Despite getting his mouth sewed shut in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine", a spin-off film for Deadpool was on the table, hopefully with a more accurate depiction of the character. And so fans waited...and waited...and waited...and, oh you get the idea. There were a number of factors that kept us from getting this movie from so long like Ryan Reynolds being cast in the failed Green Lantern movie and then head of 20th Century Fox Tom Rothman not wanting to take a chance on it (he's actually responsible for a lot of problems with Fox's Marvel based movies, like keeping Apocalypse and Sentinels out of the X-Men movies for so long). It seemed that Deadpool would be the film that everyone wanted but would never come. But then test footage was leaked online with acclaimed reception. And because of that, production on Deadpool was finally moving forward with a 2016 release date set. And thankfully with the continuity do-over button hit by "Days of Future Past", we get a new Deadpool from scratch and neeeever have to talk about Barakapool again. Whoever leaked that footage was either fired or got a promotion.
I don't usually talk about the marketing in my movie reviews, but Deadpool has had the best I've ever seen for a superhero movie. You know how many first reveals of a superhero suit shows them all serious? Well this was Deadpool's:
But as for the movie itself, it was well worth the wait and even more glorious than we could have imagined.
You know how a lot of trailers only show you the good parts to get you into the theater? Deadpool doesn't have this problem, saving the funniest, crudest, and goriest parts for the movie. Seriously, do not bring the kids to this movie. And you know you're in for a treat when Deadpool actually has control of the opening credits, describing the cast and characters in his own way, including "A British Villain", "A CGI Character", and "A Gratuitous Cameo" (that one's Stan Lee, and this might be his new personal favorite cameo).
But yes, if there wasn't enough evidence, Ryan Reynolds was destined to play Deadpool. He brings the charm and comedy of the character to life, as well as his human side. Beneath the red suit and the scars, he's just a regular dude in love and in pain.
And less we forget about the fourth wall breaking. In addition to things like Green Lantern and Barakapool, my favorite ones were the references to the X-Men movies. When Colossus says he's going to take them to the Professor, Deadpool replies "MacAvoy or Stewart? These timelines are really confusing." Then he goes to the X-Mansion for help, "This is a big place. It's amazing that I only ever see two of you. It's like the studio couldn't afford any more X-Men."
I think it was a good idea to include Colossus in this movie. Not only does it make it more connected to the universe, but Colossus brings your standard superhero role model to go against the anti-heroics of Deadpool. Seriously, Colossus is so straight-up goody-goody that you could easily replace him with Captain America (hell, Colossus even chastises Deadpool for his foul language).
In addition, we have the introduction of Negasonic Teenage Warhead (seriously that is a hell of a name). While Colossus is the good and Deadpool is the bad, NTW's a bit of both (that's right I just made a Guardians reference). Described in the opening credits as "A Moody Teen", she's the newest mutant at the mansion with Colossus as her mentor. She's got a bad attitude, but is definitely more on the side of good like Colossus. Her powers make for some good special effects too during the climax.
While making a minor appearance, the climax also features Deadpool's sidekick from the comics, Bob. I wondered if Bob could appear since being an agent of HYDRA would make him Marvel's property. So I was glad that he made a short appearance and hope he survived to appear in the sequel. Apparently they were together before on a top secret mission in Jacksonville. So yeah, Marvel may have us wondering what happened with Widow and Hawkeye in Budapest, but damn it, what happened in Jacksonville with Wade and Bob?!
Wade's girlfriend/fiancee Vanessa brings us the emotional aspect of the film, as well as a montage of them having different kinds of sex on holidays as their relationship goes on (seriously, don't bring the kids). However, I do have one complaint. In the trailers, she says she's not one for being the damsel in distress...but in the movie, she's basically a damsel in distress. In the comics, Vanessa is actually a mutant shapeshifter called Copycat. I kind of thought this would come up in the movie, and if it was, I was wondering why it was cut. I guess that's something that can be explored in the sequel.
As for the other characters, Weasel, Blind Al, Angel Dust, and Francis (since Deadpool calls him by his real name instead of his codename Ajax, that's what I'm doing as well), they were also entertaining, but don't really have much to say about them extensively.
Part of me feels like the movie was rushed, but that might be attributed to me not wanting it to end or be a little longer. Like I say, you can never have enough DP...by which I mean Deadpool (get your mind out of the gutters, people).
Overall, this is the movie Deadpool fans have waited years for, treating the character with the respect he deserves. And like in true cinematic universe fashion, there are hints at what's to come. I won't say how, but I can bet it's leading to X-Force's own movie, but I'm hoping for more interactions between Deadpool and the X-Men as well.
Since this is an X-Men movie, here's my new ranking of the movies with Deadpool's addition (which will be updated again in May with Apocalypse):
1. X-Men: Days of Future Past
2. Deadpool
3. X-Men: First Class
4. X2: X-Men United
5. The Wolverine
6. X-Men
7. X-Men: The Last Stand
8. X-Men Origins: Wolverine
RATING: 8.5/10
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