In the year of dark, brooding comic book movies like Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Captain America: Civil War, and X-Men: Apocalypse, one man in tights has set himself apart from the pack early. Over Valentine’s Day weekend, Ryan Reynolds finally got sweet retribution for the horrendous handling of his beloved Deadpool that was 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine. As I mentioned in my previous article, “5 Reasons Deadpool is the Hero We Need (And Deserve),” Deadpool is the quintessential comic book anti-hero, and this film is a spot-on representation of that.

Deadpool, the feature-film making debut for director Tim Miller, stars Ryan Reynolds as the fast-talking Wade Wilson/Deadpool, Morena Baccarin as his love interest, Vanessa, T.J. Miller as Weasel, and Ed Skrein as Ajax, otherwise known as Francis.

This origin story follows Wade Wilson from his time as a mercenary, through meeting the lovely prostitute Vanessa, and being diagnosed with cancer. When he’s confronted by a mysterious suit in a bar promising him a cure, he disappears, for the sake of Vanessa, to hopefully eradicate the cancer in his liver, lungs, prostate, and brain. When this cure proves to be more of a curse than anything, the self-dubbed Deadpool then spends the rest of the film hunting down the sadistic mutant scientist Ajax to have him reverse the disfiguration he’s inflicted on him.

The long-awaited Deadpool completely destroyed it at the box office after a brilliant and unrelenting marketing campaign. As of now, Deadpool has earned a total of $246,489,373 at the domestic box office and $512,958,918 worldwide, making it the highest grossing solo superhero movie of all time, above the likes of Spider-Man and even Batman.

Reynolds has been working to get a true-to-the-comics Deadpool movie made for years and even took a pay-cut on this film; the man’s commitment to and love for the character is unquestionable. With comic book movies especially, it’s always an added bonus when the actor becomes protective over the character and does everything in their power to make sure they’re represented fairly and accurately. We’ve seen that from Hugh Jackman with his portrayal of Wolverine and Ben Affleck appears to be extremely passionate about giving fans the best Batman possible in the upcoming Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Going into Deadpool, I had the good fortune of being a major superhero nerd and knowing exactly what I was in for. I can honestly say any expectation I had was met and surpassed. Geeks will be elated at each and every Easter Egg and reference the filmmakers slipped in, from poking fun at Reynolds’ sordid turn as Green Lantern in 2011 to the countless mentions of the X-Men.

The anomaly that is Deadpool is captured flawlessly by Ryan Reynolds. He’s a potty-mouthed psychopath with an unbridled enthusiasm for violence, and the film reflects this in spades. Deadpool explains outright in the movie that he is by no means a hero, yet the audience can’t help but root for him as he guts bad guys and spews dick jokes like it’s his job (it basically is). I held the goofiest of grins basically any time Deadpool was on-screen, due to either his bad-ass methods of disposing of various henchmen or his raunchy arsenal of jokes.

The story-telling, despite jumping around a bit, does a fantastic job of explaining the character’s backstory without getting boring. Miller, along with producers Ryan Reynolds himself, Lauren Schuler Donner, and Simon Kinberg are able to appeal to the knowledgeable fans without alienating the everyman who may not know about the Marvel world.

Deadpool’s R-rating is both fully warranted and well-deserved. Since Deadpool is perhaps the most R-rated comic book character ever, it would be a complete travesty to have the film rated PG-13, like basically every other superhero movie these days. In no way is the violence or raunch of Deadpool gratuitous, either; it is a true-blue, wholly satisfying way of staying true to a beloved character. Because of the success of Deadpool, many other franchises are taking notice of a more adult take on comic book films. The third installment in the Wolverine franchise and most likely Hugh Jackman’s final film as the mutant could very well be rated R, as it should be considering the savage violence of the character. Further, it was just announced that a special, R-rated edition of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice will be made available when it’s released on Blu-Ray. It’s entirely plausible that we have Deadpool to thank for this upswing in intensity for comic book adaptation films.

Deadpool is an overwhelmingly entertaining film, whether you’re a full-on superhero nerd or just looking for a hilariously violent flick to gawk at. The soundtrack is weirdly perfect, featuring DMX, Wham!, Salt-N-Pepa, and Juice Newton’s “Angel of the Morning.” The action is fast-paced, bloody, and creative. The humor is filthy, perfectly-timed, and dark. Above all, the faithfulness of the film to the comics is beautifully refreshing and a long-time coming.

I highly recommend Deadpool, but not for kids. Like I said, it’s rated R for a reason.