Deadpool

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Tim Miller/Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Ed Skrein, T.J. Miller, Morena Baccarin, Brianna Hildebrand, Leslie Uggams, Stefan Kapicic (voice) and Gina Carano

If you're like me and suffering from super-hero movie asphyxiation, you'll be pleased to know that first-time director Tim Miller's Deadpool is a lively and welcome addition to the genre. One of the movie's greatest strengths is its humor and satirical edge; qualities sadly lacking in most super-hero flicks.

In Miller's film, his anti-hero, played with comic verve by Ryan Reynolds, delivers a thermonuclear barrage of smart-ass-isms that keep the film from sinking into a morass of earnestness. One might notice that the rating for the film is R. This is a significant fact worth mentioning, being that this is hardly family viewing. Unless I'm mistaken, Deadpool is the first superhero movie strictly for adults. Unbound by family-viewing imperatives, the film freely employs adult humor and even some nudity to free itself from manacles that often bind the genre.

The opening credits are an inspired bit of drollery. Rather than merely post directorial or producer credits, the titles tell us personnel are "tools" or "asshats" or some other insulting term. One immediately feels the film is poised to break rules and do the unexpected.

Starting with a taxi ride, we immediately meet Deadpool; a costumed superhero who climbs from the back seat to the front to chat up the driver; an American-Indian named Dopinder (Karan Soni), who isn't shy about sharing his romantic woes. As the taxi crosses over a city overpass, we see the beginning of what will be a fun action sequence. But as the action commences, the hero uses the moment to catch the audience up to speed on why the movie has begun in the middle of the story.

Formerly a member of the special forces, Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) has become an urban mercenary dedicated to "helping the little guy;" which means undertaking assignments like ensuring a stalker leaves a young woman alone by issuing a forcefully persuasive threat. He and his fellow mercenaries hang out in a seedy establishment, where Wilson's best friend Weasel (a funny T.J. Miller) tends bar and runs a daily deadpool, where patrons can bet on who will most likely die during a given assignment.

Seemingly content with his shabby existence, Wilson meets Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), a beautiful woman whose sense of humor is entirely compatible with his own. As their relationship becomes serious, Wilson suffers a collapse, which necessitates a hospital visit. The doctor's prognosis is grim: terminal cancer. And while Vanessa and Wilson try to find a way to cope with the horrific news, a mysterious man arrives at the mercenary hangout, requesting a meeting. The man wastes little time in offering Wilson a cure for his cancer and better still; a way to give him abilities beyond his imagination. Wilson's response is typically smart-alecky but he is also skeptical of the offer, which causes him to walk away. Later, realizing his survival means happiness for both he and Vanessa, Wilson calls the number on the card. In doing so, he receives treatment in a mysterious facility presided over by a man named Ajax (Ed Skrein). Strapped and trapped on a gurney, Wilson learns that the treatment entails becoming a super being to be auctioned off to unscrupulous bidders who will employ his heightened abilities to whatever ends they devise. Ajax is quick to point out that the treatment will leave him virtually invulnerable with an enhanced regenerative constitution. Unable to free himself, a serum is injected into his body but in order for it to take effect, his body must undergo a series of tortures--all administered by Ajax and his powerful assistant; Angel Dust (Gina Carano).

In trying to free himself, Wilson manages to destroy the lab in a fiery blaze but in doing so, he literally emerges from the ashes (Phoenix symbolism, anyone?); alive but with his face burned and disfigured. Knowing Ajax has the means to mend his face, Wilson sets out to find him. But his condition also renders him freakish and unable to face Vanessa. He goes into hiding; taking up residence in an economically depressed neighborhood with a blind, black woman named Blind Al (Leslie Uggams), who is also a recovering coke-addict. Her relationship with Wilson becomes one of humorous contention.
In his quest to find his nemesis, he dons a costume and begins a vigilante spree that draws the attention of the X-Men; particularly the Russian-accented Colossus and the young Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand), who arrive at the bridge just as Deadpool is unleashing his lethal array of weapons and fighting abilities on Ajax and his henchman. This brings the narrative full circle to the beginning of the film.

As Colossus and Negasonic try to stop Deadpool and coax him into their fold, the superheroes engage in some funny repartee, though Ajax manages to escape in the process. Some of the movie's best moments are Deadpool's encounters with the X-Men, who he calls "a boy band." His quest to find Ajax runs afoul the X-Men's non-vigilante code but it also serves as the movie's plot.

For the film entire, we're treated to Deadpool's non-stop, jokey motor-mouthing, which almost proves to be too much. Rarely is he serious and only really becomes angry when Ajax kidnaps Vanessa in an attempt to capture Deadpool himself. Nevertheless, it is quite fun.

Some of the film's funniest scenes involve Wilson's interaction with Weasel, particularly the moment his friend first glimpses his facial deformity. Rather than offer Wilson sympathy, Weasel riffs picturesquely on all the different things his friend's face reminds him of, which induced some hearty guffaws.

Miller's film refuses to be PC, which helps unshackle the humor's edginess. During a scene where Wilson bids farewell to Blind Al, his cocaine-addicted roommate, he offers her faux, heartfelt, parting words: "somewhere in this apartment is 110 pounds of coke...next to the cure for blindness."

I was astonished to learn Deadpool is Miller's first feature film. His camera work and flair for staging action scenes betray a startling precociousness. Due credit goes to screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick for finding a joyous medium between action and comedy.

Part of the film's charm is its kooky self-awareness. We're always in on the joke and laughing with Deadpool. He even makes funny asides to the audience, making us his sidekick.

Though CGI is always necessary for superhero movies, here it doesn't overpower the story, nor does the sound effects, which are usually punishing to the ear drums in other superhero flicks, like The Avenger's.
After a string of duds, Reynolds finds himself with a solid franchise opportunity. This series could be good for five installments. Deadpool, like Ant-Man, mines the comedic possibilities of the characters, which seems to work better than the humorless Thor and Captain America franchises.
The audience with whom I saw the movie seemed to be having a good time. Ample applause followed, which is always a good sign. I too was enthusiastic, walking through the lobby afterward with a big smile draped on my face. Miller's film will no doubt be a hit. May the Spring and Summer blockbuster sludge be as inspired as this film...or at least half as good.

Note: I didn't wait for the end credits so I missed the clips that followed.