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Deadpool

I'm still trying to process why I like this film as much as I do. Part of me is screaming that it's my favorite of the Marvel films, handily displacing my previous champion, Guardians of the Galaxy. Meanwhile, another part is screaming that it's a fairly standard yarn, superhero or otherwise. I know, right? Confusing.
 
Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) is a gun for hire who, seemingly the day after he falls hopelessly in love, discovers he hasn't very long to live. The creepiest salesman on Earth (Jed Rees) convinces him to undergo a covert operation that will cure him while bringing out his innermost mutant. Naturally, creepy salesman has ulterior motives. NSFW language and violence ensues.
 
On the big screen, Deadpool first showed up in one of those standalone Wolverine films. The film was terrible, Deadpool was terrible, with Reynolds doing the best he could with a horrible part. The fans howled and Reynolds, a serious fan of Deadpool, vowed revenge. Thus, Deadpool, this movie, is damn near a passion project for Reynolds and it shows. The enthusiasm he and the entire production staff must have had for this film comes shining through on every frame.
 
The film is a riot from start to finish, starting with opening credits that use the appropriate cliché instead of names, and finishing with a delicious...well, please stay for the after credits bit because it's perfect. In between the film is essentially non-stop action and/or jokes.
 
It also has a surprisingly affecting love story which means, unlike so many action films, Deadpool has a legitimate emotional core that lends it an intimate focus. Deadpool isn't out to save the world, he just wants to get his  girl (Morena Baccarin) back. In an era where every blockbuster film seems to revolve around The End of Everything, it's nice to see a film driven by more human motivations.
 
Is it perfect? No, not at all. The villain (Ed Skrein) is a stock cardboard cutout, the plot isn't thick enough to be called "paper thin," and Deadpool's routine threatens to wear out its welcome at any time. Fortunately, it feels as though the filmmakers were aware of that and cut things short just in the nick of time. That, along with the sheer bliss evident in the production, lets you barrel through all issues.
 
My only substantial complaint is that I don't think the film needed to be R-rated. Much of the humor, while funny, is juvenile and the language plays into that. The action, while visceral and raw, is also often bloody just for the sake of spilling some blood. "See," the film seems to want to say, "we're not like those wussy PG superhero films!"
 
So fine, it's nice to have things ramped up to a more, shall we say, adult level. But The Dark Knight is one of the most brutal superhero films made, yet it managed to (barely) avoid an R rating. And really, my complaint is less with how Deadpool pulled this off than how other studios and future films will react. The collective thought process seems to be that those films will just be inherently better if they ramp them up to an R rating.
 
Which is nonsense. Deadpool is the result of a singular creative vision and it works despite it's R rating, not because of it. Definitely worth seeing, absolutely a must own film. Repeat viewings will determine whether my gut reaction of putting it atop the Marvel pyramid is correct, but even if it doesn't it's still a great thrill ride and something unique in the cinematic superhero universe.

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