Deadpool: Not Your Average Superhero Movie

Photo: (left to right) Ryan Reynolds, Stefan Capicic, and Brianna Hildebrand.

Written by Cayce Bower

Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin,  T.J. Miller, and Ed Skrein


​Director: Tim Miller


Oh, hello there! I bet you are wondering, “Just how good or bad was this Deadpool movie?” Well, there are certainly different opinions about this, but I am attempting to give it a good, honest review. I found it to be very well done, and I was entertained all the way through to the very end of the credits.


As a mild comic book reader and a big fan of Deadpool, I went into the theater knowing full well what kind of movie it was going to be (but you should also be able to figure it out from watching the movie trailers).The character Deadpool is traditionally a mercenary, with morals just about as low as one can have. He is sadistic, and by no means your typical superhero, as he himself explains during the film. Speaking of that, he also “breaks the fourth wall” quite a bit. 

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It is rated R for a reason. This movie contains an abundance of violence, blood, language, crude humor, and has some nudity as well. It has a darker feel than your average superhero movie, and that is what the filmmakers intended.

Photo: (left to right) Ryan Reynolds, T.J. Miller.

*Spoilers Ahead*


Keeping in mind that this story is not told linearly, here is a somewhat brief synopsis: Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) is a thug/mercenary-type guy that is good at what he does. He ends up falling in love with Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) and is basically living his dream, until he becomes diagnosed with cancer throughout his body. After hearing about a hospital-like place that could heal him, he is introduced to Ajax (Ed Skrein) who holds Wade captive while experimenting on him, attempting to make him a mutant - a human with supernatural abilities. He becomes horribly scarred, develops his healing-factor, and escapes desiring vengeance on Ajax as well as hoping he’ll be able to undo Wade’s disfigurement. He begins tracking down Ajax, and in doing so dons a costume and his signature katana swords, becoming Deadpool. Eventually teaming up with fellow mutants and members of the X-Men, Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (who by the way, has an awesome name), he fights Ajax and his soldiers in a desperate battle of life-or-death. 


Now like I said, this is not told linearly. Deadpool narrates this story à la the style of his narration in the comic books. This means that there are multiple flashbacks, interruptions by himself, and so on. It can be very confusing if you are not familiar with that style of storytelling, but I think most people should be able to follow along just fine.

Photo: Ryan Reynolds.

As far as movie adaptations of comic books go, this film is near the top of the list in terms of accuracy. Most fans of the ‘Merc With The Mouth’ (as he is so lovingly called) were outraged at 20th Century Fox Studio’s previous attempt at the Deadpool character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Hood, 2009), and rightly so. In that film, Wade Wilson became a conglomeration of multiple other mutants’ powers, and the worst of it all was that his mouth was sown shut, taking away some of his key characteristics. Now, with the events of the movie X-Men: Days of Future Past (Singer, 2014), Fox was able to right their wrongs with Deadpool and remake the Deadpool character the way he is supposed to be. 


I felt that the acting was remarkable, at least when it needed to be. I did not find any of the acting in this film to be bad, or even fair. Now, I know, not every part in this movie required exceptional acting, like the part of Weasel (T.J. Miller) but I still think he played his part well. Ryan Reynolds in particular nailed it, from the humorous mannerisms and voice imitations that are so characteristic of Deadpool, to the more serious feelings of love, loss, and hatred that his part also required. I have only seen Reynolds act in a handful of films, but I think his performance in Deadpool was quite exceptional. And because they never get enough credit for these things, here is a shoutout to the writers for providing a glorious screenplay.

Photo: (top to bottom) Jason William Day, Ryan Reynolds.

The CGI in this film was very well done, too. With the multiple instances of gunfire, decapitations, and of course, Colossus’ skin, the editors did a wonderful job. And those are just a few uses of CGI that stand out in this film. I mean, someone had to do the tedious work of animating the eyeholes of Deadpool’s mask so his face would not be expressionless like a certain Lord of the Sith in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, (Lucas, 1977). (I know, I know. I tried to be subtle with that reference.)


If you have no problems with the content, I highly recommend watching this film. It is very exciting, and is a superhero - I mean, antihero - movie that you won’t want to miss!