Don’t be fooled by his Marvel origins; Deadpool is not a superhero. However, that doesn’t make his movie any less entertaining. Deadpool is grating, exasperating and inadequate, but those features also make him the perfect superhero for people tired of the usual role-model superheroes.
The film stars Ryan Reynolds as the “merc with a mouth,” and the label fits since Deadpool almost never stops talking during the movie. He talks back to the villain and his henchman, quips about the movie’s lack of budget and curses constantly. Even before he dons his red spandex suit, Wade Wilson annoys everyone he meets with his incessant talking.
Nonetheless, at the heart of “Deadpool,” buried beneath the crude humor and the gory violence, is a love story fitting of the movie’s Valentine’s weekend opening.
When Wilson meets Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), he meets the one person who can listen to his chatter. They fall in love and create the perfect setting for disaster. Wilson discovers he has terminal cancer. In an effort to protect Vanessa from watching him suffer from cancer, he secretly undergoes treatment in a top-secret, unhygienic laboratory. Ajax (Ed Skrein), the doctor at the lab, manages to treat Wilson’s cancer and make him basically immortal, but the cost is scarring all over Wilson’s body, damaging his otherwise perfect physique. Then, Wilson’s focus is on revenge.
Deadpool himself tells the audience, “Surprise, this is a different kind of superhero story.”
The movie took years to create and even more to execute. The main reason the film made it to theaters was the acclaim of leaked footage. It was a labor of love for both the writers and Reynolds, and this is obvious from the opening credits to the final scene of the movie.
The film’s pacing is perfect. It spares no moment for boredom. The humor, though raunchy, is nonstop. Even if you miss one joke, another one is close behind. With one joke told right after the other, the movie almost requires a rewatch. Although the plot is a standard revenge and origin story, the wit and enthusiasm of the characters and actors sets it apart.
The movie’s score matches its upbeat and self-aware atmosphere. At one point, Deadpool starts rapping. Then, when he is getting ready to fight, a Deadpool rap sets the scene.
Overall, the film meets all expectations. With such great marketing and hype leading up to its premiere, “Deadpool” may seem too garish, but that is the point of “Deadpool.” While many movies try too hard to have a bigger message, “Deadpool” doesn’t. The movie simply tries to make itself stand out in a world inundated with superheroes, and in that, it succeeds.