What could possibly make another superhero movie stand out from the rest of them? Will there ever be a superhero movie that is different from all the others? The fan-favorite merc with a mouth blasted into theaters with guns and tongue a-blazing to show the world why all superhero movies should be rated R.
“Deadpool” is crude, rude, lewd, violent and extremely graphic. It is also the best Marvel movie yet and the best movie of the year so far. Within the first thirty seconds, the film was destined for greatness, as it kicks off with one of the best title sequences ever and gets the laughs going from the start. Yes, “Deadpool” is an action, comedy, and romance film all rapped into one, as Deadpool himself so nicely states.
Ryan Reynolds stars as Wade Wilson, the mercenary diagnosed with brain, liver, kidney and lung cancer, who becomes anti-hero Deadpool after his mutant genes are activated by the same group that fused Wolverine with adamantium. Wilson’s super power is his very sarcastic and crude sense of humor. Deadpool is the same as Wilson, but also has extreme agility and accelerated healing powers.
Deadpool’s main “power,” however, is his ability to break the fourth wall, which means that he talks directly to the audience through the camera instead of acting in the movie as a whole. In film, the set that can be seen counts as three walls and the fourth wall is the camera’s perspective, which is the one we cannot see. Typically, in movies, the characters act in their own little world with no consciousness to the fact that they are in a fictional film.
“Deadpool” is great because it obliterates the taboo rule of not interacting with the audience. The first half of the film is told directly by Deadpool to the audience and he continuously acknowledges the audience’s presence throughout the whole film to give his best jokes directly to the viewers. The screenwriters did an amazing job of bringing the character to life with his trademark quality of his fourth wall presence. This power enabled the writers to go beyond the normal limitations of creating characters.
The entire film was very well written for another reason as well. Not only were the jokes excellent, but the film is an origin story that does not act like an origin story. Most superhero origin tales show the hero’s life before getting powers, how they got their powers, the struggles of having powers and then their first nemesis battle in that order. “Deadpool” has all the same elements of an origin story, but shows Wilson’s life and how he became a mutant through flashbacks as the action unfolds. This worked very well for the film because it allows for more action to occur than straight narrative.
The main action of the film centers on Deadpool trying to get his kidnapped former girlfriend back from mutant Ajax, who gave Wilson his mutant powers. At its core, “Deadpool” has a romantic story. From there, Deadpool unwillingly recruits X-Men members Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead to help him get his girl back.
The action sequences are very well-choreographed and a lot of fun to watch. There is tons of blood and graphic violence, including some heads rolling. With the R rating, “Deadpool” was able to have a lot more violence than the average superhero movie. This made it even better because the ante has been upped for all future superhero films.
The only lacking parts of the film were the characters Weasel, Wilson’s best friend, and Blind Al, Deadpool’s roommate. Both characters were very funny and were acted out well. However, they did not have as much screen time as they should have. Even though the film is only an hour and 40 minutes long, both characters should have had more scenes to add even more lewd jokes.
20th Century Fox also had a great chance to tie in the X-Men and did not seize the opportunity. The use of two lesser-known characters worked in the context of the film, but it would have been a better plug to use more well-known characters, especially since “X-Men: Apocalypse” comes out in May.
However, both of those last points are minor issues that do not impact the enjoyment of the film. It is hard to decide whether the comedy or the action was better, but both make the film superior to all other superhero movies.
“Deadpool” absolutely lives up to its hype and will not disappoint. It exceeds expectations from the opening credits to the nostalgic end credit scene, so stick around until the very end. If the violence and stories of past superhero films have not satisfied you enough, “Deadpool” should do the trick.
Even though it is only February, “Deadpool” is definitely one of the best films of the year.
