Trailer Talk: ‘Deadpool’

Movie trailers are like free samples at Costco: the good ones excite you and leave you wanting more, while the bad ones make you cringe. Each week, A&E columnist Matthew Fernandez will dissect one movie trailer and analyze the Hollywood fare to come.

This holiday season, Marvel was both naughty and nice when it gave its fans a Christmas present: a new red band, not-safe-for-work “Deadpool” trailer.

Sitting in my fuzzy Batman pajama pants and obligatory ugly sweater, I huddled over my laptop on Christmas morning as I eagerly watched the new trailer, sending a silent thank you to Santa, or his Marvel rip-off/clone, for delivering the goods this year.

The trailer released the geeky fanboy hidden not too far beneath my skin, and for two minutes and 54 seconds I was reduced to giggles and “oohs” with every raunchy joke and dismembered head. Okay, so there was only one decapitation in the trailer but you get the picture. The trailer’s wittiness and violence makes me all the more eager for the release of the full film.

Although it has been deceptively marketed as the first R-rated superhero film, the film’s novelty comes from its willingness to push boundaries. Christmas’ trailer emphasizes the delightful raunchiness fans have come to expect from the red-clad mercenary.

Although he may have started out as a rip-off of the DC character Deathstroke, Deadpool has taken a life of his own, delighting comic book fans since 1997.

Since the first trailer’s August release, the promotional media has kept fans excited. Between the film posters, trailers and interviews, comments about the film have kept internet comment sections active and birthed many YouTube reaction videos. Fox Studios even released separate green and red band trailers to cater to different audiences: the tamer greens they can show to the masses and naughty reds that older viewers can enjoy.

The newest trailer is mostly previously released footage and redubbed scenes. While the previous “Deadpool” trailer showcased the sexuality and profanity, the new one emphasizes the violence and action. Much of the footage comes from the highly publicized bridge sequence, previously used as test footage to convince 20th Century Fox to produce the film. This footage was leaked online and quickly pulled down by Fox, but not before it spread like wildfire across the internet.

The red band trailer is as boisterous and gleeful as its protagonist, reveling in all his gory glory. Between close-ups of Deadpool’s spandex-clad buttocks and gratuitous profanity, the trailer takes a no-holds-barred approach to the action. In a flurry of blades and headshots, the trailer hints at great fight sequences to come and some classic mano a mano superhero action.

The new trailer also reveals details about the film’s plot, which tells of Deadpool’s origin story that seems to center around the antihero’s attempts to rescue his kidnapped girlfriend. The stereotypical “lover rescue” story might be an effort to mislead audiences, much like Disney did with the “Star Wars” trailers (spoiler alert: Finn is not the Jedi). The trailer does a good job of not revealing too much, subscribing to the less-is-more mentality.

Ryan Reynolds, who plays the titular red-suited “merc-with-a-mouth,” gives audiences much to look forward to. Reynolds played the role in 2009’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine;” however he and fans felt the character was underused and improperly portrayed.

While some are unhappy about the decidedly (im)mature path director Tim Miller is taking, Deadpool is an antihero specifically designed for more adult audiences and should stay that way. As a big DC fan, I usually do not look kindly upon Marvel’s copycats; however, this is one of those exceptions where the rip-off is more successful than the original.

Marvel is pushing the envelope with “Deadpool.” Thankfully, the filmmakers chose to pursue the R rating rather than sell out to commercialism and settle for PG-13. Had they gone with a milder film for a wider audience, the end result would likely be a watered-down disappointment and nothing at all like the unashamedly raunchy fare the trailers have shown.

It will be interesting to see how “Deadpool”‘s unprecedented NSFW nature will play out with audiences and influence the direction of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has played it safe with conventional, family-friendly summer blockbusters.

What are your thoughts on the “Deadpool” trailer? Email Fernandez at [email protected].