The best superhero movie since "Guardians of the Galaxy"

Rating: Null/10 (15 February 2016)

The superhero movie has become stale as of late. 2015 didn't do much for the genre, as its most notable entry was "Avengers: Age of Ultron," which was a serviceable film at best. The genre suffers because of its formulaic core. Marvel can make a billion dollars off of pretty much anything these days, so they have little incentive to mix it up. The mold has been perfected in terms of box office success, and with it, originality has taken a fatal blow. "Deadpool," however, doesn't fit into this mold, or any other for that matter, and that's why it's the best superhero movie to be released since "Guardians of the Galaxy" (2014).
"Deadpool" follows Wade Wilson (played by Ryan Reynolds), a mercenary-for-hire that kicks the mess out of people for a living. After being diagnosed with terminal cancer, Wilson signs on to an experimental program that will cure his cancer and allow him to happily live out his days with his girlfriend. This program isn't what it seems, however, and Wilson emerges from the torturous experimentation mutated, disfigured and super powered. With his newfound abilities, Wilson christens himself Deadpool and goes on the path of revenge.
From the first frame of the opening credits, it's clear that "Deadpool" is unlike every other superhero movie that came before it. Its "hero" isn't really much of a hero at all. He's prone to profanity, innuendo and brutal violence, most of which is done with relative taste.
Anyone who's been on the Internet in the last month has surely seen some trace of the film's pervasive marketing campaign, most of which asserts the obnoxious humor characteristic of Deadpool himself. Initially, this worried me. I was afraid I'd be subjected to several hours of lowbrow, pre-pubescent humor, and although there was certainly plenty of that strewn throughout, it wasn't nearly as idiotic as I anticipated. Certainly not all of the ridiculous one-liners connect, but a surprising number of them stick the landing.
In fact, most of "Deadpool" is genuinely hilarious. The film is insanely self-aware and, much like the comic books from which it came, it often breaks the fourth wall, addressing the audience directly just for the laughs. It plays off the absurdity of its genre's formula with refreshing effectiveness, using the tired tropes of superhero flicks to its advantage. However, much of this breaks down into a matter of taste regardless. For some people, "Deadpool" with be a humorless excursion into immaturity. But for those unburdened by seriousness, this film is a riot.
However violent it may be, there's an honesty to be found amidst the carnage. Films like "The Avengers" (2012) deal with apocalyptic destruction that surely leaves hundreds of thousands dead, but the audience is never exposed to any of that. We've seen Iron Man save the day countless times, blasting his enemies to bits with his array of billion-dollar technology, but we're never shown the reality of his actions. Sure, he saved New York from an alien invasion, but half the city was destroyed in the process. Almost all superhero movies deal in this kind of flashy, soft-core violence.
"Deadpool," on the other hand, shows us exactly what its hero is all about. Wielding twin katanas, Wilson cuts through swathes of his enemies, separating limb from torso, head from spine and ego from spirit. He's a killer, like most superheroes, but at least he's sincere about it. Characters like Wolverine have power sets that are entirely based in visceral dismemberment, and yet they're dressed up on screen as if the kills are somehow clean. "Deadpool" and its title character are much more honest.
Any complaints made about the film's lack of plot or original characters are based in misunderstanding. The villain, for example, is an intentional cliché that's carefully crafted to reflect the tiresome habits of action movies everywhere right back into Hollywood's face. The plot is bare bones, lacking in any global-scale destruction or international crises, which is refreshing when considering the fact that the earth has come close to annihilation in nearly every other superhero movie. "Deadpool" knows precisely what it's doing with its own elements. It's all very intentional; it's just a matter of whether or not you like its intention.
But this film has done more than provide us with an entertaining way to spend two hours. "Deadpool" has proved that there's a place for R-rated superhero movies in today's market. It's taken what "Guardians of the Galaxy" started and expanded on it, proving that the mold isn't the only way for studios to make money. Hopefully, this film's success will inspire future installments in the superhero genre to think outside the box.