Ryan Reynolds and Morena Baccarin in a scene from “Deadpool.”

Ryan Reynolds and Morena Baccarin in a scene from “Deadpool.”

‘Deadpool’ plays to Ryan Reynolds’ snarky strengths

  • By Katie Walsh Tribune News Service
  • Wednesday, February 10, 2016 2:08pm
  • LifeGo-See-Do

It must be a sign of superhero fatigue that studios are injecting life into the genre via characters who declare that they want nothing to do with heroics. While the posse of baddies known as the DC Comics “Suicide Squad” will be rolling into theaters later in the summer, Marvel is unveiling their own foul-mouthed antihero just in time for Valentine’s Day. Ryan Reynolds stars as the titular superpower-enhanced jerk in “Deadpool,” a sarcastic, cheeky chap in a red suit wielding double katanas — though his tongue is sharper than his swords.

This ain’t your kid brother’s superhero movie. The hard R rating notwithstanding, “Deadpool” is a fourth-wall breaking meta commentary on the tropes of the superhero, with an expository flashback nested inside Deadpool’s introductory fisticuffs. During a brutal and bloody massacre on a highway bridge in search of the mysterious “Francis,” Deadpool decapitates goons and causes a multi-car pile up, all the while hurling highly creative and vulgar insults at his victims, with time stretching and pausing for him to fill the audience in on his backstory.

Reynolds arrived in the 2002 National Lampoon college comedy “Van Wilder,” and both that role and “Deadpool” make excellent use of his smarmy comedic delivery. His other, more serious comic book performances have fallen flat (exhibit A: “Green Lantern”), but it’s a good thing that Marvel gave him another chance, because this role fits Reynolds like a glove, playing to his snarky strengths.

“Deadpool” might feel innovative, but the story itself is standard-issue: guy meets girl, guy saves girl. The guy, Wade Wilson, a mercenary for whom no job is too small, and the girl, Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) fall in love, bonded by their dark humor and sexual appetite. When Wade discovers he has advanced-stage cancer, he undergoes an underground experimental treatment, in which his mutant genes are tortured into life by Francis (Ed Skrein) and his henchlady Angel Dust (Gina Carano). The treatment works, imbuing him with powers of super healing and strength, but the side effects are a horrific disfigurement. The vain Wade can’t bring himself to face his girlfriend, and takes on the Deadpool nickname and face-covering suit in order to search for a cure from Francis.

Reynolds’ energetic motor-mouth performance has its entertaining moments, but a lot of the talk is just smoke and mirrors. While Deadpool disavows the hero thing, the film results in a “Perils of Pauline”-esque rescue of a pretty girl, and the vanquishing of a sneering villain. Women are objects to be saved or sexually leered at (not even the awesomely tough Angel Dust escapes this treatment). Two “X-Men” characters serve as foils for the Deadpool antihero philosophy while offering him backup: Colossus (Stefan Kapicic) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand). While Negasonic sports a rad buzz cut that’s almost as rad as her explosive powers, Deadpool writes her off as a texting teen with a ‘tude.

The veneer of twisty storytelling structure, dirty jokes and gory violence can’t cover up the fact that, ultimately, “Deadpool” is a conventional tale about a guy and his powers, with a surprisingly old-fashioned view of gender, love and relationships. What would have been truly genre-bending, innovative and different? A major action film with a character like Negasonic Teenage Warhead in the lead.

“Deadpool” (2½ stars)

Ryan Reynolds stars as the murderous anti-hero in a rare foray into R-rated territory by Marvel Comics characters.

Rated: R for strong violence and language throughout, sexual content and graphic nudity.

Showing: Alderwood mall, Cinebarre, Edmonds, Galaxy Monroe, Marysville, Stanwood, Pacific Place, Sundance Cinemas, Thornton Place, Woodinville, Cascade Mall.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

The Moonlight Swing Orchestra will play classic sounds of the Big Band Era on April 21 in Everett. (submitted photo)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Relive the Big Band Era at the Port Gardner Music Society’s final concert of the season in Everett.

2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD (Honda)
2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD

Honda cedes big boy pickup trucks to the likes of Ford, Dodge… Continue reading

Would you want to give something as elaborate as this a name as mundane as “bread box”? A French Provincial piece practically demands the French name panetiere.
A panetiere isn’t your modern bread box. It’s a treasure of French culture

This elaborately carved French antique may be old, but it’s still capable of keeping its leavened contents perfectly fresh.

(Judy Newton / Great Plant Picks)
Great Plant Pick: Mouse plant

What: Arisarum proboscideum, also known as mouse plant, is an herbaceous woodland… Continue reading

Bright green Japanese maple leaves are illuminated by spring sunlight. (Getty Images)
Confessions of a ‘plantophile’: I’m a bit of a junky for Japanese maples

In fact, my addiction to these glorious, all-season specimens seems to be contagious. Fortunately, there’s no known cure.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Hyundai)
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited is a sporty, all-electric, all-wheel drive sedan that will quickly win your heart.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T hybrid’s face has the twin red lines signifying the brand’s focus on performance. (Dodge)
2024 Hornet R/T is first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge

The all-new compact SUV travels 32 miles on pure electric power, and up to 360 miles in hybrid mode.

Don’t blow a bundle on glass supposedly made by the Henry William Stiegel

Why? Faked signatures, reused molds and imitated styles can make it unclear who actually made any given piece of glass.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.