Deadpool (2016)

Director: Tim Miller

Cast: Ryan Reynolds, T.J. Miller, Gina Corano

Release: February 12, 2016

Review Author: Tony

Rating: 3.75/5 cans of Guinness

Right first off I have a confession to make, for many years I’ve held onto a baseless dislike for Ryan Reynold’s which has made me avoid his films discredit his work and generally act like an ass when his name comes up. This unwarranted hatred probably first surfaced when I saw Van wilder, I really hate this film but rather than focus my displeasure on the film as a whole I placed it all simply on Ryan Reynold’s shoulders. My hatred was only intensified when I saw Wolverine: X-men Origins (possibly one of the worst films I’ve ever seen) and the dreadful treatment of Deadpool. I did not know then that Reynolds had been lobbying for a standalone Deadpool film and only agreed to star in this car crash for a standalone film. After seeing Deadpool and finding out about the monumental effort Reynolds has put in to get this film to its release I wholeheartedly apologize (I seriously doubt he’ll ever see this or truly care).

Reynold’s is Deadpool and Deadpool is Reynolds, no other actor off the top of my head could better portray this character. The most important part of this film was to nail the character as he is the foundation of this film, if they got the character wrong then this film would have sunk no matter how good the plot or action scenes are.

Easily the best part of Deadpool is its humour; the film is hilarious and had everyone at my screening in knots of laughter. The humour is ripped straight from the comics with a seamless blend of crass insults, surreal moments, self-parody and Meta gags. I was especially interested to see how the film dealt with breaking the 4th wall and while I won’t spoil anything I can reveal that it delivers in style.

Deadpool fully utilizes its R rating with enough swearing and violence to make John McClane blush. The insults are hysterical ranging from the bizarre to downright outrageous, Deadpools exchanges with his roommate a blind old lady are some of the films highlights. R rated comic book films are nothing new as the blade trilogy all received this rating and more modern films like Kick Ass and Watchmen also were Rated R, However none have been as commercially successful as Deadpool. While I’ve read many articles and comments demanding more R rated superhero films I believe the rating should match the material. The Netflix series Daredevil was a gritty and bloody affair with brutal acts of violence and distressing scenes which reflects the darker story arcs of Daredevil in the comics, the rating suited the material. I have always wanted a Wolverine film with a smaller scope but a more gruesome vibe, after all his claws can rip through flesh and bone, but it’s not just his abilities which demand a harder rating it’s his psyche as wolverine is a rather unhinged hero who usually fights at his full potential in a berserk type rage.

My only gripe is that the villains lack any motivation, they mention some plot about super slaves but it’s barely touched upon and the big bad of the film plays out more like a dickhead rather than any significant threat. Gina Corano has shown she’s got some decent acting chops in Haywire yet all she does here is grimace and punch people, she’s a world-class martial artist could they not have choreographed her fights scenes better.

I Thoroughly enjoyed Deadpool as it plays perfectly to its source material and atones for the awful rendition of the character in X-Men Origins. Easily the funniest superhero film I’ve seen, Deadpool has enough madness and blistering action pieces to make up for its rather bland villains.