Deadpool' Presents a Different Kind of Superhero

**The following is an in-depth review of “Deadpool” and does contain spoilers.**

"Deadpool" is not kid-friendly.

"Deadpool" is based on the Marvel Comics superhero who was created by Fabian Niceaza and Rob Liefeld in 1991 as part of the X-Men franchise, and the movie certainly exists in the X-Men movie world.

"Deadpool" tells the story of Wade Wilson, a dishonorably discharged U.S. Army special forces soldier turned mercenary who meets the girl of his dreams and falls head over heels for her. No, seriously, that's what it's about.

At the height of Wade and Vanessa's romance, Wade asks her to marry him. Everything is coming up sevens. Until, that is, Wade is diagnosed with cancer. All of the cancer. Literally every kind of cancer that exists. Brain cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer... all of it. Needless to say, Wade and Vanessa are having a bad day.

Wade is soon approached by a man who claims that he can cure his cancer. There is a treatment that activates the mutant gene in non-mutants - X-Men, remember? - which will not only cure Wade's cancer but also give him super powers. Willing to do anything so that he and Vanessa can go back to living their happy life, Wade agrees. Unfortunately, the mutation also severely disfigures Wade, making it virtually impossible for him to go back to Vanessa.

Wade soon becomes Deadpool and sets out on a mission to get revenge on the people who disfigured him and who have kidnapped Vanessa. Along the way, Deadpool joins forces with the X-Men's Colossus and a new, younger mutant called Negasonic Teenage Warhead.

I really liked "Deadpool." To be honest, I liked it a lot more than I was expecting to. "Deadpool" actually had me really nervous because of the huge deal they were making about the R rating. The more I learned about the movie, the less interested I became, simply because it seemed to me that they were going to try to push envelopes that didn't need pushed just for the sake of pushing them, and the movie was going to spiral into nothing more than a vulgar novelty with little substance.

Thankfully, the movie doesn't do that at all.

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Yes, the movie can be vulgar and downright juvenile at times. Some members of this audience are going to find it distasteful for that reason alone. For me, it wasn't that distasteful, and none of the more vulgar aspects seemed gratuitous or out-of-place. This movie really gelled.

"Deadpool" isn't without its flaws. Some of the more low-brow, toilet humor is pretty groan inducing, but it isn't over used. I wasn't a really fan of how Colossus looked in the film. Yes, he does look as though he were right off the comic book page, but that was the problem. He was just cartoonish. If they decide to bring Colossus back for a proper X-Men movie, Daniel Cudmore should really return for it.

Some of the best jokes in the film come from Ryan Reynolds poking fun of both his first outing as Deadpool in 2009's "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and his role in 2011's "Green Lantern," both of which were mostly panned by critics and comic book fans. In one scene we see an "Origins" Deadpool action figure as Wade tells Vanessa "that's my most prized possession" - although he's actually talking about his Wham! "Make it Big" album. Another scene has the film's villain, Ajax, threaten to sew Wade's mouth shut, to which Wade replies "I wouldn't do that if I were you" - a less than subtle nod to what happened to the character in "Origins."

I've recommended this film to several people since leaving the theater, and I certainly recommend it here. Just be warned there is nudity, explicit sexual portrayals and some of the humor is aimed at 12 year olds - ironically, a demographic too young to actually see the movie - but the positive points outweigh those small, distasteful bits and the film manages to rise above them quite nicely.

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