Breaking box office records for an R rated movie by earning over $132 million on opening weekend, the friendly neighborhood anti-hero Deadpool made his Marvel movie debut on Valentine’s Day weekend. Crashing his way onto movie screens and into audience member’s hearts, the walking ball of sarcasm and spite made history for being the first R rated movie provided by Marvel.
The red and black clad hero-of-his-own-world character has garnered a fan base around him ever since he was introduced as one of many Stan Lee creations in the Marvel universe, so a movie was inevitable. It took them over a decade to actually make it and was only made because of an accidental footage release. The wait was certainly worth it, as it was one of the most anticipated movies of this year.
The story follows Wade Wilson, better known as Deadpool, on his journey to find the man responsible for turning him into what looks like a freak of nature in an attempt to cure his cancer so he could face his wife once again. Although the plot initially sounds very serious, Deadpool’s humor and sarcasm coupled with his total disregard for the fourth wall make this movie unique.
The casting choices for this movie were a given in some respects, such as Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, the man in black and red suit with the functioning pockets. Reynolds had been pushing for the movie to be made for a long time, so it was quite the honor to play his comic book not-so-hero. His co-stars also did their part in making the movie come off the comic book pages with talents of Ed Skrein Ajax (evil British dude) and Morena Baccarin as Vanessa (love interest).
Not only did they do a good job casting, but they really kept true to Deadpool’s original character, from the design of his suit to his personality and inner motives. The movie shows that Deadpool is not just all fun and games, but also has a serious attitude when necessary
Being the first Marvel movie to have an R rating was kind of shocking to some people, as most people think of the Marvel movies as a more family friendly options. Deadpool holds nothing back, as it should be, with certain words and scenes that should not be seen by young eyes. Does that stop parents? Of course not, but unknowing parents who took their kids to see the movie were in for a very interesting surprise.
When the trailer was released, it took just about everyone by surprise. The advertising for the movie was even better. Movie posters that had blatant sexual innuendos on them, to billboards that had people confused and wondering what “Skull Poop L” was. Ryan Reynolds even joked that Fox entertainment didn’t have the guts to use that particular ad, but he was apparently proven wrong on that one. They definitely did a better job of advertising for this one in contrast to Ant-Man’s tiny billboards.
In the movie’s hilarity, it had quite a few jokes that had everyone in the theater laughing. Anyone and everyone was made fun of in this movie, even the members of the crew, the script writers, the directors, and even the entire studio itself at one point. My favorite would have to be Deadpool’s jab at the budget in reference to there only being two people in the X-Men house, saying: “Wow, this is such a big house, but I only ever see the two of you here. It’s like the studio didn’t have enough money for any more X-Men…”
It’s not a Marvel movie without an end credits scene, though. Devoted fans waited until the film stopped rolling for their glimpse at a new movie, or even a sequel, but all they really got was a gladly received insult from the masked anti-hero, as well as possibly a hint as to what the next movie would entail.
Despite my many praises for this movie, I only really recommend it to people who aren’t offended easily. Reason being: there is a lot of violence, crude humor, and things that almost got the movie an NC-17 rating. Aside from all of that, the movie was a true breath of fresh-air from the usual Marvel movie fare, and I’m more than excited for the sequel coming out next year.
