Deadpool is one of those characters where you either love him or think he’s completely puerile. There doesn’t seem to be any middle ground.

Mark is a diehard Deadpool fan, and has been reading the comics for years. I’m a little milder, I like him and read him but I’m a little less au fey with his history. We have both been looking forward to a good Deadpool movie since the character’s horrendous treatment in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.  The publicity department for this movie has been on point, with our excitement building more and more with each viral video or image, to the point where we were truly worried that it might be all hype.

It did not disappoint.

From the ​hilariously inventive opening credits to its sequel-spoiling post credits sequence, you can tell this movie was a labor of love for all concerned. There was a gleeful joy in bringing even the weirdest aspects of Wade to the screen – such as his Golden Girls fandom, love of unicorns and ability to break the fourth wall to complain about the penny-pinching studio.

What I Loved

Deadpool was a really great movie, possibly my second favourite comic book movie behind Guardians of the Galaxy. It went a long way to erasing the last terrible incarnation of Deadpool, and actually gave Colossus something to do – his portrayal in the movies has never been great either, which sucks as he is fantastic in the comics. I think Negasonic Teenage Warhead (NTW) was probably the stand out for me. She was only a little more than a glorified cameo, but  NTW steals every scene she is in. It takes a great actress to take a sullen teenage characters and manage to overshadow Deadpool, but Brianna Hildebrand did it every time.

What I Didn’t Love

Such a small thing but I would have loved Vanessa to have her powers, although perhaps that is something they are holding back for the sequel.  She felt like a fairly typical girlfriend type character, the hooker with a heart of gold trope we see so often and adding her powers may have made her feel like she had a story arc of her own.  I also felt that some of the better jokes were spoiled by the various trailers, particularly in the case of Weasel. I also disliked that the villains weren’t really fleshed out that much, Ajax just seemed flat rather than unemotional and Angel Dust barely spoke.  Come on comic book movies, we need another good Loki-style villain!

Also there was a terrible lack of Dogpool.  Seriously Fox, make Dogpool happen.

My Rating: (5 / 5)