Deadpool (2016)

While I dig comic book movies, especially Marvel's lately, I've hardly read any action comics in my life. My exposure to Deadpool started with his appearance as both an enemy and a player character in X-Men Legends II; since then, I'd mostly heard about him from gushing fans. The mutant who started as a ripoff of DC Comics villain Deathstroke became a parody and then a better-known antihero, appreciated for his humor as much as his fighting prowess. The one thing that gave me pause about seeing this movie was the edginess, bound to outdo that T-rated game's version.

Like many real-life funny people, "Merc with a Mouth" Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds, who ironically keeps his mouth covered in costume) turns out not to be especially happy. Oh, he enjoyed being a rather amoral wiseacre long before he assumed the costume and alias. Having retired from Special Forces operations, he now made money by harming or intimidating petty miscreants and spent that money in seedy dives. Then terminal cancer drove him to accept a shady proposal to grant him Wolverine-like rapid healing. It worked, but the torturous process, the resulting disfigured skin (why doesn't that heal?), and the revelation that they were making super slaves (how counterintuitive) made him question the wisdom of his decision. He escaped, but so did sadistic project overseer Francis, who much prefers to go by Ajax. Now, no longer willing to show his face to fiancee Vanessa (Morena Baccarin, once again playing a prostitute), he dons a new identity and goes on a long-term hunt for Ajax, hoping for a cure as well as justice.

Not exactly an epic scope for the genre. There's plenty of death and property damage, but on the protagonist's side, there's not a whole lot at stake. He's more worried about losing Vanessa forever than dying at the hands of Ajax, despite the latter's confidence that his own strength and lack of feeling will enable him to conquer a foe who can grow back limbs in time.

Rapid healing isn't Deadpool's only superpower. I doubt that Special Forces experience alone would allow him so much agility -- or the coordination to kill three men with one handgun bullet. It also seems to have enabled his awareness of whichever medium he's in, often talking to the camera, which explains the decision to include multiple narrated flashbacks.

For all his awesomeness, "Mr. Pool" does reluctantly seek assistance for the finale. It comes in the form of the only genuine superhero in the film, Colossus (looking and sounding rather different from his previous X-Men silver screen appearances, despite the same studio), plus his trainee, the aptly nicknamed Negasonic Teenage Warhead. Colossus keeps trying to talk him into becoming a hero if not an X-Man, but "Deady" sees them as goody two-shoes. NTW projects typical teen moodiness, but Deadpool's antics amuse her. You may have gotten the impression from ads that these two helpers, perhaps especially NTW, play bigger roles than they actually do. I think that's because they have some of the most PG-rated memorable moments.

Yeah, maybe I should've warned you up front: It's the most violent comic book adaptation this side of Sin City. It also has more gratuitous if not graphic sex, nudity, and high-end profanity than any other, as well as a few drug references. Never thought I'd see a Stan Lee cameo in a strip joint. For once, I have to advise against letting teens, let alone kids, watch.

Then there are the few moments of political incorrectness. Between this and The Lego Movie, I have to wonder when it became acceptable in the modern era to laugh at blind old African Americans stumbling around. Did the fans of Robin Hood: Men in Tights only sort of grow up to write? To make matters worse, in his strange love-hate relationship with the woman in question, Deadpool calls her "Magoo." So much for Mr. Magoo being a relic of a less sensitive era; his humor was more tasteful.

Fortunately, apart from what I describe in that last paragraph, there are plenty of tickling moments from start to finish. I didn't find it half as disturbing as Sin City, because it largely asks not to be taken seriously. And yeah, the action sequences are pretty cool.

From what I gather, this is indeed very faithful to the comics. But lest you think it a direct translation from the storyboard, might I point out one strong point that the comics couldn't convey: the soundtrack. It's not the next Guardians of the Galaxy in that regard, but we get an eclectic mix, sometimes with deliberate contrast to the scene. The torture, for example, is accompanied by "Mr. Sandman." And no, it doesn't have the same effect that A Clockwork Orange had on "Singin' in the Rain."

I have to be mighty selective in whom to recommend DP to. My dad probably wouldn't be in the mood for it. My mom definitely wouldn't. But if you're between about 20 and 50 and feeling a little twisted, this may well spell a good time for you.