“Deadpool” is a rare breed in Hollywood these days. It marks one of the only R-rated superhero movies to date — and it lives up to it, especially considering its violent elements with gore abound. And when a movie makes a joke out of a severed hand, it’s clear the moviemakers know how to make it work.
Though many voiced concern about whether “Deadpool” would unnecessary, this movie is an absolute riot. Fourth wall breaks — wherein Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds, “Self/less”) addresses the crowd — happen frequently, and everything is so well-timed that laughter is always imminent.
The humor of “Deadpool” resonates throughout the film and rarely lets up. There is some kind of joke almost every minute, and the words that come out of the hysterical antihero’s mouth are perverse poetry — it makes one wonder just how much time the writers spent coming up with new ways to curse.
This film has been Reynolds’ passion project for years, and it’s safe to say he hasn’t delivered this good of a performance in a very long time. Throughout the film, he frequently makes jokes as Deadpool about Reynolds and his various bad films — “Green Lantern” deservedly getting most of the hate. In character, Reynolds also pokes fun at other various actors.
In terms of dramatics, this film is spot-on with quality. Reynolds portrays his character as a prime mix of funny and insane, and the few other characters work well to bounce jokes off of each other, especially T.J. Miller’s (“Big Hero 6”) character Weasel. The special effects are very impressive, as the action scenes are done well with imaginative cinematography.
This movie, however, has its share of issues, mainly stemming from the time it spends trying to play it straight — namely the scenes with Deadpool’s love interest. It’s understandable the movie had to ground the character somehow and make him more sympathetic, but the parts of the movie dedicated to the love story are plainly dull.
This is nothing against Morena Baccarin (“Spy”), who plays Deadpool’s love interest, Vanessa. She plays her part very well, but the scenes just don’t carry along with the rest of the movie. The parts of the film with Deadpool alone are non-stop fun and action, but the love scenes just feel like a standard romantic comedy — only with a lot more swear words and strap-on jokes.
This part of the story doesn’t match the vision of the rest of the film. Static back and forth shots make these scenes quite boring, despite the jokes. It limits the possible scope, tying Reynolds to a post and not allowing for the insanity to go as far as it could have.
All in all, “Deadpool” is outrageously fun. The writing, acting and cinematography are well-done, and it deserves recognition just to prove to Hollywood R-rated superhero films have an audience — and to possibly merit another “Deadpool” movie. The romantic subplot is fine, but the higher quality action and humor brought on by a quip happy protagonist undoubtedly outshines it. Regardless, Reynolds has finally found his well-deserved franchise.
