Yes!
All is now forgiven for that horrible portrayal of Deadpool in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” Gone are the ridiculous arm blades and the foolish decision to sew his mouth shut. There’s a reason he’s called the “merc with a mouth!”
Ryan Reynolds gets another chance to do the character right and makes the most of it in “Deadpool,” resulting in one the most fun movies I’ve seen in a long time.
Deadpool is a character from the X-Men universe, but this is much more than another superhero movie—it’s also a hilarious comedy. The film sets the tone from the opening credits (watch for the blink-and-you-miss-it shout out to “Deadpool” creator Rob Liefeld) and the laughs never stop. I love it when films go “meta” and “Deadpool” breaks all conventions by not only knocking the fourth wall down, but also pokes fun at other comic book films, including the failed attempts by Reynolds himself (remember “Green Lantern?”). The R-rating certainly helps in making for funnier punch lines; Deadpool is one crude lewd dude and I loved his wisecracking one-liners. Even the obligatory Stan Lee cameo is R-rated.
Speaking of the R-rating, the action scenes are graphically violent, and that’s a good thing. Bodies are sliced apart, heads are decapitated and bullets pierce the nastiest of places. Deadpool moves in a balletic, comic book-like motion; it was beautiful to watch his graceful moves combine with his dual katana swords and dead aim with a gun. There are only two true action sequences in the entire film, but they’re both well executed.
It was also nice to see the X-man Colossus (one of my favorites) finally get some decent screen time. I’m not so familiar with the other X-man Negasonic Teenage Warhead, but she was loads of fun as well. And believe it or not, there’s also a very touching romantic element to the film as well, making it a great choice for Valentine’s Day viewing.
“Deadpool” is a comic book film like no other the way it combines action, humor, romance, profanity and nudity. Hmm…all things that I like! I really hope it succeeds and leads to another film franchise. The movie does tease a sequel in the post-credits scene and here’s hoping that comes true.
–originally published in Frolic Hawaii