Movie Review #379: "Deadpool" (2016)

Movie: "Deadpool"
Ticket Price: $10.75
Director: Tim Miller
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 48 minutes

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Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) has just asked his girlfriend Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) to marry him, but before their night is over, Wade collapses, and it is soon discovered he has terminal cancer. Wade is approached by a man he dubs Mr. Smith (Jed Rees), who claims he can cure him. The man heading the procedures, named Ajax (Ed Skrein), unfortunately informs Wade he's not there to get fixed, but rather, to become a super slave. Tortured to activate his mutant cells, Wade is left disfigured with a face that looks like "old avocado had sex with an older avocado." Wade dons a red mask and suit, takes on the name Deadpool, and goes looking for Ajax to violently force him to fix his face.

Ryan Reynold's beloved, fitting character Wade Wilson makes his long awaited return to the silver screen to correct the wrongs of the past (*cough* "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" *cough*) with "Deadpool." Director Tim Miller makes his feature film directorial debut creating this extremely self-aware, riotous, hard R-rated action comedy. And when we say hard R-rated, we mean it, so please leave the kiddos at home if and when you see this movie. There are some things even we cannot unsee, and we're adults.

Ryan Reynolds has championed a "Deadpool" movie for many years now, and it looks like he has finally gotten his wish of doing the character justice. Reynolds fits the role of Deadpool excellently, and his sarcastic, snarky attitude is perfect for the part. We truly believe this is the role he was born to play. From the opening credits, you know you're in for a good time. In lieu of the names of the actual actors and producers involved in this movie, the opening credits reference that this film was made by "some douchebag" and a slew of other apt names. Deadpool, aka Wade Wilson, continually breaks the fourth wall, regularly making references to other films in the "X-Men" universe and beyond, and not just the characters, but the films and the actors in them, too. For example, Deadpool makes hilarious jokes referencing the confusing nature of the "X-Men: Days of Future Past" timeline conflicting with the "X-Men" movies from the early to mid-2000's. Like other R rated comic book films, "Deadpool" is loaded with graphic violence, tons of harsh language, and full frontal nudity of both men and women. Like we said, kiddos should stay home. This is different from other comic book movies and succeeds because the character of Deadpool can and should be adapted in such a way that is intended for adults. Anything less than an R rating is doing a disservice to the character, the fans of the comic books, and audiences everywhere.

Most people have praised this film for its unique approach, but unfortunately, we don't quite see it this way. Sure, we get to hear Wade Wilson say the F-word nearly 100 times, and sure, we get to watch Deadpool shank a bad guy like a kebab, but when you get down to it, "Deadpool" is simply a tale of revenge. Like a lot of other comic book villains, here, Ajax, aka Francis, played by Ed Skrein, and his sidekick Angel Dust, played by former MMA fighter Gina Carano, are just another pair of underdeveloped, disposable villains in the "X-Men" universe. We learn a little bit about Ajax, but know even less about Angel Dust. The writers of this movie could have spent a little more time developing these villains and a little less time finding places to add crass things for Deadpool to say (not that we don't like the crassness this movie offers, because we do, but we'll take more developed character over laughs any day). Regardless of how developed these characters are, we must say, the action sequences in this film are fun, hysterical, and boom-tastic.

"Deadpool" also offers a place for two X-Men who up until now have not received much screen time. The first newbie is Colossus, voiced by Stefan Kapicic, an entirely CGI but awesome looking character who spends the entire movie with his armor activated, and the other being Negasonic Teenage Warhead, played by Brianna Hildebrand, which to our knowledge is the film debut of this character. These two offer a lot of comic relief and have some really badass powers to display. In between the three main action sequences is a more by-the-book origin tale that revolves around the love story between Wade and his 'hooker with a heart of gold' girlfriend named Vanessa, played by Morena Baccarin. Surprisingly, their love story is both believable and sweet, no matter how bizarre the two character are together.

All in all, "Deadpool" will definitely be worth your money and your time, but to us, it's not the best comic book superhero movie ever made. We did manage to laugh the entire time, and it is bloody enough that even we had to look away in a couple of instances. This is a film bound to please Deadpool fans and it will entertain most who enjoy films in the comic book genre.

My Rating: 8.5/10
BigJ's Rating: 8/10
IMDB's Rating: 8.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 84%
Do we recommend this movie: Yes!
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One year ago, we were watching: "Song of the Sea"