The greatest movie apology ever

Rating: 9/10 (11 February 2016)

Deadpool, if you casually dip in and out of the comic genre, is a superhero. You may have heard the name somewhere on screen before, but probably forgotten. However, if you know your comics then you probably salivated at the prospect of seeing the 'merc with a mouth' going toe to toe with Wolverine in the X-man's 'origins' movie. Then you watched it and uttered words that no self-respecting spell checker should let me type.
Basically, the makers of Wolverine: Origins completely messed up (putting it mildly) and the fans were not amused. Yes, Ryan Reynolds was actually a pretty good choice for the gobby anti-hero, but then they pretty much cellotaped his mouth shut and completely reinvented his character in the worst way possible. It actually makes a nice change to see a studio admit they totally got it wrong and do something about it (even if the decision is largely governed by money!).
And that could have been that. However, luckily Mr Reynolds himself campaigned to bring a truer representation of the source material to the big screen. And, amazingly, it happened. And I'm so glad it did.
Deadpool, is a superhero movie. You probably guessed that – you have the man in a mask who you pretty much know is going to go out there and beat the baddies and save the girl, yadder, yadder, yadder... However, what Deadpool also is, is a comedy. That being said – it's NOT a spoof. It's a tongue-in-cheek little number which has better action scenes than most action films and better comedy than most comedy films.
I'm almost tempted to say that it's a film that anyone can enjoy. I can certainly see both men and women having a good time watching it. However, it definitely is a film for MEN and WOMEN. Whereas Marvel's current cinematic universe is kind of geared at kids (and us kids who never grew up) there is plenty in Deadpool that no parent will want to explain to their little darling. Again, don't let that fool you into thinking that it's all toilet humour – let's just call it 'adult' humour and leave it at that.
Basically, Deadpool is great. Ryan Reynolds is mouthy, but never annoying and totally owns the role (as it should be when he plays the titular character). The supporting cast all do their bit, but it's Deadpool himself all the way. Please let this be the start of a franchise. It's probably a little too much to expect to see him crossing studio picket lines and ending up in the Marvel universe where he – truly – belongs, but we can always hope. If nothing else, I'm well up for a 'Deadpool 2' outing.