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In some ways it’s a shame that Deadpool came along at the start of the slew of superhero films for 2016 because this film would have gleefully washed away the serious and earnest films yet to come (most notably Captain America: Civil War and Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice). Deadpool is horrendously violent, crassly funny and highly entertaining.

A long sought after project for Ryan Reynolds (he even played Deadpool in the awful X-Men Origins: Wolverine), with a producer credit and I’m sure a hell of a lot of begging and pleading of those in charge, Reynolds got his wish project and just about makes every post a winner, whilst keeping a f**k you attitude.

Reynolds clearly loves the character and, unlike other wish list/fantasy projects (Hi there, After Earth,) this one is not only made for Deadpool fans, it’s made by Deadpool fans. At the same time, its got enough commercial appeal to pull in the crowds looking for something different from your regular superhero films. Deadpool pokes a lot of fun at the superhero movie tropes but yet, at the same time, plays to those tropes and it does so knowingly. Deadpool fans will be happy to know that the 4th wall is broken a number of times and, in true Deadpool-style, even this is made into a joke. There is a X-Men presence in the film, and Deadpool joining the X-Men was mentioned quite a few times, so in this shared cinematic universe world we live in now, this is more than likely on the way…at least in a cameo…dead1

The acting is low key, with the delivery of the one liners and snarky retorts sitting squarely in Reynolds’ wheelhouse. What does surprise are the emotional scenes. They creep up on you and get you when you least expect it. The whole cast is good, the villains are cardboard cutouts once again. Nothing new in superhero films, but also once again, it is made fun of in the very funny opening credits. However, this is Deadpool’s film and it is all about him in his narcissistic, grandiose glory.

So, in saying all this, the question remains – Does Deadpool subvert the superhero film? No it doesn’t and in fact it is a pretty linear point A to point B film, despite indications to the contrary. What it does do is bring some much-needed irreverence to the genre that was starting to take itself way to seriously. Deadpool is great fun and offers up some of the funniest and violent stuff (generally at the same time) that you are likely to see in a cinema this year.

Ryan Morrissey-Smith