“Deadpool” Review

I saw ‘Deadpool’ last night with my good friend  Jettsen Keck. Before I go any further, I assume that some of you have seen the notices from Deadpool to children, warning them that this is not a children’s film. He’s right. It’s rated R for a reason, and it’s not a soft R. Don’t bring kids. Language, violence, adult content- the trifecta. Now that that’s said… if you’re of age, you can handle the above features of a hard R film, and you like a silly action superhero movie, go see ‘Deadpool.’ From the opening credits, I knew I was going to love this film – they’re self-referential and irreverent, and perfectly set the tone for what you’re about to watch.

Ryan Reynolds should enter a contest for smart-alecks. I think he’d win, or at least walk away with the silver or bronze. He is absolutely wonderful as the Merc with the Mouth, and whether he’s being genuinely funny, over-the-top childish, or frighteningly violent, it was a tremendously entertaining performance to watch. The rest of the cast tends to fall to the background, as expected, but did a fine job. My favorites were probably Ed Skrein as the delightfully hate-able Ajax, and Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead (on which point, by the way, I agree with Deadpool when he said that hers was the coolest superhero name ever).

The action scenes are fast-paced and exhilarating, fun and exciting. The scenes are helped along by a truly fantastic soundtrack, including an eclectic mix of tracks from Wham! to DMX, and an original Deadpool rap that was genuinely funny.

Speaking of funny, this is something of a comedy. Comedy’s difficult to judge, as far as its effectiveness goes, because everyone’s threshold for humor is different. I am pretty picky when it comes to my comedies (something that my friend Branden has been quick to bring up when I talk about movies), so I am as surprised as I am pleased to say that I thought that the vast majority of jokes in ‘Deadpool’ were solid hits. Some are worth a half-smile, perhaps, but there were many times that I found myself laughing out loud in the theater. It’s funny. Irreverent and ridiculous, but undeniably funny.

The visuals are crisp and frenetic. The pacing is fast and exciting, splicing the origin story of the title character into a more ‘in the moment’ scene in a way that I thoroughly enjoyed. The action is great. The characters are fun. It’s FUNNY. Go see it.

And make sure you stay til the end. Not only are the ending credits amusing on their own, but Fox seems to have forgotten that this one isn’t a Marvel studios film. It’s good stuff.