We have officially entered the Year of the Superhero. No fewer than six major motion pictures featuring DC or Marvel characters will reach screens in 2016. For nerds of all things comic books, it's like being on Cloud 9, but will everyone else feel over-saturated? That's a question to be answered much later in the calendar. Right now, we have 20th Century Fox's latest attempt at a franchise (following the mostly successful X-Men series and the utterly disastrous Fantastic Four attempts), and, truth be told, Deadpool doesn't "feel" like every other superhero movie. Sure, it depicts an origin story, but its approach and tone are wildly divergent from anything else in the sub-genre. Not only does it delight in satire and self-reverential humor, but it wallows in graphic violence, f-bombs, sex, and full frontal nudity (of both genders). And its main character couldn't possibly care less about truth, justice, and morality. It's a wild ride, but unlike every other superhero movie ever made, it's not in any way, shape or form suitable for children.
Deadpool doesn't completely escape the trap of the tired "origin story," but give the filmmakers credit for having fun with the timeframe. The movie begins in present day, where the titular character, aka Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) is on the hunt for the man responsible for mutilating him, a mutant named Ajax (Ed Skrein). Then we flash back to earlier times when Wilson is diagnosed with terminal cancer. When approached by a mysterious organization with an experimental procedure designed to cure him, he takes the leap of faith in order to live happily with his girlfriend (Morena Baccarin). Ajax and his lackey, Angel Dust (Gina Carano), subject Wilson to extreme torture in order to "release" a mutant gene within Wilson, and it both cures his cancer and gives him superhuman abilities. On the flip side, it leaves his whole body scarred. Donning a full-body costume to hide his appearance, Wilson seeks to wipe his two antagonists of the face of the earth. But the X-Men disapprove of his ultra-violent methods and send two of their own, Colossus (Stefan Kapicic) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand), to reign him in.
You've seen this entire story before, but you probably haven't seen it in the manner that director Tim Miller elects to take things. The movie is full of snarky, raunchy humor, most of which is successful. Wade Wilson has a wisecrack for every occasion, even to the point where he's aware he's in a movie and takes shots at other Marvel characters and films (for example, when told he's being taken to Professor X: "Which one? Stewart or McAvoy? Ugh, these timelines are so confusing!"). Deadpool also sticks out a giant middle finger at the prospect of a shared, homogenized universe. Could this character and his attitude possibly fit into any other mainstream superhero's world? I don't know and I don't care. The point is to deliver an entertaining experience in the now without waiting for some future project to justify its existence.
If any superhero trope is available, you bet it's fodder for Deadpool to skewer. The opening credits mock everyone in the cast from "A British Villain" to "Directed by Some Asshole." The courtship of Wilson and Vanessa is anything but cute as it depicts a wide variety of sexual kinks. And the title character himself, played with the ideal mix of sarcasm and charm by Ryan Reynolds, never skimps on an opportunity to rip into the pretentiousness with which the X-Men view their "hero" status. The movie never stops winking and wisecracking, and while such a rapid fire rate of jokes guarantees a fair share of clunkers, worry not. When one joke misses, another one is right around the corner to redeem it. Guardians of the Galaxy (unloved by me but adored by many) tried to mix satire with straightforward action, but Deadpool is more successful-- and far more ruthless.
The need for Deadpool to replicate virtually every beat of a standard superhero origin story is a minor annoyance. One senses the inevitable sequel (teased in a post-credit sequence, of course), free from the shackles, will take the character to even greater heights. In fact, the story in general feels small; there's very little at stake outside of the fate of a tiny handful of characters. The villains are adequate and participate in a satisfyingly brutal climax, but they're not especially memorable outside of that. Still, the movie has enough of a heart to make us care about Wilson and Vanessa, and I applaud the filmmakers for taking on a hard-R approach to a familiar project. Deadpool hits the screen not as a cog in a giant toy/comic book marketing bonanza, but as a thoroughly entertaining movie in and of itself.
Rating: *** (out of ****)
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