To See or Not to See: Deadpool

On paper, Marvel’s just-released Deadpool movie sounds run-of-the-mill; yet another superhero origin story featuring Ryan Reynolds. Would you like to know what other recent films featured Ryan Reynolds? No? Well, I’ll tell you anyway: X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Green Lantern, and R.I.P.D. Each of these were critically and commercially* panned.  With that kind of a track record, it is prudent to approach any movie starring Reynolds with a healthy amount of skepticism.

BUT WAIT!!!

This is quite possibly one of the funniest Marvel movies I’ve seen. Period. Much is due to the South Park-esque humor sprinkled throughout the one hour and forty eight minute runtime. I’m not going to spoil any of the jokes they make, but suffice to say – they are plentiful and they work a heck of a lot better than they ought to. I caught myself cackling out loud more times than I’m willing to admit.

I’m a simple man, dirty jokes are my kryptonite.

That’s not to say that the entire movie is all simplistic and crude. Punctuating the elementary humor is a surprisingly endearing love story between Wade Wilson aka Deadpool, and Vanessa Carlysle, Wade’s girlfriend played by Morena Baccarin.  Their onscreen relationship is portrayed through flashbacks and is actually integral to the plot.  It never gets bogged down by drama, and when it comes close, first-time director Tim Miller expertly pulls out and kicks it back to leg-slapping high-gear.  Its an R-rated comedy by heart.

Compared to other recent Marvel movies, Deadpool’s set pieces and action scenes come across as low-budget and flat; that’s no surprise as the production of this movie is marred by a plethora of budget cuts and rewrites (spoiler alert!). It isn’t all terrible, just merely serviceable.

The main draw to isn’t the action though, it’s actually Deadpool himself, Ryan Reynolds!  And boy, does he knock it out of the park! Many have said that he was born to play Deadpool, and after watching this, I’d wholeheartedly agree. He is the glue that holds this movie together; I’d go so far as to say that this would have been a spectacular failure if he wasn’t in it.  Yes, he’s that good.

This is still one of the funniest Marvel movies I’ve seen by far, and I won’t hesitate to see it again!

Deadpool is a fresh take on the stale superhero genre. Go see it!

★ ★ ★ ☆

*Ok, X-Men Origins: Wolverine did pretty well commercially, but it is still a terrible, terrible film.

Photo Credit: Joe Lederer / Marvel / Twentieth Century Fox Films