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It has been in development hell for 12 years, but Deadpool is finally here, and it’s EVERYTHING you’d expect it to be. Mild spoilers to follow.
Taking aim at everything from the X-Men franchise and Fawlty Towers to Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds’ past disastrous film choices, Deadpool is a fanboy’s wet dream. It’s crass and brass and delivers on every level – an outstanding achievement given that it was made on a budget of only $58 million. I say only, but in comparison to the behemoth X-Men: Days of Future Past that had a budget of $200 million, it kinda pales in comparison.
If you’re a fan of superhero movies and crass humour you’ll lap up Deadpool. There is an abundance of jokes about sex, tea-bagging (look it up), avocado sex, face-sitting and taking it from behind – and they’re just some of the highlights. You’ll be laughing out loud for the majority of the movie, which is surprising given that it also manages to tug at the heartstrings.
Ryan Reynolds is lapping up the chance to FINALLY play the Wade Wilson he has always dreamed of, and it is in the moments with Morena Baccarin’s Vanessa where he truly shows diversity in his acting ability.
In one particular scene in which Wade and Vanessa discuss Wham! (you’ll know it when you see it), Reynolds is able to make you laugh one moment, and almost shed tears the next. It’s this relationship that grounds the entire movie, and surprisingly you’ll find yourself rooting for the coupling. Reynolds and Baccarin have a sizzling chemistry that makes their relationship entirely believable.
What is also surprising is the amount of digs Deadpool has at the X-Men movies. Perhaps the biggest laugh came when a recast Colossus announced he was taking Deadpool to see Charles Xavier, following which Deadpool came back at him by asking which Xavier he would be seeing – Stewart or McAvoy!
But the laughs didn’t stop there – there’s also a huge dig at the studio for not believing in the movie, by rather brilliantly pointing out the fact that Deadpool only has two of the X-Men characters along for the ride, one of whom is introduced in this movie. Deadpool points out, hilariously, that the studio couldn’t afford a third X-Men, though there’s a cheeky hint about who may be appearing in the next movie (hint: stick around until the final moments of the movie).
So what about the plot? This isn’t your typical origin movie. Oh, there’s definitely an origin story there, but it’s cleverly spliced across the movie via flashbacks so that it doesn’t feel inundated. Fans will be thrown straight into the action by visiting the now infamous shootout that Reynolds may (or may not) have ‘accidentally’ leaked a few years back that got this movie green-lit, before zipping back and forth between Wilson’s romance with Vanessa and the present in which he’s on the hunt for the villain of the piece.
Said villain is Ajax, played with aplomb by Ed Skrein, who is going from strength to strength since starting out in Game of Thrones. Ajax is your typical villain in that his motivations aren’t really explained, but he is a formidable threat that helps humanise the grossly disfigured Deadpool.
The role of Colossus was offered to Daniel Cudmore who has previously played Colossus, but he turned it down. I can’t imagine why – here Colossus is given more to do in one movie than his previous three outings combined!
The rest of the supporting cast is made up of Gina Carano’s Angel Dust, who appears to simply be there to make up numbers; T.J. Miller’s Weasel, who delivers another standout comedy moment (trust us, you’ll know when you see it); Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead (yeah, we’ve never heard of her either…); Leslie Uggams as Blind Al (there’s a BRILLIANT blind joke about midway through the movie – prepare to laugh); and Stefan Kapičič as Colossus, who has mysteriously changed into a CGI Russian character and is thankfully better off for it.
Ryan Reynolds is the star of Deadpool, obviously, and it is clear how much this movie means to him. He’s invested so much in it and thankfully it all pays off. You won’t be disappointed by the latest outing in the X-Men universe.
