Deadpool is the latest superhero in a slew of comic-book film adaptations by 20th Century Fox. The film stars Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, T. J. Miller, Gina Carano, and Brianna Hildebrand. It follows the exploits of Marvel’s “Merc with a mouth” as he seeks revenge on the person who has given him incredible healing powers, but ultimately has left him disfigured.
Going into Deadpool I knew two things. One, it was an action comedy starring Marvel’s “Merc with mouth.” Two, it was rated R. Now you may be asking why is the second point such a big deal? Well about two years ago in 2014 there was leaked test footage showing Reynolds as Deadpool. This garnered much fan support to see an actual Deadpool movie coming off the coat tails of Fox’s 2009 Wolverine: Origins. Which portrayed a Deadpool-esque character but received much backlash from fans. Many fans wanted to see their favourite antihero in his own film adaptation that was given the rating a movie with such a character deserves.
The major question is whether or not the film makers properly use its coveted R rating. It did. The R rating helped the film in many ways, including the use of crude humor, semi-explict sex scenes, and a much needed gore factor that was used rather tastefully. Nothing was gratuitous in this movie.
The humor was spot on. Reynolds did a great job with the timing of jokes and they all landed. Almost every other line was some sort of jab at the villains, the situation or even the movie itself. They used Deadpool’s fourth wall breaking humor to a great extent even referencing other X-Men movies and the movie’s relativity low budget.
Camera framing and cinematography was spot on. There was absolutely no use of shaky-cam during action sequences. Every thing was clear and the audience knows what is going on at all times.
The love interest played by Morena Baccarin does a great job and her chemistry between her and Reynolds was spot on. I could actually believe they were in love. The villain played by Ed Skrein was serviceable. Nothing too memorable but he played his part as an evildoer that Deadpool had to fight well. Which is really all he needed to do.
The story set up Deadpool’s origin really well and the way they cut back and forth between the past and present was done great. It kept the audience immersed in action while giving them the needed backstory to this character. There was never really dull moment when it came to humor or action. There was always something the audience could be involved with.
Whether you are a long time Deadpool comic fan or a newbie to the franchise, there is more than enough for anyone (of age) to see this hilarious antihero comic book film adaptation.
Click here to see the Deadpool trailer.
(Media credit: imdb.com)
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