In the short span of 25 years, Deadpool has been many things. He started off as a boring, one-dimensional Deathstroke knock-off and later became the witty, twisted, self-aware mercenary people love. He’s gone from D-list throwaway character to pop culture icon. He’s been in comics, video games, cartoons, and even had an appearance in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, in which everything went horribly wrong for him. Ever since 2009, fans have clamored for a proper adaptation of this unconventional anti-hero. Although it may have taken years of false starts, delays, and a failed franchise (Green Lantern), it was definitely worth the wait.
Director Tim Miller has crafted the almost best possible adaptation of Wade Wilson’s origin story. The film may somewhat take a standard path when it comes following Wade’s journey into becoming the Merc with the Mouth, but it makes up for any shortcomings with its fast-paced story, gleefully violent action, quick-witted humor, and a character defining performance by Ryan Reynolds.
The film bounces back and forth between the present and the origin of Wade Wilson (Reynolds), a former Special Forces operative turned mercenary who spends his days being “a bad guy to worse guys.” One night, he meets a prostitute named Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) and they quickly fall in love. After a year summed up in one sex montage, Wade is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Facing almost certain death and wanting to spare Vanessa the pain of watching the man she loves die slowly and painfully, Wade accepts an offer from a secret organization that promises to cure his cancer and turn him into a superhero. However, he becomes a patient of Ajax (Ed Skrein), who wants to unlock the dormant mutant genes in Wade and use him for his own sinister purposes. Wade escapes, but the tortuous experiments leave his body hideously scarred, but imbued with an accelerating healing power. With his skills, newfound abilities, and now off-kilter sense of humor, Wade dons a costume, takes the name Deadpool, and sets out to get his revenge.
Instead of waiting 45 minutes to an hour to see Wade put on the costume, the story begins with him already being Deadpool only to tell his origin non-linearly with the fight on a highway serving as a bridge between the past and present. On paper, it sounds like an odd structure since the film is basically an action scene intermittently broken up by flashbacks that all culminates into another action scene. However, this works to its advantage because it gets the film off to energetic start, which is appropriate for a character like Deadpool. On a side note, the brilliant opening credit sequence will ultimately determine whether or not you get on board.
As far as superhero origin movies go, Deadpool doesn’t take many twists or turns narratively. While it’s a welcome reprieve from the onslaught of superhero flicks where the fate of the world is at stake, the film follows the predictable story beats of certain comic book and revenge stories, thankfully without getting bogged down in clunky exposition. What makes up for conventional plot is that fact that the tone is so infectious and giddy, that we can’t help but get suckered into to Wade’s story. Plus, its story is just enough to get us to what we really want.
When the film focuses on Deadpool, it’s an absolute blast to watch. There are so many jokes, both through visual and dialogue, that at some moments my audience was laughing so hard nobody could make out what the characters were saying. Some of the jokes do fall flat, but there are always more around the corner that make up for it. The action sequences play like a live-action Looney Tunes cartoon except with more bloody violence and profanity. All of that on its own would make for an enjoyable time at the theater. But what makes the film soar is Ryan Reynolds. Watching this film, I struggled to think of actors who would also be suited for this role, but none of them could match Reynolds’ electric performance. It’s apparent he is putting his all into this role and is not above taking shots at himself and his own career choices.
The only downside that Reynolds totally overshadows his supporting cast. Ajax and Angel Dust are unfortunately one-dimensional villains who only serve as the source of Deadpool’s rage. While Vanessa isn’t that remarkable of a love interest, Baccarin has terrific chemistry with Reynolds and can match his comedic sensibilities. Their love story may be thin, but it’s also surprisingly progressive. Rarely in a superhero movie do we see two characters in a romantic relationship be this open and flexible with each other sexually. While not stated explicitly, there are a couple welcome subtle hints to Wade’s pansexuality.
There is no setting up for a sequel (aside from a hilarious post-credits scene that flirts with some possibilities), but Deadpool left me wanting more because Miller, Reynolds, and the writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick understand this character. With the origin now out of the way, I wish we could forward in time to the follow-up where everybody is on board. It may have been years of broken hearts and unfulfilled promises, but Deadpool finally got the movie he deserves. Now all that is left to do is to go back and watch it again.
Final Rating: 9 out of 10