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Deadpool (2016), R, ★★★1/2

Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool.
I'm not a big comic book geek or nerd but I have heard of this next comic-book character I have heard about. But, I have to applaud both 20th Century Fox (I might forgive y'all for Fantastic Four) and Marvel on their marketing and advertising campaigns. Inserting Deadpool into scene-chewing ads reciting puns and some salty comments and their strategy was hilariously ingenious. It made me excited for the movie because of their strategy and it grew on me. The only worry was 20th Century Fox's last superhero outing. This movie will encourage fans to go to the theaters again because of the salty humor and bloody action meshed into a nearly-golden and very fun superhero movie.

Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) is a mercenary for hire living in New York City, taking a job by stopping a pizza delivery boy to stop stalking a girl by threatening him. He is called a hero, but he responds to the girl that he is not. Wade goes to a bar where his best friend, Weasel (T.J. Miller), works. At the bar, he meets a prostitute named Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). They both talk about their messed-up lives and their sexual relationship develops into a romantic relationship.

Wade is genuinely happy until he is diagnosed with cancer. He fears more than for Vanessa than himself. However, the Recruiter (Jan Rees) is watching Wade at a corner at the bar and tells Wade that he works for a facility that will not only cure him but will give him ultimate superhero powers. Once he goes through torture and fighting with Ajax (Ed Skrein), Wade becomes disfigured and horrified with his complexion. He ultimately becomes Deadpool with the red tight suit fighting criminals on the freeway and also with his enemies, including Angel Dust (Gina Carano) with Colossus (Stefan Kapicic) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) at his side.

Reynolds and Morena Baccarin. 
I had a blast with this movie and because of the comical factor provided by Ryan Reynolds, the movie never got boring. The movie ventures deep into satire in which the dark humor and bloody violence blend into one fantastic ride that properly serves its hard R-rating. I respect the filmmaker, Tim Miller, for respecting the comic book vibes of how Deadpool is, with his twisted humor and his mannerisms of breaking the fourth wall and making some crude gestures. I imagine, though, with Marvel teaming up with Disney, how the results would turn out. They would have definitely changed into that PG-13 rating and I would have been disappointed.

It is released close to Valentine's Day and this is a weird movie for Fox to release it on. But, the movie works on both emotional and comical occasions. Deadpool has a heart underneath the character and the story between Vanessa and Wade. We buy their chemistry. And, also they set up the typical origin superhero story in a fresh way this time as it is buried in flashbacks because we want to know what's going on with the anti-hero and why he is wearing the suit and fighting with bad guys. It's almost a masterstroke of origin storytelling.

Ryan Reynolds is the winner in this movie because he gives his character and anti-hero counterpart all he's got and wants to delight and not disappoint fans. He has missed badly with other superhero movies, notably Green Lantern. But, he gets it right. Also, the filmmakers and visual artists laid back more on its special effects to give the movie a grimy feel in the criminal underworld. As I said before, the love story is quite strong and endearing and Morena Baccarin does not play the usual one-note love interest as she and Reynolds have a good chemistry. T.J. Miller is quite funny in a supporting role and Leslie Uggams has a few great lines. However, the villains represented by Ed Skrein and Gina Carano, are the weakest characters and are not that memorable. They have to be there to serve the comic book well but we're more interested in Deadpool than the villains. It is sort of a standard revenge story.

But, that is a small criticism, as for the rest of the movie, Tim Miller delivered a home run for the fans and for myself, as he delivered a surprisingly very good, hard core comic-book movie that I have been craving for. It's almost as realistic as The Dark Knight movies, more on the second movie. The strong word-of-mouth will spread like wildfire as moviegoers will go back and treat themselves more with some gritty action, funny dialogue and good romantic chemistry. I hate to say this, but this is a weird Valentine's Day movie to watch as a couple but it is hugely entertaining for both male and female moviegoers. I had a great time watching this movie.

Stay for the post-credits.

***1/2



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