Review of Deadpool (2016) by Dan L — 01 Sep 2017

For a movie that relies heavily on meta humour and raunchiness, Deadpool isn't as funny as I thought it would be. I only laughed three times, and that's because there were a lot of dick jokes and masturbation jokes, so much so that some of them were predictable.

There were a lot of self-referential jokes, even about Ryan Reynolds (who plays the titular character). The movie even pokes fun at Green Lantern and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, where the titular character had his mouth sewn shut and shot lasers out of his eyes (who was also played by Ryan Reynolds, if that wasn't obvious). Though the movie does satirize the conventions of superhero movies, Deadpool is the same generic, straightforward superhero (or anti-hero) origin story that the movie tried so hard to subvert.

The movie falls apart when it switches to Wade Wilson's origin story, which the movie goes back to three times. Even during the emotional moments, Wade Wilson has to say something funny or witty, which, honestly, felt a little try-hard. I know he's the merc with a mouth, but couldn't the movie embrace its dramatic moments? The only genuinely serious moment in the movie was the burning building scene. The rest of the movie was very comedic.

The problem with this movie is if you don't find it funny, there's really not much that the movie has to offer. The action sequences were enjoyable, but also forgettable. You don't have to be a fan of the source material to enjoy Deadpool, but it can be hit-and-miss for the uninitiated. The fourth wall break was used sporadically so it doesn't become annoying, but there was a fourth wall break within a fourth wall break joke that was very pretentious.

Ryan Reynolds comedic performance was perfect for the role of Deadpool. I just wish there were funnier jokes. This is the Ryan Reynolds comic-book movie that'll likely spawn a sequel, and with Wade Wilson's origin story out of the way, the sequel will have room for improvement (and fresher jokes), which I am really looking forward to.

Even though I'm not a huge fan of this movie, I do recommend it to everyone. A lot of people certainly enjoyed this movie more than I do. I, however, only saw potential and I wished I liked it more.