Watch out for spoilers!
To start off, I liked “Deadpool”. I thought it was funny, sometimes daring and refreshingly violent for a superhero film. Yet a part of me left wanting more.
“Deadpool” is the origin story of one Wade Wilson, who signs up for a scientific experiment in order to cure his cancer, and after being permanently scarred, looks for the man who ruined his life. That man would be Francis a.k.a. “Ajax” a scientist who leaves Wilson for dead and later causes him more problems.
“Deadpool” is elevated largely by the performance of its star, Ryan Reynolds, who has been growing into a talented actor in his own right over the years, has been fighting for a Deadpool movie for a long time, and he puts his whole heart into the character. Reynolds was born for this part, he is hilarious and convincing. Without him, the movie would have definitely flopped.
The rest of the cast aren’t as into it as Reynolds unfortunately. Morena Baccarin, playing Wade Wilson’s girlfriend Vanessa, is certainly attractive, but her performance is somewhat mannered, leaving her character with only two identifiable traits, beautiful and plucky. That makes it somewhat hard for me to care about her when she is put in peril. Ed Skrein, as the villain Ajax, is British and very evil, but not very developed, but the actor tries his best. T.J. Miller and Leslie Uggams are both quite funny but sadly underused as Deadpool’s friends. Two X-Men, Colossus (performed through CGI by Stefan Kapicic) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (played by Brianna Hildebrand) show up to help Deadpool on his quest for revenge, but don’t make a huge impression.
While the cast does what they can, the story doesn’t do anything to reinvent the genre of blockbuster superhero movies. If you’ve seen the trailer, you can get some sort of idea of what happens and where the film will end up. Its sadly predictable, and if the movie were 15 minutes longer I would’ve gotten bored with it.
That’s not to say that the movie is badly paced, I’ve seen movies that are way worse in terms of pace (i.e. “The Choice”). The action and humor moves along fast but not in such a way where you can’t even process what just happened before something else happens.
The jokes and references are the best part of the movie (at least from my point of view). All of the humor that Deadpool is known for is there: fourth wall breaks, references to superhero movie cliches and plot points, and frequent cussing. Anyone who is a fan of the character of Deadpool will really enjoy this movie.
The action is exciting and violent, which makes “Deadpool” better than most superhero films out there simply because there is a lot more shown. This is definitely not a family friendly movie. The amount of explicit material makes me feel really bad for parents who brought their kids thinking it was going to be an “Avengers” type movie.
While “Deadpool” didn’t surpass my expectations, it did meet them. If you saw the trailer and enjoyed the it, you will most likely enjoy the movie. With a runtime of 1 hour, forty-eight minutes, “Deadpool” is a fast, fun watch. I enjoyed it, as mentioned at the start, but I’m not sure if the film lived up to its full potential. I’m glad that the film is so far successful, as it shows film executives that movies don’t need to be kiddy and all about noble heroes to be profitable. Maybe the world needs an anti-hero every once in a while, and “Deadpool” is the right man for the job.
Final Verdict: 7 out of 10
Rated R for strong violence and language throughout, sexual content and graphic nudity
Director: Tim Miller
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, T.J. Miller, Gina Carano, Leslie Uggams, Stefan Kapicic, Brianna Hildebrand, Jed Rees, Karan Soni, Stan Lee
