Marvellous mix, very entertaining

Rating: 9/10 (11 May 2016)

*** Some minor spoilers ahead ***
I must admit that I am not a comic book fan. I have only a passing interest in the x-men series and stories of the genre. This wisecracking goofy fun character was the most entertaining one of the whole bunch. Certainly NOT for younger kids. And that right there might be part of the 'charm'. It was made for an adult audience. Nothing was too heavily dumbed down or cleaned up. No high moral ground here. It was witty and gritty and those aspects were almost nonstop. the repeated breaks to the 4th wall (directly addressing the viewer) gave an even more fun aspect to it. The film did a serious and job of putting the story forward and at the same time, didn't take itself TOO serious. The film, right from the opening credits tells you to 'sit back and enjoy the ride'. The laughter started almost immediately. The intense and complicated action started right on it's heels and the wisecracking was peppered throughout. Repeated events of leaving the guns and ammo bag in the cab reminded me of the infamous blue snack bag from 'The Middle' that was always forgotten. The film is continually referring to and making fun of other projects (like Green Lantern) in the dialogue. The chemistry between Ryan and Morena was palpable. If there was no actual spark offscreen (yes, I know they are both married to other people) then extra kudos to their acting. It looks like this might finally be the vehicle that Ryan Reynolds can have a genuine success with. The man has been in a lot of films and most of them ended up (through no fault of his) being 'big budget awful'. He's a good actor and very talented, just bad luck that they have been less than good films. Other excellent actors like Eric Bana and Edward Norton could not save the Hulk movies, so this is hardly something new. Ryan is an actor that just comes across as a guy that you really want to like and it's sad that it took this long for him to find a film that let's him succeed. As to another co star, TJ Miller talks and looks way TOO much like Ryan Reynolds in this, to the point where I thought it was him playing a dual role. So in summary, if you can handle rapidfire wisecracks, violence, action and strong language. This will be sure to keep you entertained. As with many films these days, watch through all the credits for an easter egg at the end. If you get the Blu Ray or DVD, the extra scenes are fantastic and funny too.