To be perfectly honest, I never thought I’d actually be writing a review of Deadpool, let alone a top 10 list praising the movie. I hadn’t been anticipating this movie at all – crass, vulgar, foul-mouthed movies aren’t my thing and I’m not exactly a fan of Ryan Reynolds as an actor. But all the massive buzz got this movie blogger intrigued, I simply just had to find out what the fuss is about. Heck, I even went to the screening twice as the first time around the film couldn’t be played.
Well, it ended up being a pleasant surprise and I totally get why people are flocking to see it. It’s shattered all kinds of box office records with $150mil domestic gross ($264 mil worldwide) which is unheard of for an R-rated flick opening in the month of February!
The Guardians of the Galaxy‘s director James Gunn weighed in on its success, “Deadpool was its own thing. THAT’S what people are reacting to. It’s original, it’s damn good, it was made with love by the filmmakers, and it wasn’t afraid to take risks.” (you can read his FB post here) Yep, I agree with him.
Here are 10 reasons why the Deadpool movie won me over:
1. The self-deprecating humor
I LOVE British comedies as they rarely shy away from poking fun of themselves. Deadpool relentlessly pokes fun at himself, the actor playing him, and even the studio that made it. That bit about the studio not being able to afford more X-Men characters in the movie got the biggest laughs. There are a plethora of jokes on Reynolds himself and his failed superhero flick Green Lantern. It’s also not afraid to make fun of famous people, that bit about David Beckham’s helium voice is absolutely spot on!
2. The retro throwback to 80s pop culture
As Reynolds is close to my age, I really appreciate the references to 80s pop culture, especially the music. I mean, WHAM! was huge back in high school, and we all were crushing on George Michael. Boy I’d never be able to listen to Careless Whisper the same way again.
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I also laughed so hard when You’re the Inspiration by Chicago played on, that was my brother’s favorite band and he’d listen to it endlessly in the car until my ears bled!
3. That it IS a love story
The marketing folks over at Fox have done some genius marketing for the film. The first time I saw this V-day poster I had a good chuckle. But hey, it turns out, Wade and Vanessa are genuinely in love, imagine that! The love story is actually pretty compelling and you get why he’d do whatever it takes to protect her. Reynolds and Morena Baccarin have a fun, playful chemistry together. I also think that it’s nice to see that they opted to hire an actress close to Reynold’s age as his love interest instead of some pretty young thing like they did in his previous superhero movie.
4. There are some bad ass women in this movie
Brianna Hildebrand is quite memorable as the brooding Negasonic Teenage Warhead. She didn’t have many lines in the movie, but the brief exchanges between these two are pretty funny. There’s Gina Carano as the villain’s henchwoman (natch!) There’s even a hilarious bit when she dropped to the ground forcefully like Superman, obviously poking fun at the famous superhero landing. I think it’s even funnier the fact that Gina used to date Man of Steel himself, Henry Cavill. I think Vanessa herself is no damsel in distress. Even when Deadpool went to save her, she got some ass-kicking scenes of her own.
5. I actually care about Wade Wilson
Kudos to the writers (Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick) as well as Reynolds himself in making a character worth caring about. The fact that Wade didn’t start out to be a superhero had a lot to do with it. [spoiler alert!] He’s also the first superhero who suffered from cancer. I actually felt really bad for him, and for Vanessa when he left her. No matter how cool a character is, if you don’t give a reason for us to care for him/her, it’s hard for us to care for the movie, too. In a way, it made me think that his crazy antics is perhaps a means to cope with his pain.
The accelerated healing powers that he got as a result of the rogue experiment could’ve been another ho-hum origins story. Yet here it felt like the hero’s earned it and we root for him after all he’s been through. That superpower isn’t just cool for the action stuff, but it also made for some of the funnies, albeit cringe-worthy, jokes in the movie.
6. The awesome opening credit
Ok, the opening credit is definitely one of my favorite scenes in the entire movie. It immediately establishes the tone and style of the movie, the extreme self-awareness and brazenness in roasting pretty much everyone involved. As we watched an action scene being frozen and played in slo-motion, we get quips like “the writers are ‘The Real Heroes Here” and “the director is ‘An Overpaid Tool” and the likes. They made fun of some of their own movie clichés like having a [one note] British villain and gratuitous cameo. It’s as if they’re making their own ‘Honest Trailer’ video of their own movie, ahah.
7. Hilarious supporting characters
Ok so the villain is pretty much one-note and humorless (Ed Skrein), though all the jokes about his English teeth was indeed funny. But Karan Soni as Dopinder the Indian cab driver and T.J. Miller as Wade’s BFF Weasel had some hysterical lines. I think the ‘avocado’ line that Weasel said to Wade after seeing his face after the experiment is so mean yet because they’re good friends, you can’t help but laugh while cringing at the same time. Oh, and Colossus has never been funnier here w/ his Russian accent. Most of his scenes with Deadpool are simply hysterical, and the fact that he’s so polite provides an amusing contrast to the juvenile & irreverent Wade.
8. Biting wit delivered with fun action sequences
Ok so the R-rating is absolutely warranted and it’s definitely more violent than John Wick where a lot of the shots fired are quick and blurry. But just like that film, this film certainly had some stylish action sequences. First-time director Tim Miller, who had a background in visual effects, did a nice job staging the high-octane action throughout. But what made it even more memorable is the biting wit that accompany the action. Having the protagonist constantly wise-cracking as he shoots and make human kabobs out of people certainly makes it extra fun to watch.
9. Ryan Reynolds is perfect in the role
You can’t make a top 10 list about Deadpool and not mention Ryan Reynolds. In many ways, he’s the reason the film worked as he & the filmmakers have fought hard to have their brazen vision of this comic-book character come to life in this adaptation. He’s played this character before in the lame X-Men Origins: Wolverine but it barely made a mark. But here, he got to showcase what he does best, that is comedy. I really don’t care for him in dramatic roles or even as a typical action hero. But here he’s so at ease at making fun of himself which is a brazen act in and of itself. Reynolds definitely got another leash on his superhero life as Deadpool will become a massive franchise after its gargantuan box office take. I’d say he should stick to this genre of action comedy as that’s what he does best.
10. The fact that it turns the conventional superhero formula on its head
Now, despite all the praise, this isn’t a movie I’d readily watch again though. The graphic violence, sex scenes, full frontal nudity, and that whole scene at the strip club are gratuitous and not something I enjoy watching. But overall, this movie is pretty darn entertaining. I give props to the filmmakers for delivering on the promise of an unconventional superhero movie. It does exactly what it says on the tin and it’s refreshingly daring in its approach.
So, what do you think of Deadpool? Did you enjoy it as much as I did?
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FLIXCHATTER FILM BLOG 
Yes! I know you weren’t thrilled about watching this but I’m so glad you enjoyed it. There’s nothing else I can say that you haven’t already covered here 🙂
– Allie
Hello Allie! Yeah, this type of vulgar humor isn’t my cup of tea usually but I have to admit it IS well-written and the jokes were hilarious. I think the retro throwback stuff made me laugh the hardest!
Great to hear, Ruth. Went back and watched it again last evening. Stood up to repeat viewing even though I knew what was coming, and found more to enjoy about it, too.
Hi Michael! I’m not sure I want to rewatch the entire thing anytime soon, but there are some hilarious clips I can watch over and over. I’ve seen that Australia Day clip you sent me last week several times 🙂
It’s just a great movie and reminds the superhero genre that they need to shake things up a little. Nice review.
Hi there Dan! Yep, this felt fresh because it hasn’t been done before, but hopefully the studios won’t start making EVERYTHING to be vulgar & crass just because they think it’ll make money. It’d still have to have a good script!
You may have won me over Ruth. I was absolutely certain that I would not see this film. Ryan Reynolds is “meh” to me, but your 10 points make me want to see this film. I typically avoid films like this…thinking that the women in the film will be depicted in a negative way. But if the women in the film are bad@ss too then I’ll see it.
Hello Mariah! Well I’m not a fan of Reynolds at all, and vulgar humor isn’t my thing (I almost always avoid R-rated comedies) but somehow this one intrigued me and glad I saw it. I actually think the movie is pro-women and they realize women like seeing big action flicks, though of course I’d do without the gratuitous nudity. I don’t think the movie would suffer without ’em either.
Karan Soni and TJ Miller were awesome. I’m glad you singled them out. I enjoyed this one too.
I thought the Dopindra character was a hoot! It felt so effortless too, I actually think it’s funnier than Weasel’s character who’s more mean-spirited. But yeah, both were great!
I haven’t seen it yet, hope to see it later this week. I’m glad it’s a big hit because and hopefully the studio will have the guts to make a more popular characters like Batman and Wolverine into a real gritty film. Heck Netflix came out first when they produced the super violent DareDevil. Maybe Warner will let Affleck make a violent R-rated standalone Batman film. Also, it proved that you don’t need to spend $200mil to make a super hero filck.
Yep, I agree, though I’m also worried the studios would just simply make a violent R-rated comic-book movies because they think it’s popular. I mean, the reason Deadpool and Daredevil work is because they’re actually well-written. I prefer more of the Daredevil formula that isn’t so sex-obsessed & filled w/ juvenile crass jokes like Deadpool, but they’re both daring in its approach. Very true that movies don’t need to have a huge budget to be good!
Yeah I’m afraid that these idiot executives would only want to make a violent super hero flicks from now on without invest in the script, just because it’s violent doesn’t mean it’s going to work. What’s interesting to me is that Fox, which released this film, didn’t have the guts to let Aronofsky make a violent Wolverine film a couple of years ago; I think that one would’ve been a hit and much better than the one they decided to make.
Yep exactly! Hollywood suits will always take an innovative idea and turn it into another boring formula. Yeah that is ironic isn’t it that Aronofsky couldn’t make the dark Wolverine movie he wanted. But I wish he had stuck to his guns like Tim Miller did, who knows he’d still get to make it.
So I finally saw it earlier tonight, I was kind of disappointed with it. I mean it’s fun but I thought all the talk about being it so violent was kind of overstated, I didn’t think it’s that violent at all. Guess I’m use to seeing more violent films that I wanted to see something more graphic, lol. I did think it’s very funny but too light on the plot.
As for Aronofsky’s The Wolverine, from I read he wanted to make a standalone film but Fox insisted that he connect it to the X-Men universe. I mean in his script, Wolverine’s the only mutant in the entire story. Maybe we’ll get to see his version when they’ll eventually reboot the character in a few years.
I am not a fan of superhero movies at all, but I might check this one out since it seems to be a superhero movie that makes fun of itself.
Yeah, in a way the self-referential humor works well. It’s funny but it’s kind of the same reason I love Pride & Prejudice & Zombies too as it dared to turn the classic *formula* if you will on its head. But PPZ was done straight instead of winking at the camera the way Deadpool did, and it worked for that one I think. I wouldn’t want a foul-mouthed/crass Jane Austen adaptation. I mean, they can fight zombies yes, but I wouldn’t want Lizzie to have wild sex w/ Mr. Darcy or anything, though the thought did cross my mind when they were fighting 😉 I made a Tumblr post of that epic fight scene: http://tmblr.co/ZQurNw21i-_Yg
Love the Tumblr post!
I’m obsessed w/ that movie & Mr Darcy, as you can tell, ha..ha..!
Lol, I hadn’t noticed 😉
I really need to see this film. I hope I do later in the month along with Eddie the Eagle which I need to see for Cinema Axis.
Hi Steven, curious to hear what you think of it after you’ve seen it. Oh, I missed Eddie the Eagle screening, that one sounds interesting.
Great post and nice to hear how much you enjoyed Deadpool. The relationship stuff is surprisingly good, it wasn’t boring at all and it had some heart to it, at least for a superhero type movie. I’ve been a fan of Morena Baccarin for some time, glad that she’s finally getting these solid roles. I think we’ll be seeing a lot more from her.
Hey Eddie! I was hoping it’d live up to the hype, so it’s always nice when it happens! Yeah I like miss Baccarin too, I mean she was in Firefly! Glad to see she’s still as beautiful as ever and she’s great in the role as well.
Great list!! So glad you enjoyed it. I love when a movie takes me by surprise. 🙂 This one was so much fun. And the opening credits were hilarious!
Yeah, it seems that movies I hadn’t been anticipating often turn out to be great. I wish that opening credits will turn up on youtube soon, I want to see that again!
I find that it’s best to have low expectations for everything! Then I’m not disappointed too often. 😉
Yeah that’s wise. But the hype over Deadpool has been astronomical, so I’m glad that it delivered!
This weekend can’t come fast enough, I swear. I have been waiting years for this, so I am itching to get to my cinema and check it out, and I am thrilled to see the movie managed to win over plenty people, even those who didn’t know much going in, or who weren’t too invested either way. This list is great, and just makes me all the more excited! Ryan Reynolds was born for this role.
Hey Zoë! Hope you enjoy this as much as I did. I reckon it’d be worth the wait. I wasn’t hugely anticipating it but I was blown away by how funny it is.
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Nice piece – I agree with a lot of this…except number 10! I wish it’d played around more with the superhero formula rather than following it so slavishly. Hopefully the inevitable sequel will be cleverer in that respect.
Hi Dave! You actually want this to follow more of the superhero formula? Would you mind elaborating on that a bit? I for one wish they’d tone down the gratuitous nudity in the sequels though I doubt that’ll happen.
Hey Ruth – I probably wasn’t clear enough with my wording there! What I meant is, I wanted them to tinker with the formula more – either find ways to comment on it/subvert it more effectively, or just break away from it altogether (by, say, skipping the big climactic confrontation for something entirely different?)
Ah I see! Yeah, that climactic battle is pretty formulaic. I think they’ll have plenty of opportunities to tinker w/ the formula more in the sequels, as you have said. At least they’ve got off on the right foot w/ this one, now the possibilities are endless!
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Absolutely brilliant post! I agree…this was actually a character that I CARED about! That is seldom accomplished in movies these days. Reynolds was absolutely made for this role…he was fantastic!!
Yeah I didn’t expect any character development at all but it’s nice when that happens. I like the chemistry between Reynolds & Baccarin too.
Wow! I’m shocked you liked it but that’s great! I thought some of the jokes were too much – that baby hand one was just gross – but overall the film was very fun. The biggest laugh for me was the end credits scene with him in a bathrobe
Ahah, I’m shocked too to be honest, as I’m so not into such vulgar jokes. Yep, that baby hand & all the masturbation stuff is disgusting, that’s why even though I like it, it’s not something I’m keen on seeing again anytime soon. But yeah, the opening credits and the post-credits scene is hilarious! Apparently that post-credit scene is a tribute to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, another retro throwback I missed! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1XgFsitnQw
Ryan Reynolds is certainly perfect in the role. It’s a fun enough ride that’s for sure, although it didn’t win me over as much as I was hoping/expecting.
Hi Mark! Well I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did but some of the jokes did make me laugh. It’s not something I’m keen on watching again though because of the vulgarity.
Deadpool is one comic book character I’ve never really cared all that much for but I’m only hearing good thing about this movie and it’s success has lead to Hugh Jackman’s final Wolverine to be given the go ahead for an adult rating.
Hello Chris! I’ve never even heard of it until the terrible Wolverine Origins flick but the character was so forgettable there. Yeah I’m curious to see the fate of the upcoming Wolverine movie, I think Aronofsky originally wanted to make an R-rated film of that.
Glad you liked it, Ruth! I really enjoyed it, and I had been debating on whether or not to wait to see it on DVD. It’s hilarious! Reynolds is in rare form, I agree. You should check out Mississippi Grind, which he co-stars him with Ben Mendelsohn in. It might be Reynolds’ best performance in that film.
I was curious about Mississippi Grind but mostly for Ben Mendelsohn as he’s quite an underrated actor. Well I have yet to see a good dramatic performance out of Reynolds, so we’ll see.
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