As a result, one of the biggest praises Deadpool has received is what a breath of fresh air it is in terms of presentation and tone. It's raunchy, ridiculous, and unorthodox in many of its storytelling and presentation elements. Thankfully, the film handles these factors in a way that works to its favor, bolstered by great casting and faithfulness to the best aspects of its source material. There are still some problems that prevent it from matching the best Marvel films in my book, but I still can't deny its enjoyment factor.
The story centers around Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds, who also served as one of the producers), a for-hire New York mercenary with good looks but few moral standards. He falls for Vanessa Carlysle (Morena Baccarin of Homeland and Firefly fame), a gorgeous escort at his local bar who has a similarly dirty mentality, but on the day he finally decides to propose to her, he discovers that he's in the late stages of terminal cancer.
Desperate, Wilson volunteers for an experimental program headed by the shady Francis Freeman (Ed Skrein), as it claims to awaken superpowers in its test subjects as well as healing abilities. Ultimately, Freeman and company have sinister intentions, and Wilson ends up an unwilling prisoner, resulting in his cancer being cured and him developing advanced healing capabilities, but at the expense of scars and disfiguring all over his body. While he ultimately escapes, he's hesitant to return to Vanessa due to his appearance, and ultimately decides to focus on getting revenge on his captors under the alias of the masked fighter Deadpool.
The plot's execution is a bit more unorthodox than most action films, as the opening starts in medias res with Deadpool taking on Freeman's thugs, and chooses to alternate between the origin story and present day material throughout the first half. This approach was likely taken to get to the action faster and keep the film from feeling slow, but I found it jarring, especially considering the jokey and frenetic tone of the Deadpool portions and the moodier tone of the Wade Wilson story. Considering how many other good superhero movies pull off linear origin stories just fine, I wish this film had taken that approach.
Still, Deadpool really nails the feel of pure fun it's clearly aiming for, due to a combination of various elements. One of the key elements of the source material is that Deadpool is one of the only Marvel characters who's capable of breaking the fourth wall, as he's aware that he's a comic book character and addresses cliches of the medium and even the readers. This carries over here, with Deadpool speaking to the audience both via narration and looking straight at the camera, even manually moving it offscreen when he considers what he's about to do to a villain too unpleasant to watch. He also has a knack for pointing out cliches of the genre he's in - I think anyone who views this movie will consciously notice "superhero landings" from now on.
There's also the fact that, even though you root for Wilson, he never comes close to reforming into a genuinely good person. His motivation is based purely on revenge, and he plays and talks dirty from beginning to end. One of his earlier jokes has him state that while this is a superhero movie and he has superpowers, he's not a hero at all. It's to the film crew's credit that I never encountered a spot where Deadpool veered into unlikable territory.
The film has an R rating that is well deserved, as Deadpool has a serious case of sailor mouth, blood flies freely in the action scenes, and the film's method of showing us Wilson and Vanessa bonding is providing a montage of them having sex during numerous holidays. Other Marvel movies, while boasting PG-13 ratings, have generally been inoffensive and accessible for the 9-and-up crowd, but this is one that unassuming parents should seriously think twice about taking their kids to.
It's also worth noting that, as Fox made this and not Marvel Studios, this is apparently being considered a spinoff of the X-Men film franchise, complete with Colossus (Stefan Kapicic) playing a supporting role, a scene showing their home mansion, and nods to Wolverine and Professor X in some of the more meta jokes. There are also some jabs at Reynolds' less successful comic book roles, including Green Lantern and a drastically altered version of Deadpool from X-Men Origins: Wolverine, sprinkled throughout.
Though I mentioned the plot shifts in the first half feeling jarring, the film's overall pace is solid, even during a spot two-thirds in when Deadpool has to recuperate for a bit before the final battle. I will say that, while the numerous gags sport few duds, I left wishing there had been more in the way of truly gut-busting and standout moments, rather than just consistent chuckles. There are certainly some elements this does better than most other films (Without spoiling anything, this may have the best opening credits text I've ever seen), but this ends up being similar to films like The Revenant in that it feels consistently good with no huge peaks or valleys.
Fox definitely took a big risk with Deadpool, considering its focus on adults-only content in a genre loved by many age groups, but it's one that paid off, as the movie really runs with its insane nature and makes the most of it. Both Ryan Reynolds and first-time director Tim Miller leave the impression that they wanted to make something unique and unashamed of itself, and it's to their credit that, for all the crassness and juvenile humor, the movie didn't feel excessive to me. A more conventional narrative structure and some truly outstanding individual moments would help elevate the already-confirmed sequel for me, but there's no denying that I had a great time with this film.
Final score: A high 7 out of 10
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