Deadpool hovers somewhere between movies like the American Pie series, the Saw series and superhero movies; quite racy, gory and “superhero‑esque”, but not quite fitting into any single category. The mixture of these three genres in one movie makes for quite an unconventional watch.
Unlike its superhero movie predecessors, I found Deadpool edgy and like a breath of fresh air. The protagonist is obviously not like your everyday Superman or Spiderman. In fact, you’re not even sure if Deadpool is the good guy because traditionally, heroes are supposed to be morally upright and Deadpool is anything but. Wade Wilson sure takes every opportunity he can find to remind the audience of this fact, along with a generous serving of dick jokes.
However, even with all of his cheekiness and blatant disregard for human life, we tend to care for Wade and his girlfriend Vanessa as life becomes arduous post‑cancer. But this, I think, is where any empathy towards Wade ends as he goes on a seemingly ridiculous quest after turning into Deadpool.
There are several loose ends in the Deadpool story, like what happened to the X‑men Origins version of Deadpool? If he only had twelve bullets, couldn’t he have killed one of the goons and taken his machine‑gun? How did he light a saliva‑soaked matchstick with his finger?! His quest to look “pretty again” for Vanessa is equally ridiculous. After spending so much time with her he should have known that she wouldn’t care about how he looked.
Instead he goes on to pursue something unnecessary, spending his days in an old apartment with an old blind woman, nursing his severed hand (which again, was completely unnecessary). Then again, perhaps that is what Deadpool is about — an indestructible, unconventional “hero” in an unconventional movie making ridiculous choices and killing everyone on his way.
Deadpool does have its moments though. The adherence to the comics is one of the best things about this movie. Like his comic‑book counterpart, Deadpool is an expert at breaking the fourth wall. His awareness of being a movie character is one of the things that make this movie great. Protagonists rarely do this, and even if they do, it is done very subtly.
But Deadpool goes all out, directly addressing the audience, jumping from one flashback to the other at will, referring to the film budget, interacting with the camera and making several references to Reynolds (who plays Deadpool/Wade) and other Marvel characters like Wolverine and Professor X (Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy) and also to classic movies like Say Anything and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
Ryan Reynolds by the way, is great as the merc with a mouth; Deadpool seems to have been created for him.
This movie can be a parody of superhero movies, as it has the most “unheroic” hero and is filled with sexual innuendos. But I think Deadpool is in a category of its own, and has paved the way for several other movies, especially superhero movies, to explore the R‑rated scene a bit more and go beyond the typical, larger‑than‑life kind of hero. Even heroes lead normal lives, do the same old boring thing every day and don’t always have to be seen in the best possible light.
This is something which I believe we would go on to see in Logan as well (another exceptional superhero movie of our time).
This movie is not in sync with the rest of the Marvel movie timelines. We don’t know where to place it and chances are that we may never know. Deadpool in the movie seems like a commentator who observes everyone else from a distance and never really comes across any of the other Marvel characters unlike the comics. But, it’s too soon to tell as Deadpool 2 may bring something very different.
Deadpool may seem a little too easygoing at first, but the character really grows on you through the course of the movie. His no‑nonsense approach, his tendency to become childish and pursue mindless quests feel endearing. The real achievement of the movie is its quality of adaptation from the comics. It definitely makes it worth the watch.