Deadpool:
Wade Wilson is a wise-cracking former military guy who runs a business where he is paid by people to rough up those who have wronged them. After being diagnosed with terminal cancer, he is approached by a mysterious government operation which promises to save his life in exchange for his body for science experiments. Thinking the payments will go to his wife, he agrees. After being turned into a mutant with regenerative abilities, he finds out the people running the facility, led by the sadistic mutant Ajax, plan on selling the mutants as slave soldiers to foreign powers, and if not, simply kill them, and that no payments are being made to their loved ones. Wade escapes the facility, but the process leaves him horrifically burned. Seeking vengeance on Ajax and his associates, he becomes the fast-talking vigilante "Deadpool," who begins a state-wide killing spree searching for Ajax, all while attempting to reconnect with his wife, who believes he has left her or is dead.
I've never really been a big fan of the Deadpool character. I find his humor often obnoxious and feel he appeals mostly to teenaged boys for his edgy humor style. However, the trailers for this film made me excited to see a balls-to-the-wall, funny, gruesome comic book movie. And I got that.
Despite not every joke landing for me, I found myself laughing quite a bit at this movie, as well as being impressed in the creative way the directors handled the smaller-scale action sequences.
The storyline is a typical origin-type movie, nothing too special, but the humor and non-linear style were somewhat effective in covering this up. Ryan Reynolds had to prove himself as Deadpool after the atrocious portrayal in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and his role in the equally bland Green Lantern (both of which the film jokes about). Reynolds is extremely charismatic in the role, bringing to life Deadpool's quirky and flamboyant humor, and his penchant for extreme carnage, but never making him feel either too noble nor too cruel. The film's tone juggles the lighthearted humor with the graphic bloodshed really well, never feeling like it went too far.
The climax was a little too small-scale, only featuring a small band of mercenaries and a rather dull location, but I'd take a more reserved climax over the bullshit "save the city/planet from the blue laser cannon" which has plagued the genre for the past several years.
The cast were serviceable, even if Ed Skrein's villain Ajax suffered from underdevelopment. T.J. Miller and Leslie Uggams bring some added humor to the cast as Wade's best friend and blind housemate, respectively. The two X-Men featured: Colossus (voiced by Stefan Kapičić) and the obscure Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) also were welcome additions, serving as some quirky and noble balances to Deadpool's unfiltered violence and ruthless attitude.
Some of the jokes (especially one at the end) were very predictable, and if you aren't familiar with comic book movie history or lore, some of the references may fly right over your head, but ultimately, I think fans of the comics book genre will be pleased, and general audiences can have a laugh at most of the movie as well.
Deadpool is a fun popcorn movie that packs in gore, profanity, sex, drugs, alcohol, etc., all usually no-no's for the comic book film genre, but I think that's what has made this film the biggest R-rated film of all time. Aside from the hype and excessive promotion, I think people wanted something new and fresh from this stale genre on movies. And I guess it took a movie where the protagonist beheads people, gets sodomized with a dildo, and calls people "cocksuckers" to show people that comic book movies can do more than just the usual "hero saves the city story." Ultimately, I did't love Deadpool, I thought the film had highlights but I'd be strained to say I'd ever watch it again as a whole. However, the movie is very entertaining on a superficial level and on a first watch and I was sometimes pleasantly shocked by how far it took certain jokes or action scenes. Reynolds carried the movie on his shoulders, and this may be his career-defining role, other than Van Wilder. I really respect the film and enjoyed it for the simple fact that it's something new. Though knowing Hollywood, soon every comic book film will be like this, and kind of defeat the point. 7/10 stars.
Two other terrific reviews which cover everything else I could've said but didn't have the time to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXEhfeESgCY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2C2Svm-r1M
(Image: Wikipedia)
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