From comic to screen, Deadpool from 20th Century Fox flies, slices and dices and rocks its slapstick humor to the big screen this year. And boy was it a laugh out loud riot.
Directed by Tim Miller and starring Ryan Reynolds as the red-suited super hero, Deadpool is a perfect example of an idea in Hollywood simmering in the kettle for several years, and being served hot and fresh at the right time.
After being tortured and turned into a mutant-powered super human, ex-mercenary Wade Wilson finds himself out on a journey of revenge for the people who made him, and the evil baddies who have kidnapped his girlfriend.
Donning the red suit and pushing the R rated super hero rating to its max, Deadpool brings the blood, the gratuitous humor and the fourth wall breaking that made Deadpool’s comic counterpart so beloved by Marvel fans. I will say that most fans of the super hero genre will like this movie, while the fans of Deadpool will absolutely eat it up.
Reynolds was born to play Deadpool. Having himself pushed this passion project for many years after the widely considered failure of portraying the character in 2009’s X-Men Origins Wolverine, he gives the character all the heart, humor and whimsical nerves that makes Deadpool, Deadpool.
He plays the character with a crisp freshness that makes the jokes during the movie come off as genuine character moments, and not scripted half-hearted attempts to make the audience giggle.
Director Tim Miller makes the most out of his modest budget by delivering well-choreographed action sequences including a nasty and zany cartoonish sequence in the beginning that rivals any action scene in a Marvel movie to date.
Audiences will lavish and soak in the visual razzle dazzle of watching Deadpool slice his way towards his final path of revenge to get his love back and kill the evil bad guy Ajax, played with a devilish personality by Ed Skrein.
Although I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of watching Deadpool, there are still issues I had with the movie. While Reynolds and Skrein are great as their flashy primaries, the rest of the supporting cast failed to make a dent on the screen.
One of these performances was Morena Baccarin as Vanessa, Wade Wilson's girlfriend. She plays the role with a woodiness that doesn’t bounce off of Reynold’s personality, which made their on screen chemistry not that convincing.
The CGI was also hit-and-miss, with some scenes merging well with the practical sets, and some that come off like a picture that hasn’t finished rendering yet. Still, I can’t really fault the filmmakers for this as 20th Century fox had limited their budget based on the risks of a R-rated super hero flick.
The plot is also a fairly straightforward revenge fair after the first half hour, and if you are looking for a game changing script you won’t find it here. All in all, if you are in for an unabashed, hyper violent superhero comedy that’s short on story, but carrying a wicked sense of humor and some ninja blades, I suggest you grab your chimichangas and head to your nearest Cineplex. Make sure you stick around until the very end of the credits, I’m sure some of you 80’s and 90’s kids will have a blast with the throwback homage.
Deadpool gets a B+.
