Following its legendary marketing campaign, Deadpool has become one of the most anticipated comic book films since 2012’s The Avengers and just like that film, there was a fear it would disappoint. However, much like The Avengers, we had nothing to worry about as Deadpool is nothing short of fantastic.
Upon being diagnosed with cancer, ex-mercenary Wade Wilson agrees to an illegal treatment that will cure him while giving him superpowers. Surprisingly, the people behind this turn out to be untrustworthy, kidnap his girl and leave him hideously deformed.
With his newly acquired pain endurance and healing abilities, Wade takes on the identity a new kind of superhero; Deadpool, to get his girl back and get revenge. While the story is familiar and by the numbers, you’ll hardly care due to the surrounding comedy and not-so-heroic twist.
The casting is spot on. Ryan Reynolds was born to play Deadpool and it’s a role he’s been campaigning to portray in its own solo film for years now.
The rest of the cast, including T.J. Miller, Ed Skrein and Morena Baccarin perform well but this is Reynolds’ movie. It’s clear the entire crew behind this are all fans of the source material as the attention to detail is bar none.
The key essence of Deadpool’s character is his comedy. The Merc with a Mouth gets that nickname from his constant quips and thankfully most, if not all of the jokes land. They’re not thrown to the audience in excess, just the right amount.
With quotable lines and the demolition of the fourth wall, Deadpool’s comedy hits home and is the highlight of the film.
Don’t think the jokes carry the film though, it’s mixed in with impressively badass action scenes and genuinely good drama.
For a first time director, Tim Miller’s action is very well done and nicely choreographed. Deadpool has a 16s rating and it needs it, frankly you could easily argue it deserves an 18s. Blood, language, violence, sex, innuendo, they’re all here and they’re quite outrageous.
There are very few negative aspects to Deadpool, everything here is exactly how a film based on this character should be, the action, casting, drama, direction, it’s all great and while humour is subjective, if you chuckled at any of the promotional material, you’ll enjoy yourself.
The story’s been done before and the villain could have been fleshed out more but for what this film needs to be, it works and it works surprisingly well. It won’t sweep the Academy off their feet but it is going to massively entertain both general audiences who have never heard of the character and diehard fans alike.
Daniel Troy
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