Classic Review: Deadpool (2016)

Since I’ve started this site, I’ve written a lot of reviews. In case you missed some of my earlier ones, I would like to share an older review of “Deadpool” which originally appeared here. Kind of hard to believe that it was my site’s 400th post when I reviewed it almost a year ago and this post is now my 1,442nd. It’s amazing how time flies.

This is the origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds), who after being subjected to a rogue experiment in order to combat suddenly developed cancer throughout his body leaves him with accelerated healing powers and his body gravely disfigured, adopts the alter ego Deadpool. Armed with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humor, Deadpool hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life, a man named Ajax (Ed Skrein).

As a society, we have been inundated with seemingly infinite superhero films, mostly based on comic book characters, either from DC or Marvel comics. They are all pretty much the same and perhaps a little watered down in order to cater to a wider audience. This is another one but isn’t quite the same as the others as it takes everything we know about traditional superhero films and takes it in a completely new direction and it was very refreshing. If you need a hint as to what direction it is going, you only need to look at the film’s 18A/R rating. In other words, this film is not for kids. For those who don’t read comic books (like me), this film is about former Special Forces operative now mercenary Wade Wilson (Reynolds) who suddenly develops cancer throughout his body, decides to undergo an experimental treatment which now gives him accelerated healing powers and leaves his body greatly disfigured. Armed with his new ability and a disturbed sense of humor, he decides to wear a red spandex outfit and takes on the alter ego of Deadpool. He then decides to hunt down the man who ruined his life, a man named Ajax (Ed Skrein). What made this film different from other superhero films, I thought, was its sense of humor. This starts from the most honest opening credits that I perhaps I’v ever seen. A lot of the comedy came from the character of Deadpool himself and also from the meta nature of how it parodies superhero films and just films in general. It breaks the fourth wall (google it) so to speak in that Deadpool knows he’s in a film, pointing it out on several occasions and also speaking to us, the viewers. This was just genius and refreshing to see and original because I’ve never seen something like that before. The comedy does not end there as many of the film’s supporting characters are great as well. Characters such as Weasel (T.J. Miller) and Blind Al (Leslie Uggams) were great and had great moments as well and their chemistry with Reynolds made their scenes very fun to watch. In the case of T.J. Miller’s Weasel, I personally would have liked to have seen more of him but that’s a minor complaint as there will be a sequel where I will inevitably get to see him again. Stefan Kapicic as Colossus and Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead were good too but I have the same complaint about them as I had with Weasel. Skrein and Gina Carano as Angel Dust served as formidable villains but I would have liked to have seen a little more development on both of their parts. Morena Baccarin as Vanessa was good here serving as a better love interest/woman in distress than most. But this is the Ryan Reynolds/Deadpool show and that was fine with me as he just embodied the character and he was fun to watch throughout. The genius writing is to thank for all of this. The action was great and well done from the choreography to the cinematography. There was a good mix between action and story giving Reynolds the chance to shine in both. Overall, this was a great action and equally great comedy, both done in a very genius way.

Score: 9.5/10

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.