MOVIE REVIEW: DEADPOOL

Shane | 15 February 2016 | Reply

MOVIE REVIEW: DEADPOOL

Directed by Tim Miller
Starring Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Brianna Hildebrand
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
9 1/2/10

The Marvel Universe is kicking goals like they are going out of style at the moment, and with Deadpool they may just have scored their most resounding victory yet.

Ryan Reynolds IS Deadpool – a smart talking wise-ass (as the Americans say), former Special Forces operative turned mercenary named Wade Wilson, who after finding the love of his life (played stoically by Morena Baccarin) contracts cancer and proves unresponsive to treatment.

In steps Ajax/Francis (Ed Skrein), who lures Wilson to undergo a radical experimental treatment. Treat the cancer it does, as well as activate mutant characteristics and scarring his flesh – hence the full body suit and new moniker: Deadpool.

First appearing in the Marvel Comics X-Men series in print in 1991, and on screen in the Wolverine Origins movie in 2009, the filmmakers have ensured that this movie brings everyone up to speed quickly without needing knowledge of the comic book back stories – perfect for those of us unfamiliar with that side of the character, whilst also injecting more than enough movie geek references, including a cameo by the remarkable Stan Lee, no less.

The movie opens with what must be the most explosive and hilarious action-packed opening titles ever – not to mention extraordinarily violent. From the brutality, the glorification of Deadpool as an ‘anti-hero’, and the foul language on display from the start, this is NOT a movie for under-18’s.

Deadpool ‘breaks down the fourth wall’ from the start – chatting amiably to the audience as we follow his progress, and without giving too much away, the race is on for revenge against Ajax (by now revealed as a super-baddie), with a little help from a couple of other mutant-superhero types in Colossus (voiced by Stefan Kapicic) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand).

Marvel have virtually reinvented the superhero film over the past ten years, and Deadpool is an absolutely amazing, adrenalin-and-laugh-filled ride that is bound to spawn an entire franchise of its own. Don’t miss it (but leave the kids at home!)