Deadpool (2016) - Tim Miller

Winner, by-far, in the best use of Ryan Reynolds in a comic book movie category, Tim Miller's Deadpool is ultra playful, super violent, and self-deprecating enough to take a rather generic hero storyline and turn it into an entertaining way to kill a few hours in a movie theater on a hot day.  Deadpool is the story of Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson, who has just recently met Vanessa, a woman he eventually will ask to be his wife.  When tragedy strikes in the form of aggressive cancer, Wade Wilson subjects himself to a rogue experiment, which leaves him physically mutated and with unique, accelerated healing powers.  Unable to come face-to-face wtih Vanesss after these unsanctioned experiments left him extremely scarred, Wade Wilson who now goes by his alter-ego Deadpool, sets out for revenge against the man responsible for these grotesque experiments which almost took his life.  Tim Miller's Deadpool is a film that wears itself on its sleeve, never taking itself too seriously, while delivering a fun, over-the-top comic book movie that pokes and prods, making fun of the very genre it's a part of.  Featuring a much more comical approach than viewers are accustomed to from these types of films, Deadpool aims for comedy, and while it succeeds quite often, the film's over-the-top playfulness can only mask the inherent problems with the narrative for so long.  Deadpool's story succumbs to many of the same tropes which plague nearly all comic book movies,  as it becomes clear that this character's origin story is really no different than what we've seen before, with its generic elements simply being well-hidden under the gloss and glean of this playful, anti-hero character.  Throughout this film Deadpool himself laments about not being a hero and while the film manages to keep this idea at bay for stretches, the film itself succumbs to its superhero tropes.  While watching Deadpool I found myself wishing that the film would have been more ballsy and gone all out in the anti-superhero aspect of the film, fully embracing a character in Deadpool who never plays by the rules of society or the comic book genre he inhabits.  The film certainly embraces this mindset but it never pays it off in the end, using an oscillating narrative that jumps between past and present as a way to make the rather straightforward story more interesting, successfully hiding its shortcomings due to this sly, storytelling approach  .While I couldn't help but wish Deadpool would have even pushed the envelope further, Tim Miller's creation is certainly an entertaining experience, featuring enough witty comedy and outlandish violence to appease many filmmakers looking for a comic book film with a different attitude.

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