Film Review: Once Upon a Deadpool

I love Deadpool. It's a film that holds a very special place in my heart. I also thoroughly enjoyed Deadpool 2, even though it never quite reached the dizzying heights of insanity that the first film did.
I also absolutely adore The Princess Bride. So when it was announced that just before Christmas there would be a one night only (ha, already additional showings have been added to my local cinema) re-cut family friendly (double ha!) version of Deadpool, cut to be a bit of a parody with The Princess Bride, I was intrigued. Then I watched the trailer and I was in love.


Honestly though, whilst it was an entertaining night out, it didn't live up to my expectations. There's meant to be around 20 minutes of new footage, but it really didn't feel like that. The film is cut up with a few really entertaining scenes involving a now grown up Fred Savage, (he's still got that insanely childlike charm of a smile) to frame the story as a bedtime story to a captive Savage. Unfortunately, they really don't make the most of this great device, and by mid-film it appears to have been mostly forgotten. What cuts back and forth are made though feel clunky and just disrupt the flow of the film.

Given that Reynold's mouth is covered throughout most of the film I also expected more to be made of this opportunity to play with the dialogue with some redubbing. Sadly though that was horribly under utilised. 

It was also frustrating to have to wait until the very end of the credits to get a resolution to the Savage/Deadpool thread - the end of the film just cuts off and leaves you hanging in a decidedly irritating way.

Basically it didn't live up to my expectations, but it was still enjoyable. I had gripes, mostly because I love the two source material pieces so much. It doesn't really add an awful lot, and is a bit of a gimmicky money grab right before Christmas. But I'm a sucker, so take my money.

It's meant for a bit of a niche group - those that love Deadpool, The Princess Bride, and a few younger audience members who may not have seen the film. If you love Deadpool then this will be an amusing watch, but don't expect anything mind-blowing. To get the full enjoyment I also really recommend watching The Princess Bride beforehand if you haven't already.