DEALIND CARDS FOR A NEW GAME
“We were around when the Western died
and there will be a time when
the superhero movie
goes the way of the Western.
It doesn’t mean there won’t be
another occasion where
the Western comes back and
the superhero movie someday returns.”
Steven Spielberg
Superhero movies and the successful formulas from Marvel and DC are going dry, if they have not already. The introduction of overblown multiverses and parallel lines have gone beyond the superhero genre (if such term can be employed) and reached independent releases that massive audiences ended up consuming. Some even getting Best Film accolades during awards season (Everything Everywhere All at Once). Now, this fatigue, reflected in the fructiferous map drawn by Marvel-Disney with The Avengers, which also tried to recreate the X-Men saga between past futures (also from Marvel, but under Fox), which led DC to update their cinematic lore, was put at the service of an audience that followed their every move even by inertia; the entourage of comic fans that celebrates every and any slightest hint on the apparition of a character, winks to the audience or any appeal to nostalgia that it might refer to. This fan service ended up worked half-way with films that became depreciated shortly after its release, such as The Flash.
However, there are instances of films peripheral to those blockbusters that had a strength of its own and presented a stronger auteur trademark. Such is the case of Todd Phillips’ Joker, Matt Reeves’ Batman and one of the finest superhero films in recent years: James Mangold’s Logan; a film with a western format that even pays an homage to George Stevens’ Shane. But such strength, after Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, which included the Marvel-Fox productions, found themselves delayed or left to chance, something that materialized with The New Mutants, a project that got stuck amidst the merger.
Now, when it comes to the film subject of this writing, Deadpool & Wolverine is a feast. From their main titles and opening scenes it is established that this is a new entry in the Deadpool saga, despite having both superheroes heading the act. Things already seen in prior entries such as the impassionate tone, the breaking of the fourth wall, the explicit violence and the politically incorrect comedy here become increased, because we do not expect those qualities, at least in the comedic sense, in a brooding, lonely and conflicted character such as Wolverine. This refreshed formula finds a simple plot, which is the excuse to exploit the conjunction of two very dissimilar characters to the fullest and, at the same time, put on display the interaction of two actors that seem to have had a wonderful time in front as well as behind the camera. Deadpool and Wolverine obviously fight each other, not to the death since both characters can regenerate. They hate each other, then they join forces and end up forming a friendship for which they put everything on the line. In an analogous way, D & W establishes a notion of “things abandoned”, be it franchises or characters, something like a Woody or a Buzz with whom Disney no longer play with anymore. The result is an “excuse film” constructed from the reassessment of a character (Wolverine), who died in a previous entry, brought back to life to prove that he can still be exploited. Being a film conscious of what it is doing, mockery towards this will be present: studio mergers, woke culture, cancel culture and the exploitation of the politically correct. A very much welcome added value.
Times change, for better or for worse. You can go back, but only after stopping and regrouping. D & W, as Spielberg said, maybe is about withdrawing the cards, re-shuffle them and deal them over again for a new game. And it would be great for Westerns to make a comeback. Ok, it did make a comeback, with Kevin Costner’s Horizon, but us in Argentina will not be able to see it in theaters.
Director: Shawn Levy. Screenwriters: Shawn Levy, Rhett Reese, Ryan Reynolds, Zeb Wells, Paul Wernick. Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Jennifer Garner, Chris Evans. Producers: Kevin Feige, Shawn Levy, Ryan Reynolds, Lauren Shuler Donner. Runtime: 127 minutes.
