Irreverent, hilarious and ballsy. Just awesome.

Rating: 9/10 (12 February 2016)

Kick-starting 2016's superhero season with a bang, this adults-only comic book adaptation is ballsy, irreverent and hilariously cheeky. Think a Kick-Ass flavoured X-men movie, but even filthier. Wisely opting to forgo the typical U.S. PG-13 rating the vast majority of blockbusters aim for (in order to widen their audience reach), Deadpool doubles down on its brain-splattering violence, vulgar jokes and disgusting potty mouth, all to great effect. There's also the unique tone to separate it from other comic-book flicks; not only is it subversive and amusingly juvenile, but it whole heartedly embraces its fourth-wall-breaking and meta humour roots. Wolverine and Hugh Jackman: beware. Screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick earn praise for more than just the snappy dialogue and pitch-perfect gags though, for they have crafted a franchise starter that evades the usual origin story pitfalls by messing with timelines and genre tropes. Working with a relatively low budget of $58m, debutant director Tim Miller puts every dollar to work to ensure the action sequences are inventive, exhilarating and high calibre, augmented with CGI as good as anything you'll see in the MCU or DCCU. None of this would be possible, however, if it wasn't for Ryan Reynolds. Having pushed for this film incessantly over the last seven years, Reynolds finally gets his wish to properly portray the smart-alec character he was born to play. After the debacle that was X-Men Origins: Wolverine – where his Merc with the Mouth was idiotically sidelined and silenced – Reynolds relishes the opportunity to finally give the titular antihero, and alter-ego Wade Wilson, the spotlight he deserves. The support is top notch too: Morena Baccarin is game for anything as Wilson's tough-as-nails fiancé, T.J. Miller gives good comedy relief, and Ed Skrein and Gina Carano are suitably nasty as the merciless villains. Holding absolutely nothing back, Deadpool is a rip-roaring movie that will have you squirming, cheering and laughing possibly all at once.