Deadpool

My Grade:  A

If you thought the marketing campaign for The Force Awakens was good, Deadpool’s was even better. I could write an entire review about Deadpool’s marketing campaign, but I won’t because the marketing campaign isn’t coming out on blu-ray May 10, the movie is. So before that blu-ray breaks the fourth wall of your home theater system, take a moment to read my thoughts on the highest grossing rated R film of all time.

Deadpool is a comic book character that is known as sarcastic, crude, immature… basically Ryan Reynolds in a skin tight suit with super healing powers. So, it’s a good thing they cast Mr. Reynolds in the lead role. He embodies this anti-hero better than anyone has embodied their comic book role ever (including Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man which is a pretty close second). The fact that Reynolds is a perfect fit for the character is a mixed bag because some people find his brand of humor annoying. Judging by the box office receipts, the majority of people don’t. I’m one of those that find him to be very funny. And, thus I find this movie to be very funny. Between Deadpool’s knack for addressing the audience and his interplay with the surprisingly hilarious supporting cast, you will do a lot of laughing. The best comedic moments are when the movie makes fun of itself and/or superhero movies in general. It’s actually quite surprising that a company like Marvel (who takes themselves so seriously) would make a movie that makes fun of themselves. I’m glad they did, though.

It’s not all laughs, though. Deadpool features some of the best action set pieces you’ll find. The choreography is stunning and the special effects are stellar. That should be no surprise, though, because of Tim Miller. Before directing Deadpool, he was best known for his visual effects work. This was his feature directorial debut and it has become the highest grossing R-rated film in the history of cinema. If they gave out Rookie of the Year awards, he’d certainly be nominated.

Deadpool isn’t without its flaws, though. Apart from Deadpool himself, the other characters are pretty flat. His love interest Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) claims she’s “played a lot of roles but damsel in distress ain’t of of them.” Unfortunately, if she hadn’t before, she has now. While her romance with Wade Wilson (Deadpool) has its funny moments (the rather memorably raunchy montage), it never really hits enough sweet notes for us to really buy it as the impetus for Wilson’s entire journey. Then there’s the baddie, Ajax (a career making turn from the little known Ed Skrein). We know he’s a bad guy, he has super human strength, and he can fight. Beyond that, he doesn’t have much to offer other than some really twisted torture tactics.

Other supporting characters like Wilson’s friend "The Weasel,” his roommate “Blind Al”, and two lesser known X-Men (Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Colossus) all come in and out of Deadpool’s story to serve their purpose but never really get any development beyond how they relate to Deadpool. It would have been nice to see them fleshed out a little more. Because of the huge business this movie did at the box office, though, this will be a franchise allowing plenty of time to learn more about them.

Overall, Deadpool is simply a good time. if you can handle the intense violence, bad language, and raunchy jokes, you’ll enjoy this breath of fresh air that the superhero genre needed.