Deadpool Review(Spoiler Free)

First and foremost, I’d be a terrible person if I didn’t say : “Do not take your kids to this movie.” This is not Avengers and you guys will have to walk out, have a very awkward conversation and most likely not go see anymore comic movies and that would be really sad because Civil War is gonna be great.

The Bad :

I walked out of this movie a little perplexed, my initial thoughts were “It was really funny,” “Ryan Reynolds does a fantastic job” and “They did really well with the fight scenes” but it constantly felt like there was something missing but I couldn’t figure out what it was. My brother and sister had very differing opinions on the film (My Sister loved it, My brother…not so much) and through their conversations I think I finally realized what it is : Deadpool is a concept piece that will most likely be amazing in the sequel.

Now let me explain, Deadpool starts off with one of the best action sequences I’ve ever seen in a film. It sets the tone for the movie and gets you right in the action. A little bit after that we get the first of a three part origin story for Deadpool. We learn about his connections with the people around him and we learn about why he wants revenge. It’s a very basic plot which is really my main problem with this movie. It takes so many risks otherwise with pushing the jokes to deserve the R rating but then it never really delivers with anything beyond watching Deadpool be Deadpool which is why I think I initially really enjoyed this movie in the theater but the more I think about it, it just wasn’t what it could’ve been.
The comedy does have it’s moments where it’s really funny. There are some moments that are just there to add to the R rating and that just shows me that they were just trying to get that rating. It occasionally feels like Instead of just writing to be funny, they were writing to be edgy.

The other thing is that Deapool is really the only fully formed character in this movie. I can’t tell you anything about the two villains, I can’t tell you anything about Vanessa beyond her promiscuity and I only know about one of the two X-Men who show up and that’s only because of my love of the character. Colossus being one of my favorite X-Men I have to say that although I liked how he was very innocent and kind like he is in the comics, he was made to be a gag character the entire movie.

So Plot and Characters (besides Deadpool) are lacking a bit. That’s my primary problem with this movie and although it’s a big one there is still some good from this movie.
The Good :

Ryan Reynolds is great in this role. I honestly can’t say anything against him. In fact, you can tell that the funniest parts are the ones where they let him just do whatever he wanted to do. He also handles the serious side as well as the comedy in a way that makes me want for him to have a better script to work with. He really feels like Deadpool throughout the entirety of this movie. Any bad that this movie does is counteracted by the greatness of Ryan Reynolds and I definitely want to be clear on that fact.

Now even though Colossus had moments where he was made a gag character, His and Deadpool’s confrontation on the bridge was probably my favorite part of the movie because it was hilarious and was 100% Deadpool.

The action is handled very well, particularly the opening scene on the bridge and the final sword fight.

Also right before the final fight is one of my favorite comic easter eggs of all time and I’m hoping that this character has a bigger role in future films.

Overall : This film tries to do a lot. It does the origin story, it tries to build the characters, it brings in the X-Men and it turns into a revenge story. There’s a lot riding on it but besides the origin and Deadpool himself, it falls kinda flat for me. Now my Sister brought up an interesting point that the first Captain America did the same thing but it also led to the Avengers and an even better movie in Winter Soldier. So sticking with that thought Deadpool will most likely have a phenomenal Sequel just as long as they focus on character development and story and less on what they can get away with in the rating system.

-Vance