STACK #139 May 2016

DVD & BD FEATURE

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There’s never been a character like Deadpool, and Ryan Reynolds plays him as though he was born to play the role. – Stan Lee

"They did everything wrong and it turned out right." Deadpool 's unconventional journey to the screen reflects its title character, writes John Roebuck. BETTER OFF DEADPOOL

DVD & BD

R ight now, Deadpool is the highest grossing R-rated film (an American R equals MA15+ here) in history. Its cinematic run, still ongoing in many countries, has yielded almost 800 million dollars worldwide. It’s the highest grossing entry in the X-Men film series and the third highest grossing movie of the year so far. It has also been well received by critics. One review called Deadpool , “...a funny, bloody comedy that is the Marvel Universe’s biggest breath of fresh air since Guardians of the Galaxy .” But this wasn’t the first attempt to commit the iconic character, famously branded ‘The Merc with the Mouth’, to the screen. It also wasn’t the first time Ryan Reynolds had played the role.

In 2004, Reynolds appeared as Hannibal King in David Goyer’s Blade: Trinity . Critics and audiences alike rated the film poorly, but a studio executive detected a similarity between Reynolds’ performance and the disposition of another Marvel Comics property, Deadpool. The executive passed on a stack of Deadpool comics to Reynolds. It sparked an interest in both the actor and Goyer. The latter eventually lost interest and moved on to co-write Batman Begins with Christopher Nolan, and the Deadpool project faded away. Reynolds’ enthusiasm didn’t wane, however. When he heard about the inclusion of Deadpool in Gavin Hood’s now notorious X-Men Origins: Wolverine , he actively campaigned for the

MAY 2016

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