Notwithstanding the unique, in-depth, and tremendously funny marketing campaign for Deadpool (which included portraying the film as a love story), the movie itself is hilarious. Ryan Reynolds the perfect performer to play the arrogant but charming, potty-mouthed anti-hero.
At times we are reminded of another great twist on the genre in Kick-Ass, as Deadpool innocently sports an Adventure Time watch and colours in his own pictures. However, as we did with Chloe-Grace Moretz’s Hitgirl, we learn that Wade Wilson is anything but innocent. The clearest example of this is hard to determine, because he spends very little time not killing people or using extreme profanity.
Director Tim Miller and his writers clearly thought about every aspect of this film.
Deadpool manages to succeed as a superhero film while constantly poking fun at all superhero movies. From the blunt opening credits which state the film is directed by an “overpaid tool”, to the constant fourth wall demolitions, this film outlines every dull formulaic plan Marvel and DC continually follow. It does it in a very entertaining way, with many thanks to some brilliant comedic writing that held up for the entire film, and an outstanding performance by Ryan Reynolds.
However, it’s not to say Deadpool doesn’t follow some of these same tropes. After all, it is from comic book pages too but it does its best to subvert these mundane expectations by ramping up the comedy, adult content, and self-referencing. Many pokes were made at Wolverine and the X-Men and even stringent fans of Hugh Jackman’s iconic character couldn’t help but laugh.
Not only does Deadpool take aim at the superhero genre it also gloriously takes down stereotypical teenage behaviour and refuses to apologise for it’s obscene humour. Everything you’ve ever thought was silly about superhero movies, Deadpool recognises and turns into a joke.
It’s similar to the angle that the amazing Guardians of the Galaxy film took, but it’s even funnier. This is without even mentioning the action scenes, which are stellar and as unique as the rest of the film. The score too, sets the tone perfectly.
For what it was trying to achieve, Deadpool is hard to fault. Fans of Supehero origin stories will get everything they want. People who are tired of the same old formula will be pleasantly refreshed, and those who simply want to see a comedy will be delighted. In fact, if you want to laugh Deadpool comes recommended ahead of most comedies out there. In saying that, if you aren’t a huge fan of mouthy smart-asses then Deadpool may not be for you.
As we know, nearly every film in the genre gets a sequel or two and usually we resign ourselves to sitting through another film just to sake our curiosity about the storyline but with Deadpool this feeling isn’t there. All we want is more of him, as soon as possible. That’s an indication the team behind it truly have succeeded.