The ‘Merc with a Mouth’ is finally given the film adaptation he deserves in what is one of the most daring comic book films to date.
Looking through all the marketing and promos for Deadpool, people assume that the whole love story angle is just the perfect way to advertise the film for Valentine’s Day. Well…jokes on all of us. Since down to its core, Deadpool really is just a love story. Sure, it’s a bit more of an R-rated/messed up type of love story, but it’s love nonetheless. Wade Wilson (finally presented the way he should be by Ryan Reynolds) is a merc for hire that spends a lot of his time helping teenage girls from stalkers.
At a local merc bar, Sister Margaret’s, Wade meets Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), an escort that happens to be hanging around the bar that night. The two immediately click and are drawn to each other, creating a romance that would rival that of Jack and Rose. After a year together of happiness, bliss, and whatever sort of weird stuff the two were into, Wade unexpectedly collapses one night. He’s diagnosed with cancer of…basically every important organ in his body.
One night while out, he’s approached by a man that goes by the name of The Recruiter (Jed Rees) that says he know someone that can give him powers and the abilities to become a superhero while curing him. Hesitant at first, he decides to go on and contact The Recruiter, leaving Vanessa behind. Unfortunately for Wade, things aren’t exactly what they appear to be. He’s not in a place that’ll give him super powers…he’s in a place that’ll make him a super slave. Brought to a laboratory run by the mutant Ajax (Ed Skrein), he injects Wade with a serum and then subjects him to numerous physical tortures run by Angel Dust (Gina Carano). Fortunately for Wade, his powers do eventually kick in; Unfortunately…it comes at a price.
Deadpool has no right to be as good as it is. Yeah, it’s an origin story that’s rather thin on plot and it may end up driving away audiences who are unfamiliar with the character and his history in the comics. But first time director Tim Miller has a firm grasp on the material and knows exactly what the audiences want to see, making callbacks to the X-Men franchise as well as mocking Wolverine and bashing both of Reynolds previously failed attempts at being a superhero with his first depiction of Deadpool and Green Lantern.
There are very few dull moments in Deadpool…it’s a fast paced, action packed film with a surprising amount of heart but even more blood and decapitations. The best part about Deadpool? That after waiting for all of those years…it’s a good movie. It’s not an okay movie, it’s not an average movie, but audiences could be witnessing the first R-rated comic book film that could actually change a few things and shake things up in the comic book universe. You could bring up Blade, but how many films followed in its footsteps? In an age where a comic book film is more of the regular rather than a Hollywood treat, we could be seeing a lot more dirty comic book films to sit back and enjoy. Deadpool could shake things up, and rightfully so.
Just a quick little bit. There will be two after credit sequences in the film. And please take this to heart: this is NOT a film for children. It’s not just violence but there is nudity and sexual moments in the film. So again. PLEASE. THIS IS NOT A FILM FOR CHILDREN.
Deadpool is directed by Tim Miller, written by Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, and stars Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, T.J. Miller, Gina Carano, Brianna Hildebrand, and Stefan Kapicic. Deadpool will be in theaters February 12, 2016.
