Wait. Wasn't his mouth sewn shut? And is he played by Green Lantern? No. And yes. Comic book fans have waited years to see their favorite merc with the mouth on the big screen and now, in 2016, Tim Miller and Ryan Reynolds have brought us what we wanted. Although, this is technically not the first time we've seen Deadpool on the big screen. In 2009's "X-Men Origins: Wolverine", we've witnessed a bastardized version of the character with arm blades and his mouth sewn shut. For obvious reasons, this made hardcore comic book fans extremely angry. However, there is one person on this planet that hated the decision to sew the iconic character's mouth shut more than anyone: Ryan Reynolds. The man has tried to lift this project off the ground for years and finally over 10 years later, his dream project became a reality. And now, after one of the most brilliantly conceived viral marketing plans ever, the film now open nationwide. How was the film?
"Deadpool" stars Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, T. J. Miller, Gina Carano, Brianna Hildebrand, Stefan Kapičić and Leslie Uggams, and is directed by Tim Miller. The film centers around Wade Wilson who, after being diagnosed with cancer, enters a secret experimental program that grants him unbelievable regenerative abilities but disfigures him and causes him to go slightly insane. Now that Wade has adopted the name Deadpool and has become a [near] immortal being, he sets out on a revenge journey to find the ones that experimented on him and to save the love of his life, who they have captive. This, ladies and gentlemen, is an absolute triumph. It's everything the brilliant marketing for the film promised. It's foul-mouthed, witty, bloody with a touch of romance that rivals Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone in charm.
To say that Ryan Reynolds was born to play Deadpool is an understatement. Much like Robert Downey Jr. is Tony Stark, Ryan Reynolds is Deadpool. He embodies everything that this character is and more. He's immature, vulgar, lusts to kill and is out of his mind. This is definitely not the Deadpool we saw in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine". This is the proper Deadpool from the comics that we've grown to love. Every breaking-the-fourth-wall outbursts he has in the film are beyond hilarious and his ability to portray almost every emotion in this supposed silly film impressed me. Reynold's performance mixed with one of the wittiest, sharpest and funniest screenplays in recent memory truly made the film brilliant and we can thank him enough for being our favorite mercenary.
One key element that could have ruined this action-packed, hilarious film would have been the romance, but with clever writing and spot-on casting, the filmmakers behind "Deadpool" managed to pull of one sweet love story amidst this insane film. Morena Baccarin nails it as Wade Wilson's love interest, Vanessa Carlysle (the superhero Copycat from "X-Force"), by being extraordinarily beautiful, witty, charming, funny and equally as crazy as Deadpool himself. As mentioned earlier, the chemistry they share together on screen truly does rival that of Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone in "The Amazing Spider-Man" films. 'Twas the perfect romance for two perfectly insane people and we, as the audience, loved every minute of it.
Although the title doesn't have the word "X-Men" in it, the film does feature some "X-Men" characters, namely Colossus and Negasonic Teenager Warhead. The filmmakers were able to cleverly meld this insane world of Deadpool with the world of the X-Men, which never felt forced or out of place. Colossus in this film was how he should have been in the other "X-Men" films: Russian and larger than life. Although Daniel Cudmore, the actor who played Colossus in the previous "X-Men" films, does all he can with what he is given, I feel like this performance done by Stefan Kapičić (voice) and Andre Tricoteux (motion capture) was more true to the Colossus we know in the comics.
Negasonic Teenager Warhead is a mutant superhero that most people, even comic books fans (hell I didn't even know who she was), didn't know until "Deadpool". Her powers consisting of telepathy and precognition was changed by the filmmakers to more fit the character's super cool name. And as an X-Men trainee, I hope to see her again in the "X-Men" franchise. Brianna Hildebrand, an relatively unknown actress, brought teenage angst (which, by the way, never diminishes her cool character) and strength in the film that offered us many laughs and awesome moments.
A problem most people have with the films from Marvel Studios would be the villains. Even in films that were universally praised like "Guardians of the Galaxy" or "Ant-Man", the single biggest complaint of either film would be the big baddies chasing after our good guy. Thankfully in "Deadpool", the villains are grimy, disturbing and threatening, making them all the more evil. Because Deadpool himself isn't a superhero, the villains were made even worse. Ed Skrein as Ajax, the man responsible for disfiguring Wade Wilson, was imposing and sadistic. Although he isn't a compelling character per say, Ajax is simply meant to be a threatening rival to Deadpool and Skrein gave us one brutally enjoyable performance. Gina Carano as Angel Dust, a mutant working with Ajax, was a woman of few words and was a physically imposing presence throughout the film.
After seeing last year's "Mad Max: Fury Road", I found myself in a position where I am now less impressed with action movies because of how amazing the stunt work and cinematography was in "Mad Max: Fury Road". With that being said, I'm pleased to say that "Deadpool" has some of the most creative, funny, brutal and fast-paced action scenes I've ever seen. Mixing funny and brutal together alone is difficult, but making the action fast-paced and relentless at the same time was a tall order. From guns to swords to fists, the action in "Deadpool" was directed beautifully and melded CGI animation seamlessly.
However, I will say with full confidence that the action scenes are not what make "Deadpool" an amazing picture. What does make "Deadpool" great is the script. The screenplay, written by "Zombieland" writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, has written one of the funniest films I've seen in a very long time. The two of them must've had an amazing time writing this insane script that contains jokes about Ryan Reynold's filmography (specifically "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and "Green Lantern"), a sex montage, extremely crude dialogue and insane violence.
In an age where we get multiple superhero films from competing studios every year, "Deadpool" comes in and takes a dump on all of it while shouting his name repeatedly at the audience. It's a breath of fresh air and is unlike any superhero film we've seen to date. This is what happens when you give the filmmakers full control over their work. What this is is a love letter to who Deadpool is and his inability to shut the fuck up. I am so pleased with this movie and I gotta give it a 10 out of 10. There really isn't any small thing I could add or subtract to make the film better. It did it's job and we are all the more happy for it. Go see "Deadpool" now!
Go see it in theaters [and IMAX] today!
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