Deadpool 2 Review

Deadpool 2 was an immensely awaited movie from the Marvel and Fox stable after the success of the first part. And we have not been dissapointed by the second coming of this loud mouthed superhero.

Deadpool 2 had huge shoes to fill not just in terms of a good superhero movie but also had the additional responsibility of being a comic movie which makes people laugh at the expense of other superhero franchises. The movie has a lot of jokes which touches not just the Marvel Universe, but also the DC Universe. For a movie to be able to do this is fantastic and this is what separates this movie from other comic book superhero movies. Though at times the jokes do feel like an awful lot and you plead that they should stop, but the wittiness of the jokes is what keeps you entertained throughout. The story has a simple premise which has been beautifully woven into the X-Men Universe. However the characters do not seem to have been developed very well. While there is some back story to justify Cable's actions, even his character has not been fully developed. The other characters like Domino hardly get any character development, which would actually have been asking for too much from a single movie. The action scenes are well choreographed and together with the good visual effects make for an entertaining watch. The movie has successfully woven many diverse elements like grief, time travel, revenge, action among others very well which speaks volumes about the movie's writing.

Ryan Reynolds has done a good job at bringing the loud mothed superhero to life and is without doubt the life of this movie. Josh Brolin as Cable also looks very convincing as a time traveller hell bent on killing the mutant kid. His ice coldness provides the perfect foil for the comic timing of Ryan Reynolds. All the other actors act as just space fillers. Do not watch this movie if you want to watch good acting.

David Leitch has done a good job at directing this movie with so many elements, due to which it does not feel like a parody of other movies. However the effort isn't great and this could have been directed better. Maybe by advising the writers to cut down on the jokes.

Overall the movie is a good R-Rated effort and one should go and watch this movie if ono wants a mix of comedy and action.

Rating - 3 / 5

Top 5 Directors between 1991 - 2000 who Influenced Movie Making

Since the first movie was made there have been several landmark movies which have changed the way movies are made or which introduced a technology which revolutionalised movie making. I have tried to list out 5 directors whose movies in the decade from 1991 to 2000 left an indelible impact on the way movies are made and looked at. The list is not in any particular order and it does not signify ranking.

1. Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg has made several landmark movies during his long career including Jaws, ET - The Extra Terrestrial, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and the Indiana Jones series. However what really brought a change to film making ideas and movies was his 1993 Movie "Jurassic Park". The movie showcased the possibilities of visual effects and animal disaster movies were no more a thing of imagination. The success of the movie not only brought in sequals but also inspired several other animal and creature movies like Anaconda, Godzilla, among others. He has also created the most realistic battle sequence in the opening scene of the movie Saving Private Ryan, for which he won the best director Oscar. He had also won the best director oscar for his movie, Schindler's List, which certainly cements his place in one of the best directors of the 1990's. He also made notable science fiction movies like AI and Minority Report, which speak volumes about his influence on Sci-fi movies.

2. James Cameron

James Cameron is a director who is known test out and introduce new technologies in his movies. While he is most known for his 1997 movie Titanic which won 11 oscars including one for the best director, the movie which changed the way movies look at visual effects was the 1991 movie, Terminator 2 - Judgement Day. The movie had one of the most innovative action scenes which required some innovative visual effects - and James Cameron delivered them the way only he can. The movie inspired the visual effects and paved way for the visual effects of other future movies. James Cameron also tasted success with True Lies in 1994, thus cementing his place among the most influential directors of the 1990s.

3. Wachowski brothers

Wachowski brothers, Now Wachowski sisters, can be called as a one film wonder whose movie, The Matrix, was one of the best sci-fi action movie of the 1990's, and perhaps is still one of the best sci-fi movie ever to be made. The movie had such phenomenal visual effects and action sequences that they became a landmark for all sci-fi movies for the years to come. Its scenes have been copied in so many other movies worldwide that no other movie before it had achieved. The movie did not just have good visuals but it also made a mark at the philosophical level questioning human nature to its core. Due to these elements Wachowski brothers influenced sci-fi movie making and action movies made in 2000's.

4. Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Tarantino makes a different brand of cinema and his movies are known for their play like format which have long scenes and the story moves forward with the help of dialogues. While he has made many stellar movies over his career, his 1994 movie, Pulp Fiction, has been rated by many as one of the best movies ever made. The movie epitomises the style of Quentin Tarantino's movie making style. The movie has influenced many independent movie makers as it shows that just having a solid script and good actors can result in an outstanding movie, without the need of any visual effects. He is still one of the best directors of this generation and truly deserves to be in this list.

5. David Fincher

David Fincher has been one of the best directors of my generation with his mind boggling thrillers. His movies begin slowly but soon captivate the audience. In the 1990s he made several movies including Seven, Fight Club and The Game. Out of these, the most popular is Fight Club (1999) which has one of the best revelations ever for any movie. His style of movie making seems to have influenced other directors including Christopher Nolan, though I do not have any proof. His other spectacular movie of the 1990s is Seven (1995), which is considered to be one of the best murder mysteries on celluloid. The quality of his movies puts him in the 5 most influential directors of the 1990s.

You are welcome to put forward your thoughts and comments on this list. If you think I have missed on any one who should have been on this list please feel free to voice your opinion.

I will also try to list out the 5 most influential directors of the decade from 2001 - 2010 as soon as possible. You are also welcome to post your suggestions on the topics that you want to read about and I will try to write about them.

Thanks for bearing with me and reading.

Reasons for Marvel Cinematic Universe's Success

Marvel's most ambitious movie, Avengers Infinity War released on 27th April and it has already become the fastest to reach the worldwide gross of UD$ 1 billion. With this movie Marvels experimentation with shared universes has come a full circle. Marvel's journey started 10 years ago with Iron Man, and little did anyone know that Marvel would create a plethora of superhero movies, that would turn up to the most profitable movie franchise ever brought to the big screen. Lets have a look at why this franchise has been so successsful.

What started with a single franchise of Iron Man soon turned into multiple superhero franchises including Thor and Captain America. While the three franchises were successful on their own, they were turned into a single larger franchise with the help of shared universes. This teamed up superhero franchise of Avengers went on to become the most successful superhero franchise of all time, thus giving credence to the idea of shared universes. Shared universes has since been the mainstay of Marvel Cinematic Universe with the events of one franchise not only paving the way for future movies of the franchise, but also affecting other franchises. How the multiple franchises were turned into a single shared franchise was by referencing events of multiple franchises in a movie and  by the use of post credit and end credit scenes.

The post credit and end credit scenes not only gave a glimpse of how the next instalment of the franchise is going to turn up, but it also gave a glimpse of how one superhero storyline will affect the other superhero storyline. Marvel has been using this technique to good effect since the first Iron Man movie. What was just an idea for linking all the different superhero franchises soon became a thing of excitement for movie goers with the post credit and end credit scenes becoming a much talked about and something which the audience eagerly waited for. Before MCU happened movie goers never used to wait till the roll out of entire credits. But with the addition of these scenes movie goers were seen to eagerly wait for the end credits to roll out so that they can get a glimpse into the future of these shared universes. This is one thing that Marvel can truly be attributed to add to the world of cinema.

Shared universes have been the second important introduction from Marvel Cinematic Universe. The shared universe could easily have been a big disaster for Marvel, if it had not been handled properly. But since the entire MCU storlyine is being looked over by a single person, Kevin Feige, it has helped bring in a consistency to the storylines and crossovers. Even though at times you can find that the smaller plotlines have been somewhat changed, but the main MCU storyline has been consistent. Thus all the movies can be seen to contribute to the overall MCU story in some way or other.

The third big risk that MCU took was to introduce stand alone franchises for lesser known comic book superheroes. Everyone was asking the question whether Guardians of the Galaxy would succeed since it is not a very well known franchise worldwide. But the way the movie was made and its box office success allayed all fears of not only the MCU bosses but also of the audience, who welcomed these smaller superheroes with open arms. After the success of Guardians, Marvel took another risk of making Antman. Even though it was not so successful but its storyline was so efficiently woven into the Avenger storyline that it has become a hit with the audiences and we are in for a second instalment this summer. MCU even introduced the lesser known superheroes of Dr. Strange and Black Panther and made it into huge money spinning franchises.

The fourth risk that Marvel took was to reintroduce Spiderman to the world as apart of the MCU. There was already the successful Spiderman franchise of Sam Raimi in the early 2000s and the not so successful version of The Amazing Spiderman which promised a lot but failed to deliver. Tbus bringing the web slinging superhero for a third round was risky and needed a different approach. Marvel recognised this and introduced Spiderman in Captain America: Civil War where Tom Holland's Spiderman came as a refreshing point in an otherwise dark movie.

After pulling off so many risks, MCU has woven the plots of all its superheroes into a single Avengers movie, which is the biggest superhero ensemble one can hope to see. Though this is being said to be the culmination of a phase of MCU movies, Marvel still has a lot to offer as it has already plans to produce many more movies including Captain Marvel. I cannot wait to see where the shared universe storyline goes after the culmination of Avengers Infinity War storyline. MCU is far from being done with its superhero movies. Lets hope to see many more exciting MCU movies in the years to come.