Of Playthings and Puppets

When X-Men Origins: Wolverine debuted earlier this year, I avoided it like the plague. That isn’t to say I didn’t know anything about it; as a matter of fact, I did. I knew plenty. Some might say I knew too much. And so, instead of going to the movies that Friday, I went to have a drink, not because I wanted to get drunk, mind you, but because I wanted to toast to the Wolverine I knew was now lost and needlessly forgotten in the comic lore of yesteryear.

However, over the past weekend and thanks to the brilliant minds behind the $1 DVD rental goodness they call the Red Box, I took myself home a copy of this doomed-from-the-start film. With hundreds of forum posts condemning it, several years of comic knowledge refuting it, and Rotten Tomatoes simply dooming it, it was with some pause that I eventually stuck it into the player and pushed start.

And, after sticking to the t.v. and only allowing myself to be called away for dinner and pie (peach, and oh so delicious), watching the “hidden ending” they were so sly about in theaters (two possible versions, really?), and staring numbly at a Non-Smoking PSA (the only “special feature”), I can only say one thing about this film:

WTF was the big friggin’ deal?

Seriously, why the hate? Maybe because the movie serves more as an “origin” to the whole X-U created by Fox rather than Wolverine alone? Is that it? Okay, I get it. There’s a few characters too many, sure (we’ve got Vanisher, Sabretooth, Silverfox, Gambit, Blob, Agent Zero, Cyclops, Emma Frost, and even a few cameos by the likes of Toad, Prof. X, and Quicksilver. Oh, there’s also Deadpool, but let me knock this point off my list first). Yes, the cameos were a bit… much, but what of it? It certainly can’t be any more ridiculous than the forty comics Wolverine says “bub” in every month, right?

Back to Deadpool. For most of his life, Wade Wilson has only been what is fondly called a “cult classic.” Though he’s basically Wolverine-lite, the Merc with a Mouth never really brought the same crowd as Mr. Adamantium. Cutting the long story short, despite being loved by only a few, those few have very, incredibly loud (keyboards) mouths. And their objections are, at the very least, somewhat valid: movie Deadpool is NOT comic Deadpool, though Ryan Reynold’s portrayal at the beginning was nothing short of spot-on.

But, again,  so what? He has swords growing out of his arms, beams shooting from his eyes, teleporting abilities, and a handy-dandy healing ability… but it’s just a handful of extra powers shoved into the film for gimick’s sake, and certainly nothing some comic/movie logic couldn’t fix in future installments, especially given the way Deadpool “died” during the climax. I expected an abomination, something as demonically horrid as Greg Land’s traces, but all I found was a generic villain showing promise for his own film.

That said, I’m sure we can all breathe a sigh of relief that Ryan Renolds is a huge fan of the Deadpool character and has gone on record that the new film (oh yes, there will be blood) will most definitely be as hilariously outrageous as the comics that spawned the oddball (anyone else suppose he’ll break the fourth wall again and know, for a fact, he’s in a movie? Love it) as well as possibly a reboot.

Of course, the forthcoming Deadpool film isn’t likely to be the only one launched from X-Men Origins: Wolverine (unless Disney has something to say about it…), so I suppose we might as well get used to the annual X-Men blockbuster bearing only a slight resemblance to the comics we know and love. Hell, if you can shut up for a while, stash the keyboard for a few minutes, and keep from reading the damned forums where 45-year old creepers in their parent’s basement rant about who shot first, you might even enjoy them.

I did, and I will.