Superheroes are defined as "supernatural people who do the dangerous jobs that no one else could normally do." Normally, superheroes use their abnormal powers for the betterment of their community, like Superman does for Metropolis, Batman for Gotham, or The Avengers for... well, the world. On the contrary, super villains use their abnormalities to destroy the construction and/or civilization of mankind, like the Joker does for Gotham, or Lex Luthor does for Metropolis or any villain does anywhere to anything for that matter.

Then there are the people in the middle. The "antihero" if you will... "Deadpool" is the perfect example of that fine line; that tiny gray area in the superhero/comic book world.

QUICK SYNOPSIS:

Marvel's "Deadpool," an action/comedy/romance film released in 2016, stars Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson; an intelligent, crass, former Spec Ops soldier turned mercenary who now lives in New York. His perfect life, which consists of his job as a hired merc and his equally foul mouthed girlfriend, Vanessa, suddenly slams the breaks when he is diagnosed with cancer in the majority of his body. Long story short, Wilson goes through a long series of experiments that get rid of his cancer. The stress from the experiments not only cure his cancer, but enable him the ability to regenerate and heal from any injury faster than any human being could (like Wolverine, but without the claws). Unfortunately, the man who performed these experiments, Ajax, informs Wilson that he is going to be auctioned off as a "super slave" after his new genetic form is fully developed. On top of that, it leaves Wilson's face looking like a peanut butter Jelly Belly. Wilson purposely destroys the lab, setting him free. The plot line of the majority of the movie involves Wade Wilson taking on the alias Dealpool while looking for Ajax, so he can turn Wilson back into a normal looking human being so he can go back to Vanessa unashamed.

PROS:

Remember the movie "The Breakfast Club" that came out in 1985? Remember the character John Bender? "Deadpool" is the John Bender of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The persona that Deadpool carries throughout the whole film is spot on to how the comics portray him; a foul mouthed, crass, vigilante who sets out on his own missions. In addition to his attitude, Deadpool is self aware. The character of Deadpool is fully aware that he is a comic book character and is fully aware that he is in a movie. He will hold a conversation with the audience at certain points throughout the movie, even cracking an occasional joke about his own fourth wall breaking! If this has been done, I have never seen it done before. Morena Baccarin (Vanessa) was an enjoyable not-so-typical damsel in distress. Reynolds and Baccarat's on screen chemistry is something you often come across, but the "R rated" circumstances that the writers put the two in makes the on-screen love a bit more believable. The way that these factors were presented were excellent.

CONS:

With that being said, the fourth wall breaking, the way "Deadpool" was portrayed by Ryan Reynolds and the scripted romance is all that the movie has going for it. I mean, yes, this movie was given an R rating for its absolute filthy humor. Yes, this is the faithful "Deadpool" adaption that we have been waiting for since "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," when Marvel introduced (or at least tried to introduce) Wade Wilson initially. But, Deadpool's personality made the movie successful. The other characters were either portrayed horribly, or just simply weren't in the movie long enough. Ed Skrein (portrayed Ajax) was a boring antagonist, if not THE most boring protagonist. T.J. Miller's portrayal of Weasel (Wilson's best friend) would have been more enjoyable if he had more than fifteen minutes of screen time. Colossus and Nagasonic Teenage Warhead were enjoyable to a certain degree, but offered nothing more to the movie than help on the final fight, and as a way to introduce the "X-Force" franchise. The other characters in the film just weren't vibrant enough, or at least I didn't think so. In addition, the story jumps from backstory to action, then back to backstory, then back to violence and on and on and on. While I don't mind this choice of screenplay, it can get a bit confusing when done too much. You have to be smart with it. These writers, to a certain degree, used the form of writing well, although I found myself asking myself a couple of time my first viewing, "Wait, what's happening?" which is never a good thing for your audience to be asking. A second viewing of this film ironed out any confusion I had from the first movie, though. So it isn't too hard to grasp on to if you're really paying attention.

IN CONCLUSION:

The fact that Deadpool is a self aware comic book character that has no social filter, makes this film a fantastic box office selling point to comic book fans and moviegoers alike. Although the characters were a bit stagnant and the movie jumped a bit back and forth, the movie was all together enjoyable and commendable for its innovation in originality, story telling and humor.