This Valentines Day weekend, Marvel and 20th Century Fox are set to release Deadpool directed by Tim Miller and starring Ryan Reynolds to a nationwide audience of eager fans. Moviegoers won’t be disappointed as it is the best superhero movie that I’ve ever seen due to the stellar writing, fantastic action, and a hard, unwavering commitment to the source material.
Ryan Reynolds takes on the title role while Morena Baccarin plays Wade’s girlfriend Vanessa, who is the furthest thing from a “typical” girl. In fact, there are instances where Baccarin seems to be thinking in more of stereotypical male mindset while Wade is more interested in fun and games (especially skeeball). Deadpool’s enemy is Ajax played by Ed Skerin (The Transporter Refueled). Ajax is the man who handles Deadpool‘s transformation and to compound matters; he’s a twisted/sadistic bastard. Ajax takes an incredible amount of pleasure in torturing Wade during the whole process. Ajax has heightened agility and strength. He also is numb to pain and human emotion which makes him quite the nemesis for Wade Wilson. Ajax doesn’t come off as a person who would go into a fight alone which is why he has help in the form his henchwoman Angel Dust played by former MMA Champion Gina Carano. While there’s sometimes a thin line between Deadpool’s enemies and mutant allies, Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead agree to assist Deadpool even though they can’t stand the guy.
Performance wise, Ryan Reynolds tackled the role of Deadpool with unbridled joy. Many actors have tackled a variety of superhero roles, but none has been so in tune with the character, that you felt that this was the real Deadpool on screen and not Blake Lively’s husband. While Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans each did a tremendous job in their respective roles as Iron Man and Captain America, neither have come close to having that occur in their respective films. Ryan Reynolds brought such wit, irreverence, and intensity to the role that it’s not a stretch to say that he was born to play Deadpool. Ed Skerin, Gina Caron, T.J. Miller, and Morena Baccarin all play important yet complementary parts in the film. Together, the cast is quite the ensemble and is a contributing factor to why Deadpool is the best superhero film ever.
Deadpool right from the first moment the first frame hits the screen makes it clear that the movie’s core commitment is not to building towards a potential “franchise” and more towards creating a fantastic film for the fans. Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (who both wrote and produced Zombieland) have proven that they have the talent for intertwining humor and action throughout a film and Deadpool is no exception. Reese and Wernick made it clear in an interview with Collider last November that Deadpool was going to remain faithful to the comic book, and that comic is notorious for its violence and humor. Many superhero films make slight alterations to the material to make the character a bit more “PC.” Shane Black is a perfect example of what happens to these other superhero films as he co-wrote the screenplay for Iron Man 3 based on “concepts” from the “Extremis” storyline. These studios want to produce superhero films but don’t have the guts to go all in on a character.How can you create a fully realized superhero if what you are relying on are just “concepts” and “ideas” rather than sticking to the subject matter? Can you imagine if Marvel did a movie the highlighted all the exploits of Tony Stark? It was almost as if the director of Deadpool watched the “PC” Tony Stark in Iron Man 3 and turned to each other and were like ” yeah … we aren’t doing that.” This type of commitment to the material and creating fully realized characters certainly validates my claim that this is the best superhero film ever.
Speaking of Tim Miller, one couldn’t help but feel blown away by his initial foray as a director. Remember that up until this point, Tim Miller‘s claim to fame is that he was the person behind the amazing title sequences in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Initially, it seemed odd that Twentieth-Century Fox was trusting an American animator with such a “risky” first project, but when he revealed that he had a $400 a month comic book habit, it all made perfect sense. Who better to tackle such a “risky” first project than a talented visually gifted superfan? Miller also managed to address the issue of getting people caught up on the backstory of Deadpool by incorporating the use of flashback and flash-forward. As someone who had little to no exposure to Deadpool before watching this film, having that knowledge added a level of enjoyment to the movie that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.
When these factors add up, the result is a superhero film that dwarfs all other superhero movies. Prior to seeing Deadpool, my favorite superhero film was Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Captain America: The Winter Soldier certainly has great action and plenty of suspense which makes that film such a blast. While, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is an excellent movie, it certainly has its flaws. Chris Evans doesn’t seem too engrossed in his role as Captain Steve Rogers, and the writing is good but not stellar. Deadpool is the complete package. While some superhero movies in the past may have made you laugh or blew audiences with action sequences, Deadpool is on another level. The action sequences in the junkyard will dwarf any action sequence that has ever occurred in a superhero film. The writing is so stellar and committed to the source material that there will be a point where you will have tears in your eyes from all the laughter while gripping on to your seat rest due to the pulse-pounding action. This complete of a film is certainly deserving of the title best superhero film of all time, and everyone should flock to see it Thursday night.
