This is Gonna Be One Twisted Valentine's Day Gift

Rating: 8/10 (13 February 2016)

Confession: I have a very limited comic book experience. I just learn about these Marvel or D.C. characters from either my 17-year-old uncle or my knowledge from traditional comic-book movies and animated T.V. shows. The best comic-book movies I always connected with the most are the X-Men saga. I've been a fan ever since the first movie directed by Bryan Singer came out 16 years ago. (Currently waiting for "X-Men: Apocalypse" to come out this Memorial Day.) But this is quite new to me when I heard that there is a "Deadpool" movie actually happening. Last time I heard about "Deadpool", I first saw him in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine", which I liked but it was the rotten apple of the series. He was, of course, played by Ryan Reynolds, who made the most of his very small role until... (see the movie or not and see why all of us were so disappointed.) Anyway, me being the reluctant one, I didn't think a "Deadpool" movie would work. Guess what, it's the one all of us comic- book or non-comic-book nerds are waiting for. So why did I warm up to "Deadpool"? Well, for one thing, this guy who dresses up in a red suit is the kind of hero we haven't seen in a while. A man who shoots first and says a few wise-ass things after that. He's also known to break all types of walls (first, second, third, fourth and I'm pretty sure there's a fifth one) and he doesn't give a *bleep* about everything. As played by Reynolds, he seems to be the perfect choice for an R-rated and unbelievably unconventional Marvel character. So, how does this movie work? Well, it starts off with the ridiculously inventive opening titles done in Deadpool's way plus a killer action sequence on a highway. Then it's the origin story of "Deadpool" which is quite a surprising one. We get to meet Wade T. Wilson (Reynolds), also known as "The Merc with the Mouth" and maximum brute force. He also finds his "Pretty Woman" (see what I did there?) in Vanessa (Morena Baccarin from "Spy", "Gotham" and "Homeland"). There is a massive flaw in this system, in which he has cancer. Making sure he doesn't lose her, he signs for a experiment that should help him be cured of cancer. Turns out poor Wade made a deal with the devil, or in this case, Ajax (a stunning Ed Skrein who is obviously a doppelganger for Nicholas Hoult, also known as "Beast" from the "X-Men" series) for an experiment that goes horribly wrong leaving his whole body scarred. Now, all Wade needs to do is get revenge on Ajax and once he puts on the Deadpool outfit, it's all good to go. But standing in his way though are two members of the X-Men: Colossus (Stefan Kapicic) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (feisty Brianna Hildebrand). "Deadpool" is (and has to be) the best R- Rated unconventional superhero movie of its kind since the original "Kick-Ass". It has the right to make fun of the superhero genre and be super cheeky, clever, dark, funny and incredibly bloody. It even wears its heart and the R-Rating on its sleeve, for example, there's a sex scene with Deadpool and Vanessa, set to Neil Sedaka's "Calendar Girl" that pushes the boundaries to anything I've ever seen. Plus, the bone- breaking, blood-spurting action is about as inventive as one could possibly ask for. Plus, Deadpool also has a tendency to talk smack about everything from the studio that's releasing the film to the X-Men to Wolverine and the actor playing him and even the actor that's playing Deadpool. Although I wasn't a fan of "Van Wilder" and I only warmed to him when he was in great movies like "Definitely, Maybe", "The Proposal", "Smokin' Aces" and "The Change-Up", I like Ryan Reynolds and he's very good here. Scratch the "very good", he's electric in the role of Deadpool. His foul-mouthed, fast-paced and earnest deliveries of certain lines are sure to be quite memorable. And even though there are times when we just want him to shut up, you can't put him down because we like Deadpool and we certainly want him to get the girl. He's also helped by a really cool cast including Morena Baccarin who provides the heart and soul of gold in the love story part, T.J. Miller, who I also like, is pitch-perfect as "the comic relief" (in Deadpool's terms, not mine) Weasel, Leslie Uggams as Uncle Al, who is wise, blind and caring (not in the traditional sense) and M.M.A fighter turned movie star Gina Carano is lethally badass as Angel Dust, who is more stronger than Mr. Pool and Colossus all combined. Props has to go to first-time director Tim Miller (from the world of visual effects) and screenwriters Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick of "Zombieland" for letting this animal go loose in wild, big and cool ways that breaks the usual types of stuff we usually see in most superhero movies and for giving Reynolds an opportunity to get comically crazy and go out blazing with a high chord, like he always does. Deadpool is actually the first movie of 2016 that unabashedly lives up to the hype, mainly because we weren't expecting something quite like this. I don't know if we will have something like this again, but hey, at least it was awesome, right? You'll have a blast, trust me and bring some chimichangas while you're at it. It's the perfect and most twisted Valentine's Day gift you'll give to your significant other. Oh, and one more thing, this movie is not for the faint of heart, the squeamish and certainly not for kids.