Review of Deadpool (2016) by Kevin P — 04 Jul 2017

Strengths: Ryan Reynolds (Wade Wilson/Deadpool) was dying to get this movie made for a long time. Itâ(TM)s clear why from just a few scenes. He totally gets who this character is supposed to be. The tone of the movie is perfect. Similar to Scott Pligrim vs. The World, this is a film that manages to capture the comic it is based on to perfection. Reynolds is fantastic as the lead, nailing every hilarious moment. The supporting cast around him is mostly strong, too. Morena Baccarin (Vanessa) is a solid love interest, TJ Miller (Weasel) is good comedy, Brianna Hildebrand (Negasonic Teenage Warhead) is fun, and Stefan Kapicic (Colossus) provides fantastic voiceover work. The action scenes are mostly exciting and the gore is just at the right level. Itâ(TM)s enough for you to get how this is an R rated film, but it never goes too far that it overshadows everything else that is going on.

Weaknesses: I feel that there are two things that arenâ(TM)t great in this movie. Ed Skrein (Francis Freeman/Ajax) doesnâ(TM)t do much for me as the villain. Heâ(TM)s kind of just there. The performance and the character. The same goes for Gina Carano (Angel Dust). Theyâ(TM)re the antagonists and it just never feels like theyâ(TM)re a real threat. The other thing I didnâ(TM)t love was the narrative choice. Going from the present to flashbacks for Deadpoolâ(TM)s origin wasnâ(TM)t a bad move, but it was jarring at times. We want to see more of wise cracking Deadpool, but have to see his stuff get interrupted for these flashbacks.

Overall: A massive success. Ryan Reynolds takes a character with plenty of unique qualities and brings him to life in a big way. We couldâ(TM)ve been talking about an all time great superhero film with a more streamlined origin and better villains. Still, this one is a blast to watch.