I saw the Deadpool & Wolverine movie like much of America during its opening weekend. In it, we get to see a multiverse appearance of Channing Tatum playing Gambit from the X-Men. I honestly hated this. I realize that Tatum has wanted to play this character for a long time. It's been his dream even. But, I think he's a bad fit for the character. For one, the costume he wore made him look like his face was squished into Gambit's cowl. That...wasn't a good look. Channing Tatum is a bit too beefy for Gambit (personal take).
Additionally, his accent was terrible. I'm not sure if that was a joke in a movie that is full of jokes, but I've never had trouble understanding Gambit in the X-Men cartoons. But I had trouble understanding what Tatum was saying as he was playing the character. So, maybe Marvel in its cinematic universe is resetting to a goofy era as opposed to the era in which we got movies like Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. If this is true (I hope that it isn't), I question the choices that the executives at Marvel are making.
In X Men Origins: Wolverine we got a cool, suave, mysterious, powerful rogue who was holding his own against both Sabretooth and Logan. This is not what we got with Deadpool & Wolverine. Now, there is the argument online that Tatum was bad on purpose. But there are also a lot of fans out there who think that Tatum did a great job as a comic accurate Gambit, and they want this version of Gambit in the future. Hmmm. I'm not sold. However, there have been plenty of points made that Gambit is not meant to be taken seriously. I of course, disagree. I cannot imagine sitting through an entire movie based on a mumbling and almost incoherent hero.
I do wonder if Ryan Reynolds is baiting people like me by having this cameo in the movie. You see, Channing Tatum was going to star as Gambit but his movie got scrapped, and he's spent a decade or more basically trying to get it on track again. What I think Ryan Reynolds may be doing in Deadpool and Wolverine is showing us just how bad a Channing Tatum Gambit movie might actually be. So this cameo in the movie is an homage to Tatum's dedication while also making a joke of it because Reynolds is using the same cameo to show why a Channing Tatum Gambit film is going to be laughably bad.
Anyway, this post is mostly why I don't think Channing Tatum would make a good Gambit. Please, comic book nerds out there, weigh in on why I'm wrong or validate me if you so choose. I'm eager to read your thoughts on the matter.
I don't know much about Gambit other than he shoots energized cards and has a staff and talks in a Creole accent and usually has a thing for Rogue.
ReplyDeleteLetting someone have their "dream" roll can be iffy. Ryan Reynolds made it work with Deadpool. But then you have "Under the Sea" where Kevin Spacey had dreamed of playing Bobby Darren for years and years. By the time the movie got made he was too old and the movie was a failure.
It's hard to know someone's intent if they don't come out and say what it is (and even then they could be lying). You may be closer to the truth of it than anyone realized.
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