In a world where superhero comics have become the go-to source material to feed the Hollywood studio greed machines, and where "reinventing" a genre has meant putting fan-favorite characters in films processed through gritty Instagram filters, one superhero movie will emerge with the most epic response to it all: the middle finger.
"Deadpool" stars Ryan Reynolds as the title character -- a brash, crass, potty-mouthed "superhero." The term "superhero" is used in the loosest sense here. Deadpool's an a-hole with an ambiguous (and even self-serving) moral code, a point that the film goes to lengths to illustrate. The film picks up in the middle of Deadpool's schemes to get revenge on his enemy, the backstory of which the audience is treated to through Deadpool's fourth-wall breaks and flashbacks.
It may come to no surprise that a film named after a character stays with that character for most of the movie. Almost out of necessity, the minor characters are brushed aside to give Deadpool the spotlight. Cool characters like Copycat, Angel Dust, Colossus, and Megasonic Teenage Warhead (yes, you read that correctly) are given considerably less screen time than one might hope, but they make the best of what they are given.
"Deadpool" tries to blend many types of genres together, a fact that it likes to frequently point out. It's a love story, it's an origin story, it's an action flick, and it's a comedy. It's an ambitious superhero film, one that could have risked the audience experiencing genre whiplash. Thankfully, "Deadpool" strikes an effortless balance between all of these things.
As a love story, the film focuses on the chemistry between Deadpool and his girlfriend, Vanessa, which is both tender and crass. As an origin story, the audience gets to witness Deadpool's transformation from Wade Wilson into the superhero that he eventually becomes. As an action flick, there are plenty of well-executed fight sequences to get your heart revving.
When "Deadpool" tries to be a comedy, however, it is at its most controversial. Not only is the comedy in "Deadpool" pretty vulgar, a lot of it relies on the success and the failures of other superhero movies, deliberately poking fun at certain characters and actors. Although this is a fair criticism, the humor of the plot could stand on its own shoulders. The jabs at superhero film franchises should be seen as an added bonus, especially for devoted comic book fans.
Overall, "Deadpool" is probably a film you would not like to bring your kids or parents to go see. Nonetheless, it is probably the most fun a superhero film has been in a very long time.
