Review: DEADPOOL Is A Sexy, Hilarious, Blood-Soaked Blast - But It Won't Be For Everyone
After a disastrous big screen debut in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Merc With a Mouth has finally been given his own solo movie. Find out what this casual fan of the character thought after the jump...
None of us ever really thought it would happen, but Deadpool did get his own movie, and it is everything you'd expect it to be. Now, while that's going to be great news for fans of the character, for casual viewers... maybe not so much.
It's all here: breaking the fourth wall, a comic-faithful costume complete with expressive mask, insanely violent, quips galore, more pop culture references than you can shake a chimichanga at. Deadpool knows what its audience wants and it delivers - and then some. The thing is, if you're not prepared for the endless onslaught of gross-out gags, gratuitous nudity and at times quite sickening gore, you may grow tired of it pretty quickly.
I was, though, and I bloody loved it.
Sure, the movie is a tad obnoxious at times and it definitely goes out of its way to offend at every given opportunity, but there's one crucial factor that makes it all work where similarly juvenile fare will always fail: it's funny... like, really damn funny. We're talking an average of at least 2 giggles, chortles, or full-on guffaws every 5 minutes or so - and our leading man is to thank for pretty much all of it.
Ryan Reynolds was born to play this role (properly), and while watching him in action you'd have to imagine that if it was anyone else under the mask that it just wouldn't have worked nearly as well. He brings the laughs, but also some pathos and humanity to a character that, on paper at least, can be difficult to like. He also has great chemistry with his supporting cast, particularly - and most importantly - Morena Baccarin's Vanessa, who while somewhat underutilized does shines with what she has to work with. T.J. Miller also gets his share of chuckles as Wade's equally profane pal Weasel, and the token mutants (Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead) are good fun too - even if they are really only there to connect this to the wider X-universe.
The most pleasant surprise is probably Ed Skrein as Ajax. He's not exactly what you'd call a well rounded villain, but he does a great job of making you hate him and sometimes that's enough.
The only real problem is the story. For a movie that clearly wants to push the envelope and take more chances than any other CBM that came before, it really does stick to the tried and tested formula. To be fair, it employs a very effective narrative structure that works brilliantly with Wade's penchant for chatting to the audience, but in terms of the actual plot, it's by the numbers all the way. It's not a deal breaker because everything else is so on point, but it would have been nice to see them try something different in that regard.
Deadpool is a sexy, hilarious blood-soaked blast from start to finish. It definitely won't be to everyone's taste, but if you're prepared to leave your PC hat at home and just go along with the mayhem on display you're bound to have fun. It's a little disappointing that more risks weren't taken with certain elements other than the obvious, but hey, there's always the sequel. So see this, then see it again - just don't bring your mother.