Deadpool steals the superhero spotlight from all the rest with crude, violent, and satirical humour – despite the humour not quite standing the test of time, the character remains a classic.
From upcoming director Tim Miller and starring Ryan Reynolds as the self-aware anti-hero, Deadpool is a standalone X-Men franchise film that took the world by the balls. It follows the story of Wade Wilson, an ex-mercenary that gets cancer – he undergoes an experiment to cure him and instead it gives him immortality, severe disfigurement, and relentless sense of humour.
As crass as it is inventive, it manages to bring about a performance that audiences can place in the hall of superhero acting fame for those that “truly embody a character” – just as Hugh Jackman has for Wolverine, and Robert Downey Jr. has for Iron Man – Ryan Reynolds is Deadpool and Deadpool is Ryan Reynolds. Enough said. The fourth wall-breaking nature and consistent pop culture references are the backbone of this film sitting alongside Ryan Reynolds charismatic performance – he’s able to neatly edge along the boundary between hilarious and agitating without actually being agitated for the viewer. While the story is perfectly enjoyable and the performances all hit their mark, I found the greatest strengths of Deadpool is in some way its greatest weakness – a ludicrous type of comedy that works for huge laughs to begin with but over time loses its effectiveness. This may have been due in part to the improvisational nature of the comedy.
Visually speaking this film has the looks of a movie that was under budgeted, and while there are some shaky visual moments this is all made up for with the fantastic costume design for the lead character and the haunting makeup for under that tight costume. Feeling like we’re stuck on the highway half the film wasn’t appealing but it still manages to do an admirable job with the closed environments it had.
Deadpool is one of these rare films that are so fantastic on a first watch and then just decent on a second and then meh third watch. Still, the character remains brilliantly crafted and true to his comic book personality, the comedy was fantastic for a first viewing and I can’t complain too much. He’s an instant classic for pop culture and you’ve got to tip your hat to that.
6.8/10
6 thoughts on “Deadpool – Review”