A Very Colorful, Wisecracking Character Saves a Simple Story
Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds), also known as the "Merc with a Mouth," is a profanely irreverent antihero whose self-titled film lives up to the naughty nature of his character. Tim Miller's Deadpool is very violent and very funny, and the glee with which Ryan Reynolds and his cohorts inhabit their meta superhero adventure makes it thoroughly entertaining despite some elements that are run of the mill for comic book film origin stories.
Wade Wilson is a goon for hire who, when diagnosed with late-stage cancer, leaves the love of his life (Morena Baccarin), to undergo extreme treatments to bring out the latent mutant abilities in his genes, which would have the side effect of curing him. (Deadpool takes place in the X-Men movie universe, hence the mutants). His doctor/captor (Ed Skrein) is successful in giving Wade superhuman healing, but also leaves him horribly disfigured. Taking the name Deadpool, Wade sets out for revenge.
How the hero (or antihero) gets his powers is somewhat played out in the genre at this point, so while the story itself isn't all that special, the characters that inhabit it are mostly bursting with personality. Reynolds is absolutely perfect as Deadpool, delivering kill shots and dirty one-liners with speed and wit. He even makes Deadpool the most livey and emotive character in the film despite his face being hidden behind a mask for much of the runtime. Baccarin is an excellent foil to Reynolds, matching his enthusiasm for childish humor in even the most dire of circumstances. T.J. Miller is also very funny as Wade's bartender friend, and Leslie Uggams is a great deal of fun as Wade's blind roommate Al. The villains, including an agreeable Skrein, are forgettable, and the featured X-Men (two characters new to the franchise) are generally entertaining but not characters that leave much of a mark. To their credit, the focus is on Deadpool and his immediate cohorts, and with such vibrant personalities it's not difficult for the X-Men to seem a bit blah by comparison.
Director Tim Miller delivers some very energetic action sequences, the standout being a highway attack on a black SUV and motorcycle convoy which is played out in pieces as Deadpool takes the audience through the relevant chunks of his backstory. It's worth noting that in the midst of these chaotic scenes, Deadpool is prone to break the fourth wall and talk to the audience directly, and that layer of self-awareness is part of what gives the movie its zing. The film's cinematography is consistently flat, save for some colorful nightclub locales, but once again it's the characters and their dialogue that provide the real color here. Zombieland writers Rhett Rheese and Paul Wernick give the film far more winning jokes and visual gags than clunkers, some of the best including knowing nods to Reynolds' past as the Green Lantern in the 2008 bomb of the same name. Also, if you see the film, be sure to stick around until after the credits for a nod to a classic fourth wall-breaking film.
Deadpool has the bones of a common superhero origin film, but just about everything within that framework marches to the profane beat of its own drum. Ryan Reynolds is to Deadpool as Christoher Reeve was to Superman, and that really isn't an understatement. He simply is Wade Wilson. I haven't read any of he Deadpool comics, but every expectation I did have about the character—in a nutshell, his joyously anarchic "f— you" attitude—was met by this film. If an R-rated comic book antihero romp that thoroughly earns its rating is up your alley, Deadpool won't disappoint.