From the fact this was even green lit by 20th Century Fox to its viral marketing, this film astounded me again-and-again. The brilliant marketing campaign for this film is probably one of the best marketing campaigns ever that seemed to perfectly match the character of Deadpool and promise an enjoyable experience. Deadpool totally delivered.
Director Tim Miller knows how to handle the character as Deadpool kicks the gates wide open, immediately tearing down the fourth wall with a brutally honest, hysterical opening credits. This was shortly followed by an action scene on a bridge that either had me laughing or left my mouth agape in amazement. Although, most of the film had that effect.
The action is pretty front-heavy due to the lower budget, with little tid-bits sprinkled through the remainder of the film leading to the finale, but it certainly hits the mark. From there we jump back and forth between the present narrative and flashbacks to explain Deadpool's origin and I loved the non-linear storytelling that transpired as it allowed the entire film to be interesting instead of a buildup to the superhero origin, a tendency of most superhero origin films.
Oh, and by the way Deadpool is by no means a hero, but rather a anti-hero since his methods are quite violent. And what makes the film so entertaining isn't the plot but rather the character of Deadpool.
Ryan Reynolds was born for this role, embracing the looney personality of the Merc with a Mouth. Reynolds offers not only a great performance in terms of line delivery, comedic timing, and action, but also shows some acting chops for the emotional heart of Wade Wilson. Reynolds also seems to have fallen in love with the character and will ensure he's given the respect deserved to ensure fans will be happy.
Moreno Baccarin plays Wilson's love interest, Vanessa Carlysle, and she works so well bouncing off Ryan Reynolds. The two provided a very authentic, romantic chemistry.
T.J. Miller portrays Weasel and makes a great comedic actor to play comedic tennis with Reynolds, hitting jokes and gags off one another with lightning speed.
Brianna Hildebrand brings Negasonic Teenage Warhead to the big screen for the first time, and she was awesome in the action sequences and I loved how her character configured into the comedy as Deadpool would chastise her. Colossus was the other X-Men (X-Man?) in the film and I think that this film's interpretation is the best version of Colossus we have seen in the X-Men film universe. I loved how his character was connected to the narrative and how Deadpool would ridicule Colossus and the X-Men, even managing to point out that the studio couldn't afford another.
The antagonists, Ed Skrein and Gina Carano who portrayed Ajax and Angel Dust respectively, were generic villains for Deadpool to fight with Angel Dust as the muscle and Ajax as the skillful, brains of the operation. But both filled the respective roles with a refined and edgy takes on the characters.
Deadpool was the perfect adaptation of the source material that made for the funniest movie I've seen in a very long time. I would also daresay that I'd rank it in my personal list of the Top 10 comic-book films made to this point. To be totally honest, I'm amazed at the fact that I enjoyed this movie as much as I did given that I'm not "crazy" about the character of Deadpool. Don't fret Deadpool fans, this is the movie you've long awaited and it remains perfectly in synch with the source material.
A brief disclaimer, though the character of Deadpool can certainly appeal to children, I would highly advise against bringing a child to see Deadpool because this film is not just rated "R." It pushes the limits and boundaries of that rating, making for a very hard "R" film filled with blood, gore, edgy violence, sexual content, and inappropriate humor. But in all fairness, that is perfectly in character for Deadpool and I seriously doubt this film could have been made with as much respect for the character if it had gone with a "PG-13" rating.
Now to all my female readers, take your man to see this movie on Valentine's Day. I promise you won't regret it as I think it actually makes for a great date movie that has something everyone can enjoy, energized action sequences, meta-comedy, and romance.
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