Deadpool – Release Date: 10th February 2016

With a glut of Marvel films dealing with end of the world clichés, Deadpool is the perfect answer to freshen the stale formula. Whilst its origin story is every bit as formulaic as other heroes, where Deadpool shines after his awful treatment in X-Men Origins is the authenticity given to the character. Breaking the fourth wall, firing genuinely funny one liners and with bags of charisma from a role Ryan Reynolds seems destined to play, the first R rated Marvel hit since Punisher earns its rating in spectacular fashion.

Based on the anti-hero of the Marvel Universe, former Special Forces Operative Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) undergoes an experimental procedure that leaves him hideously disfigured but able to heal at an accelerated rate. Donning spandex, a twisted dark wit and incredible abilities, Marvel’s anti-hero Deadpool is born and undertakes a mission to find the man who almost destroyed his life following the experiments. What it lacks in originality for its story, it more than makes up for with authenticity for the character and great humour. This is a film that knows who its audience is with a script that’s every bit as fresh and well paced as you’d expect.

Despite all its silliness and goofy jokes, Deadpool turns in an instant into a brutal and violent heavy film with some great action scenes and some breathtaking stunts. Its ability to switch between the two effortlessly and even blend them at times with some slow-mo shots of the anti-hero breaking the fourth wall to engage with the audience for a one liner or a wise crack are great tools that help to break the film up. For the most part Deadpool achieves its goal and its originality in reinventing the formula that’s made Marvel films so popular in the past is a joy to behold here but it’s carried almost entirely by Reynolds and without him at the helm, its doubtful the film would do as well as it has.

For a film trying so hard to break the formula of the superhero archetype, Deadpool is surprisingly blasé to the affair with its core story that never strays far from the generic superhero origin story. Its a little disappointing but as mentioned before, Ryan Reynolds has enough skill and charisma to pull off the character of Deadpool to keep the story moving at a fast pace to disguise it.

Overall, Deadpool is a breath of fresh air amongst the apocalyptic superhero films that crowd the genre. Its wise-cracking protagonist is played to perfection by Ryan Reynolds who elevates the film more than it deserves to. Its enough to disguise the average story and with jokes firing left and right, there’s enough here to keep your attention throughout. Some of the jokes are told so fast or off the cuff that it might take several viewings to fully appreciate the genuinely funny and smartly written script but its worth it. Deadpool is a great film and its generic origin story can be easily overlooked with such a fun and different film in this genre. Complete with brutal action and some genuinely funny trademark jokes from the anti-hero, its safe to say Marvel and 20th Century Fox have finally done Deadpool justice in the film he deserves.