Deadpool is already a character that totally shouldn’t have a movie but thanks to some leaked test footage and faux support from the internet Fox decided to invest the money and produce a feature film. Sure, it’ll be great to have a film to refer back to when he dist is settled so that we can say that we have one but in all likelihood there’s something about this movie that just makes me have doubt that it’ll be at all financially successful in theaters. I honestly believe that the only home this film has is that it somehow achieves cult favorite status and maybe online and DVD sales make up for what will likely be a box office bomb.
1) Ryan Reynolds
Deadpool’s greatest strength is also his biggest weakness. 5 years ago he would have easily been a strength but after more than a couple of box office failures Ryan Reynolds’ Hollywood star has dimmed. His name just isn’t the draw that it once was and has the possibility of being a detriment in the long run.
2) NON-STOP promotion.
All movies promote but Deadpool has taken “promotion” to new heights. I can’t login to Facebook without seeing 3 new posters a week to highlight 12 Days of Deadpool sprinkled with a new trailer eery 15 minutes. I exaggerate but only just a little. The amount of images released of characters in the same 3 scenes standing around begging for you to “set as wallpaper” is overwhelming. If I decide to bring back the “Media Overload” feature it’ll solelly be used to show how marketing can be suffocating.
3) Ryan Reynolds humor being confused for Deadpool humor
Deadpool is an odd character. He’s really popular and its mostly because of his odd sense of humor which is typically deadpan and situational. The Deadpool seen in the trailers is mostly saying the right things but seems a bit… off. It”s not so much deadpan as it’s just crass. I guess changes had to be made to accommodate the character moving from the comic page to the silver screen but it just doesn’t seem as funny to me.
4) I have a baaaad feeling about this… and it seems familiar
Something about all the promotion and non-stop enthusiasm from the cast and crew. It’s not a good sign. The fact that they’re pushing that it’s an R-rated movie… also worrisome (do we really need a sex scene in Deadpool?) The last time I saw this much insight into a film before it was released, and coupled with non-stop enthusiasm, was Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. Way back in my movie blogging infancy even I was duped by the non-stop positive words from the crew… and then we got this:
5) It’s releasing in February.
Films that release in the first 3 months of the year really aren’t aiming high. Most comic movies release closer to the summer in order to take advantage of the nice weather to get people to go to their theater. Oscar films typically release in the latter part of the year in order to remain fresh in the minds of critics and voting committees. So what do films released in the first quarter gain? Lack of competition. Deadpool is a lower budget super hero movie releasing before Batman and Iron Man can come and wash away any momentum this film may have. Smart move but worrisome.
Add these 5 things together and everything about Deadpool just makes me feel like this movie will not only be critically disappointing but also a financial disappointment forcing Fox back to the drawing board to try to expand out their chunk of the Marvel Universe.
Oh, and it’ll probably be the last Deadpool movie we’ll ever see
