Filthy, but fun. This seems to be a common response whenever I ask people what they thought of Deadpool. It’s a hard movie to pin down, but I’ll do my best.
The film begins with Deadpool (whose real name is Wade Wilson) heading out to take down his long-time enemy named Francis. Wilson holds Francis responsible for conducting the experiments that caused his body to mutate, granting him superhero abilities at the expense of his handsome looks. After a brief, interrupted fight sequence, the movie branches into a series of flashbacks that show the reader just how Wade Wilson became Deadpool in the first place. The movie builds up to one final face-off between the enemies, in which Deadpool recruits the help of X-Men Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead to save the love of his life, Vanessa.
So, what’s good about it? The humor. It takes a lot for a movie to actually make me laugh, but this one had me laughing out loud numerous times. The characters were witty and charismatic, and sympathetic enough that you love them despite their flaws. Even though the baseline plot of Deadpool isn’t that unique in and of itself, the humor and the characters’ dynamics make the movie feel like something that has never been done before. What’s more, the movie is actually faithful to the comics it is based off of.
So, what’s not so good? The excessive gore, for one thing. Deadpool doesn’t shy away from violence, which can be both good and bad. There were a lot of moments I found myself physically cringing at what was going on onscreen, and it was times such as this that I just couldn’t bring myself to accept the gratuitous nature of Deadpool’s action. The movie itself is primarily composed of fight sequences, with brief breaks in which the actual plot is developed.
So, should you see it? That depends. Deadpool contains vast amounts of violence, gore, sexual themes, nudity, fourth wall breaks and insensitive jokes. It’s rated R for a reason, after all. If any of the elements on this list make you nervous, you might want to seriously consider whether or not you should see it. But if none of that bothers you, go ahead and see it! You’re sure to have a killer time.