory, some Marvel adaptations occasionally have, such as “The Punisher” and “Blade.”
One of the primary selling points of "Deadpool" and its big differences with most studio fare is its R-rating, earned for "strong violence and language throughout, sexual content and graphic nudity" (plenty of people have tried to tout the film as the "first" superhero film to pick up an R, but that's just not the case, as it follows in the rating steps of other offerings as diverse as the "Blade" films, "Watchmen" and even the recent hit "Kingsman: The Secret Service").
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
Directed by J.J. Abrams
influenced Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
Themes Plot
Dark Fate will undoubtedly get some negative comparisons to titles like Star Wars: The Force Awakens for toeing a bit too close to the nostalgia line but one of the more interesting things it borrows from it (aside from some cute winks to camera) is something becoming more prevalent in storytelling as a whole today: reminding us all we’re important.
Posturing itself to be something akin to the solemn-eyed nostalgia trip that The Force Awakens was to Star Wars, this Tim Miller directed movie ignores the franchise’s multiple past continuities in the aim of crowning itself as the originals’ lone worthy heir… It’s still not even in the same sport, much less ballpark, as those movies, but it’s the closest we’ve come.
It can best be compared to Star Wars: The Force Awakens in that it returns the brand to form by paying homage to classic plot threads while using legacy characters to guide new leads in taking the wheel.
Dark Fate essentially borrows the formula of Star Wars: The Force Awakens: It mostly re-enacts the plot of a past film in the series, while bringing back the key players in the original cast and teaming them up with a younger and more racially diverse cohort of new actors.
Terminator: Dark Fate reminds me of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
The filmmakers have lifted a page from “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” taking a temporal sidestep that sets up a new future to give us two very different terminators and two very different protectors while the story remains very much the same.
Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020)
Directed by Cathy Yan
influenced by Deadpool (2016)
Visuals Characters Themes
Como esta película estuvo pensada desde el vamos para adultos, es decir, con la calificación R, como Deadpool -su primo, pero del Universo Marvel-, mucho han relojeado a la saga con Ryan Reynolds.
It’s a chaotic live-action cartoon with more in common with rival Marvel’s Deadpool than with anything DC has released thus far, even if its dull and somewhat convoluted plot is only a marginal improvement over the story in Suicide Squad.
Then there are times when it seemed like some studio exec said, “Just make it like Deadpool,” and so you’ve got a convoluted timeline with plenty of irreverent narration combined with R-rated language and violence.
Earning its R-rating, the film isn’t as eager as Deadpool to have the audience thank it for that, but there’s still a lot of sharp crunches and red spirts.
The Deadpool films have similar approaches to their antihero, although here the villains’ inherent misogyny gives an edge to Harley’s natural pluck (Winstead is also terrific as a Huntress, a hero that’s all action and struggles with showmanship).
Director Cathy Yan (making what can only be described as her blockbuster debut) and Bumblebee screenwriter Christina Hodson prove themselves to be more than up to the task, as does star-turned-producer Robbie; from its vibrant animated opening to its funhouse fighting finale, Birds of Prey may grind some of the same R-rated, self-referential rails as Deadpool, but it does so at such a spirited speed that it scoots right past many of its own potholes.
Fast, ferocious and inevitably a bit too pleased with its own cleverness, this Fox-produced offshoot of the “X-Men” series nevertheless can’t help but feel like a nasty, nose-thumbing tonic next to the shinier delegations of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as represented by Disney’s “Avengers” franchise (and its various subfranchises) and Sony’s not-so-amazing “Spider-Man” movies.
He’s played the part before, in the very first of the X-Men solo spinoffs, 2009’s all-around-regrettable X-Men Origins: Wolverine .
It continues in the opening credits, which list the stars as "God's Perfect Talent," "A Hot Chick" and whatnot (I won't give away all the jokes), and picks up with Deadpool's consistent references to Marvel Comics' "X-Men" movie franchise ( a stiff, staid thing at this point ), to which he belongs, because he cavorts with two of its characters, but at the same time doesn't belong, because he references Professor X and Wolverine by the actors who play them in the movies we've seen in our reality.
Its anarchic luster is purely cosmetic, an edgier “X-Men” film that struggles to conceal its dud of a story that has nothing new to offer to anyone but middle schoolers.
Still, there's Reynolds, and a R-rated comic-book script which delights in its own filthy dialogue and bloody action without tipping over into unintentionally ridiculous sex scenes (like "X-Men") or way-too-gruesome gore (like the "Sin City" movies).
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Directed by James Cameron
influenced Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
Plot Characters
I can hear you groan at the beaten-to-death cliché lifted from founding father James Cameron’s all-out action sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991).
What truly makes the movie special is that Linda Hamilton returns as Sarah Connor, the first time she has reprised the role since Terminator 2: Judgment Day back in 1991.
All of which means while I can recall most of "T2" nearly thirty years after it was released, I can't remember a thing about the subsequent follow-ups and had to look up their plot synopses just to jolt my memory.
Following T2, which is largely hailed as a sequel that surpassed the original (and for good reason – its action sets were bigger, Arnie’s dialogue was funnier, the plot was twistier, and the story had more depth and heart), the splurge of failed sequels fell short blending the dark genre elements in with the sense of reckless, full-spirited enthusiasm that made Cameron’s films so indestructible.
That’s OK here, because the succeeding iterations since “T2,” starting with 2003’s “Rise of the Machines,” were defective.
In Mexico, unsuspecting factory worker Dani Ramos (Natalia Reyes) is the new target for the kind of chameleon, liquid-metal terminator that was so frighteningly effective in Terminator 2. Also dropping naked from the future comes Grace, a “human with augmentations”, charged with protecting her (Mackenzie Davis of Black Mirror/San Junipero fame, nailing her atypical action role).
Thus, the non-MCU superhero films that shake up the formula—the meta crassness of Deadpool and the Western-inspired vibes of Logan —are a breath of fresh air.
The film is utterly dissonant, recalling the weird camp of Batman & Robin , which illustrates a fundamental conflict between the presentation of what the Venom symbiote is and does and the filmmakers’ efforts to turn his story into a Deadpool -esque laugh riot.
It begins as a serious drama with some mild, tepid attempts at light comedy, but once Venom himself shows up, it turns into a neutered black comedy, a PG-13 attempt to replicate the sarcastic, metatextual vibe of Deadpool that only occasionally works.
But next to the much more visually and narratively elaborate entertainments that make up the Marvel Cinematic Universe — or even compared with other snarky anti-superhero movies like “Deadpool” — “Venom” feels like pretty weak poison.
Amid a plethora of family-friendly superhero blockbusters, this was the road less traveled that “Deadpool” took in 2016, whose success inspired “Logan” to follow suit.
For, when Eddie finally comes to terms with living with the parasite, there is a hint of a lively back and forth between the two — especially when Eddie refuses to jump from a building — that might have rivalled Deadpool .
Some squads are less expendable to others, and “The Suicide Squad” opens in a big, brassy, stylish comedic massacre in the vein of X-Force’s fate in “Deadpool 2.” In fact, “Deadpool” is a bit of a touchstone as ‘TSS’ is nasty and juvenile in its first act, and just as entertaining, comedically offensive and also genuinely annoying and even off-putting at times.
And if anything, this new movie probably borrows more of its style and humor from Deadpool .
But unlike “Guardians of the Galaxy” or anything with the almost-as-violent “Deadpool” in it, I can’t say I’d ever care to sit through it again.
It’s certainly funnier and more thoughtful than either of the Deadpool films.
Gunn helms a talented cast in a movie that is masterful in not taking itself too seriously, finally delivering a “Deadpool” equivalent on the D.C. side of the superhero spectrum.
“The Suicide Squad” is possibly the most rousing evolution across DC and Marvel since “Deadpool.”
As a vehicle for the impudent comic stylings of Ryan Reynolds , this cheerfully demented origin story is many, many cuts above “Green Lantern,” and as a sly demolition job on the superhero movie, it sure as hell beats “Kick-Ass.”
It doesn’t take Deadpool more than about a minute to include a jab at Green Lantern (2011), star Ryan Reynolds’s much-maligned green-clad superhero-movie bomb, but that is pretty much a given in a movie where the opening credits refer to the director as an “overpaid tool” and the writers as “the real heroes.”
The script throws abuse at Hugh Jackman, Reynolds’ dreadful work in “Green Lantern,” James McAvoy and Patrick Stewart, Wham!, Salt-N-Pepa and even Marvel founder Stan Lee, who is cast as the DJ in a seedy strip club.
If not wholly infectious, it’s endearing, spiritually righting some of the actor’s past wrongs (“Green Lantern” and “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” where Reynolds’ take on Deadpool was so confused that it was long assumed the character would never get another crack at the big screen).
(We also get references to Reynolds’ ill-fated turn as “Green Lantern,” his heavily criticized appearance as Deadpool in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and his 2010 “Sexiest Man Alive” People magazine cover.)
That's apparent right from the title sequence, which instead of using real actors' names merely credits "British Villain" or "This Idiot" along with mercilessly tweaking star Ryan Reynolds' past as the veteran of People pin-ups and the crashed-and-burned "Green Lantern."
Grillo as absent husband/father, sassy voiceover Grillo—trying to combine all these into this character doesn’t just push him to ape different performers (Ryan Reynolds’ ability to be a charming smartass even in Deadpool’s most rote circumstances, Neeson’s loving gravitas driving his desperate latter-day actioners) but hamstrings a truly talented actor and the film with unfocused, unnecessary diversions.
Carnahan pulls no punches in making these scenes as bloody, violent, and amusing as possible, echoing the black comedy of films like Deadpool and Happy Death Day .
At times, it reminded me of the original John Wick and even Deadpool , although it's not anything like as good as either.
Ya se burló Deadpool de este tema: las líneas de tiempo de las películas de X-Men apenas tienen sentido.
Based on arguably the best X-Men arch in its long tenure in comics (which itself was adapted from the incredible Fox cartoon series), Dark Phoenix marks the directorial debut of Simon Kinberg, who previously made a career out of producing a slew of action blockbusters, including all of Fox’s recent X-Men titles and the Deadpool series.
X-Men: Dark Phoenix is the final chapter to a 20-year franchise which has lost its way as of late, unless we’re talking about spinoffs like Logan or Deadpool which worked really well.
It’s a disservice to a great cast and X-fans everywhere to undermine all that has come before only to be upstaged by two farcical Deadpool movies that provide a far better representation.
So before Logan and Deadpool wowed us with their uniquely specific sensibilities, the gang got together for Apocalypse.
I liked the bit where Deadpool's stoner buddy (T.J. Miller) references Blade II because I remembered that Reynolds was notoriously in Blade: Trinity and I recall reading that Wesley Snipes was perpetually stoned on that shoot and sent memos to the director signed "Blade."
“Deadpool,” however, takes itself far less seriously than either of those films (and includes a snarky little dig at “Blade II”).
The snark-happy "Merc With a Mouth" quips as quick as the semi-animated Jim Carrey in "The Mask," firing off rounds of punch lines like ammo.
If you combined The Mask with Watchmen, you start to get a sense of what to expect.
Also, we’ve seen wisecracking anti-heroes time and again, from “The Mask” to “Iron-Man.”
This is not a bad gag – at a push, a sort of lightweight counter to the magnificent opening sequence of 2009’s Watchmen, featuring visions of fallen superheroes matched to Dylan crooning about how the times, they are a-changing.
If you combined The Mask with Watchmen, you start to get a sense of what to expect.
One of the primary selling points of "Deadpool" and its big differences with most studio fare is its R-rating, earned for "strong violence and language throughout, sexual content and graphic nudity" (plenty of people have tried to tout the film as the "first" superhero film to pick up an R, but that's just not the case, as it follows in the rating steps of other offerings as diverse as the "Blade" films, "Watchmen" and even the recent hit "Kingsman: The Secret Service").
Accordingly, “Deadpool” supposes – on a molecular level – that R-rated superhero adventures are its own invention, as if James Gunn didn’t make “Super,” Matthew Vaughn “Kick-Ass,” or Zack Synder “Watchmen,” all of which are ideals of innovation in comparison.
Por ahí pasan Ripley, Sinead O’Connor, el clásico romántico de Say Anything… (1989), la serie animada de Voltron: Defender of the Universe (1984) e incontables referencias que se mezclan con hitos más recientes: la automutilación cotidiana de Deadpool con la tortura –en varios sentidos– de 127 Hours (2010); las autorreferencias a la carrera de Reynolds; la burla de los esquemas clásicos de las películas de superhéroes con el famoso aterrizaje de Iron Man imitado por Angel, la parodia de las escenas post-créditos y las mofas constantes a Hugh Jackman…
As a vehicle for the impudent comic stylings of Ryan Reynolds , this cheerfully demented origin story is many, many cuts above “Green Lantern,” and as a sly demolition job on the superhero movie, it sure as hell beats “Kick-Ass.”
The slick visuals, high-velocity gag rate and ample body count recall Matthew Vaughn’s “Kick-Ass,” and it’s a mild bummer when “Deadpool” settles into a more predictable groove later on.
Accordingly, “Deadpool” supposes – on a molecular level – that R-rated superhero adventures are its own invention, as if James Gunn didn’t make “Super,” Matthew Vaughn “Kick-Ass,” or Zack Synder “Watchmen,” all of which are ideals of innovation in comparison.
This R-rated, in-your-face flick aimed squarely at savvy movie-goers and fans of the Marvel Comics universe is sophisticated, furiously witty and as enjoyable off-kilter as “Kick-Ass.”
We've had R-rated comic book movies before, even superhero ones; the two " Kick-Ass" movies hit new heights, or depths, in gleefully sadistic fight scenes.
Speaking of Kick-Ass, this new film shares the same R rating as that 2010 effort.
And oh, the movie references … “127 Hours” and “Blade 2” are among them.
Por ahí pasan Ripley, Sinead O’Connor, el clásico romántico de Say Anything… (1989), la serie animada de Voltron: Defender of the Universe (1984) e incontables referencias que se mezclan con hitos más recientes: la automutilación cotidiana de Deadpool con la tortura –en varios sentidos– de 127 Hours (2010); las autorreferencias a la carrera de Reynolds; la burla de los esquemas clásicos de las películas de superhéroes con el famoso aterrizaje de Iron Man imitado por Angel, la parodia de las escenas post-créditos y las mofas constantes a Hugh Jackman…
Though Chris McKay’s The Lego Batman Movie pulls from a host of DC and Warner Bros. properties for its characters, its clearest source of reference comes from Marvel, specifically the wisecracking self-reflexivity of Tim Miller’s Deadpool .
LEGO Batman sees Will Arnett reprise his adorably moody take on the Caped Crusader from The LEGO Movie in a movie that owes more to Deadpool than to any other Batman movie in existence.
The relentless pace and irreverently self-aware tone are clear from the very start, as Batman — voiced to gravelly perfection by Will Arnett — offers a running commentary on the various studio logos that precede his latest adventure (imagine “Deadpool,” but funny).
It's intriguing, in a way, to see The LEGO Batman Movie hit the scene exactly a full year after Deadpool 's trumpeted arrival.
There’s even “Deadpool”-style fourth wall shattering when Arnett opens the film by commenting on the opening titles and production logos and says as the film opens, “Black.
It's an attention grabber even before the opening WB logo, with a very funny and inventive voiceover that almost tops the beginning graphics of "Deadpool".
El trabajo de Schwartz cumple, aunque en ocasiones se siente un poco como la versión PG de Deadpool , y sus referencias a la cultura pop del momento no ayudarán a que la película envejezca con gracia.
Fowler, along with co-writers Patrick Casey and Josh Miller, is working off the Deadpool and Detective Pikachu template, which is really just the Ryan Reynolds template.
It’s like watching a family-friendly version of Deadpool but with a hyperactive hedgehog that never stops irritating viewers and dropping second-rate jokes.
Friends, this is a record-scratch, freeze-frame, “I bet you’re wondering how I got here” sort of movie, with a voiceover (by Ben Schwartz, as Sonic) that indicates above all how much movie executives have learned from Deadpool ’s box office returns.
What is the target audience for a film that wants to take its cues from Deadpool but also family films about the Easter Bunny?
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)
Directed by David Leitch
influenced by Deadpool (2016)
Themes
When combined with a more snarky sense of humor — director David Leitch made “Deadpool 2” after all and two surprise guest appearances only serve to underscore the “Deadpool”-like funny business — “Hobbs & Shaw” manages to differentiate itself while still keeping the body count high enough to satisfy the faithful.
The director is David Leitch, who proved his genre mettle with the first “John Wick” (2014), the second “Deadpool” (2018), and “Atomic Blonde” (2017), which couldn’t stop moving long enough to make sense.
David Leitch is a competent filmmaker; he was integral in the success of the John Wick franchise, delivered a worthy Deadpool sequel, but most importantly, announced himself as a proven action filmmaker with the nearly 7-minute one-take battle sequence from Charlize Theron and countless goons during Atomic Blonde.
David Leitch directed it, and the fights and chases achieve a kind of smooth brutality that makes sense for the maker of “Atomic Blonde” and the second “Deadpool” and who had a hand in the first “John Wick.”
Their relationship is in itself an entertaining fiasco of bravado and metaphorical man spreading, but unlike Deadpool this is not a comedy.
With John Wick and Deadpool director David Leith behind the camera, audiences expect both well-staged action sequences and a heavy dose of churlish clap-backs.
Hellboy goes even more overboard than Logan in adding naughty bits just for the, uh, hell of it — unlike, say, Deadpool , which did a great job of making its R rating feel like a natural fit, these other pictures bring to mind the adage, “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.”
It’s not that an R-rated superhero film is an impossible task; we’ve seen it multiple times before in the Marvel X-Men franchise, such as both Deadpool films and in the conclusion to the Wolverine saga, Logan .
There’s another popular superhero movie that we can point as influencing this new Hellboy and that’s Deadpool.
It’s most distinctive change from its forbearers is its shift in tone, taking a more lackadaisical, Deadpool -inspired approach, stuffing the film full of constant one-liners and abandoning much of the pathos and subtext del Toro brought to the material.
Whilst there’s certainly no harm in retreading the expected, or embracing a higher rating for that matter ( Deadpool , anyone?), this particular Hellboy is so void of a personality that it simply fails on the most basic level of being fun.
But where del Toro reverently reimagined the cartoonist’s beautifully clean-lined monster art, the example of risqué superhero hits such as Deadpool has let Marshall off the leash.