Where do I begin? Directed by Tim Miller, Deadpool is a
horribly violent and strikingly self-aware, antihero Marvel movie. But by far,
the funniest Ryan Reynolds film we’ve had in quite some time! Due to its recent
achievement as the most successful R-rated movie ever released, it’s no
surprise the sequel has already been announced.
The mocking tone is set by the opening credits, where the
list of stereotypes and clichés the film intends to portray are there for all
to see, including ‘the hot chick’ and the mandatory ‘British villain’. This
scene also prefigures the overall storytelling style as choppy, fast-paced and
episodic, with frequent flashbacks and breaking of the fourth wall.
Once the vicious, cartoonish opening is over we are thrown
into love-story territory, as we are cast back in time to where Wade Wilson had
not yet transformed into Deadpool by squeezing his body into a tight, red latex
suit. He meets and falls in love with Vanessa Carlysle (Morena Baccarin), a
beautiful badass who comes from an even more deprived background than himself
and could outdo him when it came to one-liners.
From there, Deadpool’s plot is very simple. After learning
he has terminal cancer, former special forces agent Wade Wilson decides to participate
in a top-secret experiment run by that British villain, Ajax (Ed Skrein). The
rogue trial leaves him heavily disfigured, but with accelerated healing abilities
and so he tries to hunt down the man that done this to him. Of course, with the
romance element included here, there and in between.
While many Marvel movies are made for ever-growing budgets,
significant storylines, hugely overblown special effects and in-your-face
action, Deadpool is a very modest entry in comparison. The driving force is the
dry humour and relentless sarcasm of the hero himself. However, by Deadpool’s own admission he is no hero at all. Deadpool is effectively the
unreliable black sheep of the X-Men family. At points he challenges the
audience to guess "whose balls" he had to "fondle" to get
his own movie. His humour may be self-critical but that doesn't stop him taking
sideswipes at other targets, including Beckham, for his squeaky, not so manly
voice.
Deadpool’s script spent about five years on the shelf waiting
to be picked up and made, and after watching the finished package it is hard to
understand why its potential wasn’t exploited sooner. The movie will endear a
whole new audience to the sarcastically odd character, while once again
demonstrating the vast opportunity for variety in the comic book genre. “Worth
the wait” only just begins to describe the outrageous and exceptionally
entertaining film. There are definitely incredible things in store for the
character's future. So yes, go watch it if you a little bit of childish humour and plenty of sarcasm.
