Review | Deadpool

He’s definitely not your friendly neighborhood superhero.

Disclaimer: Spoilers ahead

Going into this movie, I’ve seen the character Deadpool in short independent films on YouTube and video games such as Marvel vs Capcom 3, I also knew he was widely known for his witty (and aggressive) humor and 4th wall-breaking. Deadpool isn’t your average superhero, more like an anti-hero, or not even a hero at all (the movie does a great job of drilling this into your head throughout). What I was a bit unfamiliar with was his origin – the writers and studio did a terrific job of introducing this character to the big screen.

The plot is your classic revenge film. The film focuses around Deadpool /Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) tracking down Ajax (Ed Skrein) to question and obtain the cure to fix what was done to him. Wade Wilson is a skilled mercenary who takes odd jobs to pay the rent. He soon finds out he has cancer in numerous parts in his body. Somehow, a recruiter (Jed Ress) from a “special organization” tracks down Wade to inform him about a special program that will cure him of his cancer and make him into a superhero. At first, Wade doesn’t want to hear any of this because he is not a “hero”, but realizes this could be a gift to prolong his relationship with his fiancée, Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). What Wade signed up for was something worse, this “special program” was a mutation lab, and villain Ajax was the lead doctor.After getting super-natural healing from his mutation, Deadpool is born. He also gets some help along the way from two members of the X-Men in Colossus (Stefan Kapicic-voice) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand).

It was time for a not-so-serious superhero movie, when you think you’re immersed in a serious scene, the rug gets pulled right from under you. The only serious scene in the film was when Wade was getting tortured for the final time by Ajax, thus making him look eerie similar to Freddy Krueger. Even the intense fighting scenes are hilarious. Toward the end of the final battle, Deadpool is taking down Ajax’s henchmen, but suddenly stops fighting this one henchman in particular. Deadpool stops and says “Tom?” in a surprising tone. Yes, Deadpool stops in the middle of a fight to talk and reminisce with his old-friend Tom, who now works for Ajax.

This film has tons of 4th wall-breaking. My favorite would have to be the scene where Wade’s friend/comic relief Weasel (T.J. Miller) informs Wade there’s a recruiter from somewhere that wants to have a word with him, and points to the table where the gentleman is sitting. Wade states he doesn’t want to speak to him, Weasel responds with “maybe you should, it could further the plot”. I found myself laughing for quite a while as it was unexpected.

Deadpool is rated R for many reasons, intense violence and language to name a few, so I was kind of shocked to see parents bring their children to the theater. My guess is most parents didn’t do any research on the film and just thought it was another “superhero movie”. The effects in Deadpool are top-notch. I really loved the look of Deadpool’s mask and costume; it kept the authentic look of the comic book version of the character (all white eyes). The team also did a phenomenal job on Deadpool’s mask animations. I wasn’t sure if it was CGI or animatronics that were used.

The film runs an hour and 44 minutes, it could have easily been two hours, but I can see why Fox wanted to test the waters first (See FANT4STIC). Deadpool didn’t have a lot wrong with it, but one problem that hurts this film is character development (this could be traced back to the film’s runtime). I for one knew nothing about the villain, Ajax. The film didn’t need an additional 30 minutes to introduce the character, but a quick glimpse of how Francis became Ajax would have worked. I also wanted to know the backstory of Deadpool moving in with Blind Al (Leslie Uggams).

Deadpool is the first Ryan Reynolds film that I have enjoyed. I was entertained throughout. What shouldn’t come as a surprise to those who know the character, Deadpool talks to the audience throughout the film. Some new to the character might find this annoying/unusual. When it comes to comic book adaptions, I’m used to two hour movies, but the 108 minutes given here works for Deadpool as the story flows great and there are so many hilarious lines and scenes stuffed into this film. From the opening sequence to the end credits, there are laughs to be had.

– Journalist Without A Beat

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