Best Movie of 2016
Yeah. I’m calling this one early. Deadpool has my vote. Written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick and directed by Tim Miller, this movie has easily become my favorite comic book movie so far.
I saw it on its opening day, February 12, 2016, not once, but twice! For those who know me, this is a huge deal because I am not a movie buff by any means. I’m impatient and constantly need to be doing something, so sitting for 2 hours to watch a movie is not something I enjoy doing. The only time I do it is when the movie is about something I’m over the moon about. 2016 will be the first year in my life that I will see more than 2 movies in the theater. Step Brothers, starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, is one of my favorite movies of all time, and this is the last movie that’s come out that I’ve watched more than once. I even own the DVD. I can now add Deadpool to that very short list. And yes, I will purchase it upon release.
Deadpool is perfect in every way. From the opening second; my attention was undivided and remained so until the very end. This is due to the consistent pace that is maintained throughout the movie. The jokes are spot on and timed perfectly, and absolutely deserve an R rating. There is a great balance between comedy, action and drama. There is never a point in the movie where any of these elements feel overdone. Also, there are no “filler scenes”; meaning there are no pointless moments included in the movie to fill up the 2 hour run time with things that don’t affect the plot much. However, these are just pieces to the puzzle.
Another huge piece is the cast. Ryan Reynolds is amazing as Deadpool. He was born to play Deadpool. He is Deadpool. His comedic performance first caught my attention in, ‘The Change-Up’. He wasn’t on my radar before that to be honest. I am glad I saw ‘The Change-Up’ because this was my introduction to him, and I’ve been hooked ever since.
As we know from the comics, Deadpool does his dirt all by his lonely and this is one thing that makes this character so special. However, including Colossus (voiced by Stefan Kapicic) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (the best superhero name ever, played by Brianna Hildebrand) was a phenomenal idea. This provided an opportunity to showcase the dynamic between Deadpool and the X-Men working together and gave more insight into how he feels about being part of a team and why he chooses to walk his path alone as often as possible. Dopinder (played by Karan Soni) is a great comic relief as well as Blind Al, Deadpool’s blind roommate, (played by Leslie Uggams) which is also a great nod to the comic book.
Marvel took a huge risk here and it was well worth it. Deadpool goes against the grain of Marvel’s cinematic world as we know it so far, and I couldn’t be more ecstatic! As enjoyable as the other Marvel movies are, Deadpool shines a different light on another character on their roster that most non-comic book readers probably know nothing about. For as long as this movie took to finally get green lit; it’s a relief that it has the perfect formula for an enjoyable movie: the perfect cast, a steady pace, and a light and funny storyline with the perfect amount of fighting sequences and a splash of drama. There is no doubt that it’s a Marvel movie that created and followed its own blueprint; but it did stay true to the Marvel movie format in that there is a post credits scene, but again, Deadpool put its own spin on this. Instead of including a scene that sets up the sequel, we get Deadpool telling us a little of what to expect in the sequel. And by “little” I mean just a name drop. That’s it. And that’s all we needed.
