This is not your family superhero movie. Don't be taking your mom and dad--or kids--to go see this. It's perhaps the uninhibited superhero film we've been waiting for, if you're into that sorta thing. It's not even really a superhero movie, so much as it's a comedy in a leotard.
Ryan Reynolds plays the title character, Wade Wilson (aka Deadpool), a mercenary who undergoes a special procedure to help cure him of his terminal cancer. This ends up giving him special powers of self-healing, but also makes him look like a freak--hence the mask. Meanwhile, he's afraid to see the love of his life, Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), because of what she might think of his new face.
The film plays around with the timeline a bit, jumping back and forth between post-superpower Wade and everyday guy Wade--most likely to avoid any boredom or anxiety built up by superhero origins.
At it's best, it's very very funny. Reynolds' timing is excellent as the snarky, insouciant rascal. From the beginning, the jokes are rapid-fire. It looks as though we're in for a Guardians of the Galaxy or Ant-Man type of film. But this goes way beyond that. It breaks the fourth wall about a dozen times, and occasionally has the star self-deprecating himself. At one point, Reynolds makes a quip about the film not having a big enough budget to feature any other X-Men characters.
The comedy can eventually get tiring for some. Not so much tiring, actually, just numbing. But luckily, the jokes come fewer and far between at about that point in the movie. Then we get the big action sequences and all that.
Deadpool is definitely something new in this world of belabored superhero films, and that's probably the most refreshing part about the movie. It never takes itself too seriously.
It doesn't give us some ridiculous villain who unstoppably giving a shot at world domination. Instead, Deadpool spends much of the film just trying to hunt down the man who turned him into a freak, killing anyone standing in his way--which is made to be funny until we realize there's no real reason for any of these people to die. In fact, maybe Deadpool is the villain after all.
But if looked at as a superhero action film, it will evoke distaste in many. However, if you see it as a comedy, then it all makes more sense and you can sit back and enjoy it.
It toys with this whole "beauty is only skin deep" theme, but never really capitalizes on its impact. Instead, the film cares more about its irreverence. If this movie were to be amazing, it would have found a perfect balance between heart and gall. But honestly, I don't even think it tried to.
Twizard Rating: 83
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