Movie Review -- Deadpool

Today we have the NSFW comic book movie Deadpool. Does it live up to the hype? Let's find out.

 

The story centers around ex-soldier Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) who now makes a living protecting people from stalkers and other lowlifes. One day, he meets a beautiful hooker named Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) and they fall madly in love. Things are going well until Wade is diagnosed with terminal cancer.

 

Things seem to take a turn for the better when he meets a  man who offers to cure him. Not wanting Vanessa to see him die, he agrees to join a mysterious program. He is soon put in the custody of villainous scientist Ajax (Ed Skrein) who reveals Wade is actually undergoing a procedure to awaken his dormant mutant powers before being sold as a slave to the highest bidder. Soon, Wade's powers emerge, but at the cost of badly disfiguring him. He now has an incredibly healing ability but is seemingly doomed to be an outcast.

 

Wade escapes from Ajax's lab, sews himself a costume and christens himself "Deadpool." He then sets out to find Ajax and force him to heal his hideous disfigurement (all while making wisecracks). But standing in his way are a couple of X-Men: Colossus (voiced by Stefan Kapicic) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand). Colossus wants Deadpool to join the X-Men, but Deadpool refuses, intent on finding Ajax. And when Ajax--along with his henchwoman Angel (Gina Carano) targets Vanessa, the stakes are raised even further. Who will triumph in the ensuing super-powered showdown?

 

Deadpool is a raunchy, action-packed good time. It successfully captures the feel of the comics while establishing its own identity. Fans worried 20th Century Fox would screw this up can rest easy; they're going to love this movie. I especially like the strong female characters in this story; Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Angel dominate their male counterparts and raise girl power to an impressive level. And Vanessa, while not possessing any powers, still holds her own in this testosterone-rich world.

 

The humor, for its part, is hit or miss. Some parts are genuinely funny, but others are not. I feel the jokes are appropriate for the titular character and I honestly wouldn't change it. It was a bit strange seeing typically PG-13 X-Men in an R-rated movie, but it works well here.

 

And finally, I must commend the action scenes in this film. They are balls-to-the-wall awesome and kick all sorts of ass. I was thoroughly entertained throughout and look forward to what they come up with in the inevitable sequel.

 

Bottom line: Deadpool rules.