Deadpool throws so much snark and bluster against the wall that much of it sticks. If you are willing to overlook all the misses, there’s a good time to be had here. It’s mostly refreshing to encounter an R-rated Marvel celebration and takedown of a character who is a perpetually ranting lout. Sure, the film may have needed better editing in order to condense much of its motor-mouthed, potty-humor barrage, but as it stands I sure had a lot more laughs here than in viewing, say, Hail Caesar.
None of this admittedly self-congratulatory stuff would have worked nearly as well if the lead had been someone other than Ryan Reynolds. While it was evident Reynolds was clearly moving up in the acting world with his previous role in Mississippi Grind, here he continues to squelch the smart-alecky pretty boy image. Or at least the pretty-boy part.
With an opening sequence that should impress even the most jaded action movie fan and a surprisingly good performance by Morena Baccarin (Homeland) as Deadpool’s love interest, the film isn’t quite all snap and smut. There’s even a love story lurking here amidst the preoccupation with impalement, masturbation, and crotch punching.
Don’t worry if, like me, you’re a Superhero film dabbler, or even a novice. I was surprised to learn there was a Green Lantern reference though I have no idea where it was since I skipped that prior Ryan Reynolds DC Comics turkey. I did comprehend the reason People magazine with Ryan on the cover is product-placed a couple of times throughout Deadpool is a reference to his having won its Sexiest Man Alive designation.
Here, underneath his Spider Man-style red mask, Deadpool is harboring a serious disfigurement. So much so that he avoids revealing his newfound face to his old girlfriend even while trying to rescue her. Her first comment upon eventually seeing his face is a pretty funny line. Hey, it’s February, and unless you count 2015’s late-release art films, that means it’s the doldrums at the cinema. In the take-what-you-can-get mode, Deadpool rates as one pretty cool package.