. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Deadpool is the eighth entry into 20th Century Fox's lineup of X-Men films. It had a storied production, but finally made its way to theaters, aiming to treat fans of the cult Marvel Comics character, and contribute something fresh to the unending parade of superhero flicks. The film is the directorial debut of veteran visual effects coordinator Tim Miller, and stars Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, and Ed Skrein.
Deadpool is, despite the novelty, still a prototypical origin story, though it does manage to avoid the same structure of most freshman superhero films by beginning in media res and jumping between in and out of flashbacks. Wade Wilson (Reynolds) is a mercenary who ends up in a unique romance with an escort, Vanessa Carlysle (Baccarin). Their romance is cut short when Wilson is diagnosed with terminal cancer. To save his life and relationship, he submits into the mysterious "Weapon X" program who claims they can cure his cancer. They succeed, but with the catch of his entire body being covered in tumor-like scarring and the ability to heal any wound, turning him into the super-powered "Deadpool." He sets out on a quest to find Ajax (Skrein)---the malicious mutant that headed his Weapon X transformation---and force him to reverse the effects, and win back Vanessa. They are backed up by a supporting cast of characters including Weasel (T. J. Miller), Wilson's best friend and bartender at his mercenary haunt; Colossus (Stefan Kapičić) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand), one of Charles Xavier's X-Men and his trainee, respectively, who hope to recruit Wilson into the X-Men; and Angel Dust (Gina Carano), Ajax's super strong second.
Reynolds, who has devoted a great deal of his own time, energy, and money to bring this project to the screen, puts his all into bringing the titular "Merc with a Mouth" to life, and it's fair to say he succeeds in spades. Reynolds' energetic performance is wickedly amusing and accounts for much of the film's appeal. Ed Skrein's Ajax is the kind of paint by numbers villain commonplace in many an action film, although the portrayal of "generic British villain" is sort of a joke in itself, and Skrein still plays him with enough cool menace to feel sufficiently threatening. Morena Baccarin's Vanessa is more engaging than the average superhero love interest, and Baccarin solidly sells the character and her chemistry with Wade Wilson, but one gets the sense that one or two more scenes could have been added to flesh the character out more. Miller's sardonic weasel, Hildebrand's broody Negasonic Teenage Warhead, and Kapičić's big-steel-boyscout Colossus all bring extra laughs and, in the case of the latter two, increase the film's superhero spectacle, while MMA superstar Gina Carano as Angel Dust ups the film's general action credentials.
The credit for Deadpool's success is as much off screen as on. Writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese bring the same twisted charm from their collaboration on 2009's Zombieland, and deserve plaudits for managing to adapt the cult character from his comic book pages in a way that will please many a longtime fan, while still managing to craft a solid introductory story that won't alienate those who had little exposure to the him previously. First time helmer Tim Miller does a solid job guiding the film, and his experience working in visual effects is likely a big reason why the CGI in Deadpool is so crisp that much of it goes unnoticed, even with a budget 4x smaller than blockbusters with poorer digital imagery.
Deadpool has relatively unique obligation to be both a superhero film and a comedy film, instead of being primarily one of those genres which incorporates elements of the other. As a comedy film Deadpool works very well, even better than was really necessary for it to be popular. There is the occasional eye-roller, but the vast majority of the film's humor is well-constructed and well-paced, and is a welcome break from the much lazier humor found in most present day American comedy filmmaking. Even one of the film's more difficult jokes manages to set-up one of it's more effective emotional beats, which is no easy feat. As a superhero film the results are a little more mixed. The action is well-crafted and the visuals are up to snuff, but the plot is fairly standard as far superhero films go, and while there is plenty of hilarious riffing on the genre throughout, the film stops short of any real satire of the genre and mostly adheres to the typical superhero origin formula. Anyone not already won over by the film's idiosyncratic humor or solid action set pieces will probably not find much else new to appreciate here.
All in all, Deadpool is far better than it has any business being, and should more than please most of those looking for a fresh addition to the superhero movie mix, or those just wanting a solid and relatively unique action-comedy, but won't necessarily win any new fans to the superhero genre.
Deadpool premiered in theatres on February 12, 2016, and is now out on Blu-Ray, DVD, and streaming services.
