7 Reasons to be Cautiously Optimistic About Deadpool...

Few films have grabbed my attention in my recent memory, with a few exceptions being Mad Max: Fury Road, The Raid 2 and Dredd. Even the mighty revenue-drawing titans from Marvel are beginning to lose their novelty on me, Age of Ultron and Ant-Man barely got more than a cursory glance from myself, and quite a few others. Although I suppose this is what happens when you can reliably know whether a film will be good or not. 

So, in a sea of summer blockbusters, including everything from edgy action films, to high-art showpieces and of course, films in which people repeatedly punch each-other, there's been very little that I've enjoyed. Terminator Genisys had a good attempt at butchering the franchise more than Salvation did the reboot of Fantastic Four failed to revitalise the series, and Jurassic World played on your nostalgia more than Bill Nye guest-starring in Fresh Prince. It has been a summer of mediocrity, when it should have been astounding. 

That's why one of my favourite things to come from this summer's film scene wasn't actually a film, but a trailer. And not even a great one at that. Deadpool's trailer essentially rehashed a lot of the test-footage which had been leaked previously, so way did I get so excited?  

The trailer looks rather promising

I understand that this term has been thrown at many, many motion pictures, and that the trailer is certainly not in anyway representative of the final product. The aforementioned Genisys managed to ruin it's major twist in a trailer, arguably rendering the film pretty unnecessary for a lot of fans, so please don't tell me that trailers are useless, even in this day and age. 

Furthermore, if you've managed to have a gander at the test footage for Deadpool from about a year ago, you'll see that very little has changed when you compare it, and the new red-band trailer side by side. The shots mostly remain the same, only the video as a whole has been notably sharpened up. I would call it lazy, but the test footage worked pretty well, building hype for the film. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. 

I mean, the fact that both a green-band, and a red-band trailer was made was also great. If you're going to do a Deadpool film, we'll have less of all this kid-friendly business. 

It sticks quite close to the source material

This seems to be one of very few comic-book movies which refrains from the temptation to just butcher various bits of source material into something remotely resembling a film. See the latest rehashing of the Fantastic Four franchise, or any other recent X-Men film. 

All the key tropes of Deadpool are explicitly present in the above trailer: The almost adolescent wackiness, the not-too-subtle fourth wall breaks, and his prowess with katanas and pistols are all evident. Without going through the Deadpool Wiki-page and cross-referencing it with every single page of Tim Miller's script, this incarnation of Deadpool appears to be the most accurate one to date, certainly in a different league to Renold's previous rendition. It would've been very easy for someone to cut out Deadpool's awareness that he's in a film, in order to fit better in an established cinematic universe, but thankfully, that isn't the case. 

And I must say, the very end of the red band trailer bares witness to Deadpool inhaling the smoke from his pistols, and exclaiming directly to the camera, "I'm touching myself tonight," was an excellent finish, bordering on childish, but hitting the nail of the character straight on the head.

We need a silly superhero

You know Guardians of the Galaxy, right? The film which knocked Tom Hiddleston out of the way, making Chris Pratt the new Tumblr sensation, making sales of Parks and Recreation go through the roof? That being said, Hiddleston is still pretty top.

Well, my theory, and that of many others, is that the film was popular as it allowed fans a break from a plethora of serious blockbusters. In a summer of serious films, American Sniper, Godzilla, and even a bunch of other Marvel bits, the story of Peter Quill being thrown into a other-worldly adventure was just what everyone needed. I mean, we all wondered what would happen in a final confrontation between good and evil, and Chris Pratt resolved the matter appropriately through non-violent means; a dance off. 

In a world which has seen a fair few Marvel films alone, each taking themselves more seriously than the last, it's about time we had a silly one. I mean, I know Deadpool is under Fox, but you know what I mean. Anyway, if you're going to do a slightly silly film, Deadpool's arguably the best character for it. 

There's tons of opportunity here

I know this is normally the case with every film loosely based off of a previous IP, but Deadpool is once again the exception. 

Thankfully, the much awaited R-rating has been confirmed for the 2016 release, which was met with many joyous celebrations from fans of the mouthy merc. Can you imagine attempting to portray the character in a friendly PG manner?

If there's any hope of doing the character justice, it's with an array of strong language and violence that is only possible through a rating which makes it tricky for kids to view. I mean, it's a win-win really. Kids don't have their innocence spoilt, and us adults don't have to endure a half-measured version of Deadpool. 

Now that Reynolds and friends have the all-clear to do whatever they fancy, I'd expect one of the most accurate depictions of a comic-book character to date. Take that, Deadpool from that awful Wolverine film. Oh God, the memories...

The movie represents a lot

Of course, it's great that everyone gets to watch a full feature-length film of their childish gore-filled fantasy. I mean, there will inevitably be a few who pan the film regardless of how good it is, but just think what a successful, or even half-decent Deadpool offering would do.

The leaking of test footage at last year's Comic-Con in San Diego subsequently forced Fox to greenlight this film. It was due to the immense pressure from countless fans, that this film even exists.

Many a sequel has gone ignored, as studios believe they can ignore the excessive demand for certain films. A personal favourite of mine, the petition for a sequel to 2012's Dredd, has gained little traction over it's duration for that very reason. That, and the lack of commercial viability, of course.

So while we won't get our Dredd 2, or sequels to numerous other cult-classics, we can pave the way for a louder voice for future fans. Don't sit back idly and watch the latest Transformers butchering, go and tell people what you want to see, and then tell the people who can make it happen. If future film releases are gauged on fans and interest rather than revenue and commercial success, everyone will be a bit better off. At the very least, you'll see less annoying trailers while you're waiting for Deadpool to come on. 

Better Call Saul: Will It Be Any Good?

What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word 'spin-off'?

You might have a passing thought in the direction of NCIS, Saved By The Bell and even technically The Simpsons, but there's a huge mountain of simply mediocre and generic TV shows which have tried to capitalise on the success of their predecessors. Remember Three's a Crowd, Baywatch Nights or even the more recent Joey? Of course you don't, and that's what fans of Breaking Bad are worried about; the possibility of the original idea being unnecessarily exploited, poorly executed and forgotten in a sea of 'meh'-worthy shows.

In all fairness, under the supervision of Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, its very unlikely that Better Call Saul will slip into the aforementioned abyss. As with games, films and any other form of media, a successful sequel will develop and expand upon previous ideas, rather than simply replicate them. At a glance, Better Call Saul appears to be doing just that, with a complete shift from the dark and tense atmosphere which was so well utilised in Breaking Bad, with a new comedic focus poised to be honed in by Bob Odenkirk's portrayal of the lawyer himself.

While Goodman's antics in Breaking Bad served to provide some comic relief to an otherwise very tense series, it's unclear as to how key comedy will be to the new series. Presumably, with new characters, a new setting and a new time frame, Better Call Saul looks to almost completely ditch it's predecessor, and have a much more light-hearted atmosphere than the morally questionable drug kingpin world of Vince Gilligan.

With only the odd familiar face being brought along for the ride, I have to say that I'm glad Better Call Saul doesn't seem to be relying on the popularity of Breaking Bad. The most notable characters consist of Saul himself, and private eye, Mike Ehrmantraut. Apart from the odd suggested cameo, appearances from the likes of Walter, Jesse and Hank have essentially been ruled out due to conflicting real-world schedules. But it's probably for the best; Take it as a new comedy show with a memorable (and somehow familiar) characters, rather than an exploitation of a highly successful previous idea and you'll get the most enjoyment out of it.

Given the drastic change, Breaking Bad fans may very well be disappointed by the new show, something which Gilligan himself has proved to be fairly anxious about. In noting that the new show could either relate to the relative success or failure of Fraiser or After M*A*S*H, it's entirely possible that the creators believe that their product could go either way. 

Gilligan's own response barely instills confidence in fans, as he states "I am worried ... it may turn out it was a mistake to do this". And if you weren't already clutching your Breaking Bad merchandise fearfully, Gilligan's only directing the initial pilot episode, and not the series as a whole. But don't fret, the dark melancholy which serves as a constant undertone in Breaking Bad may not be as well suited here, in a series with a nonsensical and less serious protagonist than Walter White. That, and the new Peter Gould has been nominated for four Writers Guild of America awards, so it's relatively safe to say he knows what he's doing.

Despite the potential of Better Call Saul; the perfect amount of familiar faces, the new setting and the necessary shift in atmosphere, we'll have to put ourselves in the shoes of those involved for once, and simply wait and see. Sure, a repeat of Breaking Bad would be great for die-hard fans, but where's the innovation, where's the potential, and what's the fun in doing that? However it's going turn out, I can certainly understand why people are notably less excited for Better Call Saul than it's predecessor.

And for that reason alone, I hope that Gould and the rest of the crew utilise the potential of the new setting and blow everyone out of the water with a solid and unexpected comedy. What can I say, I'm a fan.

Breaking Bad: A Year Later...

Warning: Potential spoilers and all that…

While still a prominent pop-culture icon, the success and excitement of Vince Gilligan’s Breaking Bad is slowly fading away. Despite the rise of new critically acclaimed TV shows, take any of Netflix’s originals as an example, Breaking Bad still remains a great TV series which is arguably unique, and has yet to be matched. Here are a few reasons as to why it remains one of the great TV shows of our generation, and how it became so successful.

1. Netflix

Remember when Netflix was a physical disc based rental firm? Probably not, but when the streaming of shows became a feature in 2007, Breaking Bad was one of few shows to jump at the chance to archive its episodes in this way.

The 2008 inception of the show was pretty well-timed with this change of business model, and more importantly, it allowed something which we are all guilty of. As the cinematographer of Breaking Bad, Michael Slovis puts it, the ability to “binge view and catch up”, making interest in the show more focused around long-term marketing and spontaneous recommendations.

We’ve all recommended the show, or accordingly become enraged when we know someone who hasn’t watched it, so we all played our part into fitting into the marketing model for the show. With all episodes readily available on the format, Breaking Bad wasn’t restricted to AMC’s reach. And, it was in Netflix’s own interest to promote the show, bringing in more subscriptions and allowing the firm to expand. So next time you watch a series for 7 hours straight, you just might be making the next TV sensation.

2. The Pacing

When Breaking Bad snagged your attention, it made sure you were kept interested. After being nagged by everyone you knew, the show always ensured that some form of plot progression took place every episode. New and instantly notable characters were introduced on a steady rotation, bringing new issues with them to make sure the life of Walter White never became too leisurely.

While the entire pink teddy bear foreshadowing fiasco of season two may have been a little long-winded, it did build up to a fairly dramatic event which effected a lot of characters, as seen in the episode ‘ABQ’. Gilligan seemed to have nailed the perfect combination of suspense-inducing cliff-hangers and appropriately necessary concluded episodes, meaning that regardless of what happened in a certain episode, you always left satisfied and in anticipation of the next one.

3. The Actors

Before Gilligan’s TV sensation, what was Bryan Cranston known for? Being an inept and caring father in Malcolm in the Middle? Pretty much, and it seems that Breaking Bad was a huge break for actors who previously were confined to the likes of TV films and daytime sitcoms.

Take a look at Aaron Paul’s filmography, which went from occasional TV appearances and supporting roles for generic action films, to a variety of roles in films such as Need for Speed and Helion, mostly due to their exposure from Breaking Bad.

Even actors such as Dean Norris, who had appeared in well-known films from Terminator 2 and Evan Almighty, and equally marketed TV shows (CSI, True Blood…) , are still best known for their performances in more recent crime drama shows.

Gilligan gave previously unknown actors a chance to shine, and in doing so, cemented the success of the show, as seen through the excessive amount of nominations and awards the show, and its actors, have received, which stands at 101 at the time of writing.

4. The Concept

Unlike the Zombie sub-genre which has been done to death in recent years, or the excess of mystery/drama shows which preceded it, the genre in which Breaking Bad is situated managed to become a new and interesting premise without straying too far from the status quo to seem inaccessible to its audience. AMC’s finest series is a mash-up of genres, most notably including elements from Western flicks, Crime dramas and good old thrillers, and this creates a show which can take the best bits from each, with few consequences. I mean, when was the last time we had a contemporary western TV show?

The tension from episode to episode, the looming overtones of foreshadowing and the ever-present cliff-hangers were mostly typical of more traditional crime dramas, such as any variant of CSI, The Wire and Dexter, but the Western elements of the show were suitably utilised near the end of the season five, as the need for revenge and redemption became arguably the key plot point of the show.

This combination of elements was new, refreshing and most importantly, relatively original, and because of this, Breaking Bad succeeded in using appropriate genre tropes where it saw fit, entertaining millions in the process.

5. The Conclusion

Many shows leave the airwaves with an uncertain ending which is open to interpretation. Countless TV shows, films and games have done this, simply to keep their respective fan-bases going in an array of conspiracy theories and fan-fiction. Again, Breaking Bad broke the mould, and tied up all the loose ends in a manner which was fitting of the crime drama/western genre. While the ending left some critics relatively unsatisfied, the majority of people at very least respected the decision to finish the series where it did.

Of course we all want more, but that branch of the Walter White story has come to an appropriate end, and of course, there’s still more to come in the form of Better Call Saul, a spin-off focusing around the antics of the small time lawyer Saul Goodman, and featuring characters from the original series. The new show focusing on comedy rather than crime will hopefully be a new step which will be brilliantly executed, and ideally won’t aim to stay in the shadow of Breaking Bad.

Is the show one of the classics of our generation? Arguably yes. I hate to go with the flow, but when tourism in Albuquerque skyrocketed after the finale of season five, it’s hard to argue that show hasn’t had a huge impact on a global level. We still see people of all ages donning Heisenberg shirts, stationary and socks, and until we wait for new dramas such as Orange is the New Black to die down, we’ll have to wait and see if Breaking Bad was all we made it out to be.

Only time will tell.

Walter White: Hero or Villain?

The finale of Breaking Bad is upon us, and as excitement and anticipation swells around our feet with bewilderment of what a masked Bryan Cranston will do next, now is as good a time as any to wonder how the series became so popular, and almost iconic in modern pop culture.

At first, Breaking Bad seems like a concept that could easily fly over our collective heads. A cancer-riddled chemistry teacher who has to find alternative ways to make money? If it were set in the UK, the problem would have been solved with the NHS and we wouldn’t have been treated to the wonderful adventures of Walter White, but without Vince Gilligan’s Pilot episode, that demanded and deserved all the attention it got, few would care about the show that is shrouded in Emmy glory.

Photo courtesy of Flickr

As Cranston said in his 2008 Emmy speech, in thanking AMC and Sony for the giving the opportunity to put the ‘remarkable, challenging, wonderful, odd mix’ on air to the world, people clearly knew that such a concept was indeed a risk. And my opinion on why this risk has paid off would be the re-appearance of the anti-hero onto television screens, something which we haven’t seen in a long time.

What makes Cranston’s character an anti-hero rather than an outright villain? Well, Walter White is far too human and all too recognisable, showing the audience both sides of themselves to prevent the stark label of ’evil’ being placed upon them, hence the common comparisons between himself and Tony Soprano.  We watch his journey, or free fall from doormat Chemistry teacher to no-nonsense meth kingpin. Compare the first and latest episodes, going from a struggling, ill old guy cramming in two jobs to make ends meet for his family, something which is entirely relatable to a substantial amount of the country, and now the cold-blooded murderer, going out of his way to build a drug empire for reasons only known to himself. You can begin to understand why so many people have become immersed in this show.

Gilligan is also in the position of using the age-old trick of making us watch moral table-tennis, which gets us desperately standing up for Walt in the face of overwhelming odds, consisting of the  police, other drug lords, and even his own family who have come to hate him as we should in an ideal world. Whenever the Heisenberg character lets someone die in their sleep, orders the cold murder of a helpless nerd, or even inadvertently causes a mid-air plane crash, old relatable Walt reminds us why he ran over those two gangsters, or why he blew up an old folk’s home, to save those close to him. Vince Gilligan has the fan base often divided, in cries of, ‘He’s killed hundreds, of course he’s evil!’ and, ‘He’s doing it for his family, leave him alone!’, something which keeps the two sides glued to the Albuquerque drug business, all while raising attention for those who haven’t delved into the show, which is almost as addictive as drugs at its core.

Image courtesy of Flickr (again)

But now, it’s clear that the tables are stacked against the bald hero, with no-one to run to, and the looming idea that he has become as corrupt and twisted as the world which is chasing him down. But despite this, there are always undertones of good and redemption. Take the toxic rant he has at Skyler, filled with hate and bottled up emotion, as horrible as it is, there’s always the idea that Walt knew he was being listened to by the government, and was providing some legal cover for his wife and family. And then there is his vain attempt to send money to his family, showing that despite all he’s done, and all his family has done to him, he still wants to provide for them in any way he can.

Regardless, we all know that the former chemistry teacher could never integrate back into to normal society, especially with his past and of course, the majority of the American government chasing him. He’s not the kind of guy to quietly retreat from his past and scurry around in the shadows of his former self. It’s likely he will go down in blaze, as has been hinted at with M60 machine gun in the boot of his car, but a blaze of glory?

Walter White is the best example of how no-one is perfect, just as no character in Breaking Bad is free from guilt or their own conscience, and more importantly, how evil can creep up on you. Before you know it, you’ve killed your way through the heart of the illegal drug business and placed yourself at the head of it.

But despite all this, is the lead character of this series evil? Well, that’s the glory of a retrospective view on a TV drama such as Breaking Bad; it’s entirely up to your interpretation. With all the lies, murder and deceit in the past, it’s difficult to play Walter off as a misunderstood hero, but thankfully, it’s not impossible, and that lack of definition (at least up to now), has been the factor that has kept millions interested in the drama surrounding an aged meth-maker with a split personality.