Deadpool

Astounding. Ryan Reynolds plays Wade/Deadpool. As Wade, he is a high value bounty hunter working a dangerous job. When he finds that he doesn't have long to live (cancer diagnosis), he takes a risk on an experimental treatment. Turns out the "treatment" is a scheme to force mutations by stressing the body, and his "doctors" are mutant traffickers. The treatment works, he mutates and gains the ability for rapid healing. He is immediately recruited by Prof. Xavier's X-men academy. Unfortunately, Wade is not the team player type. In fact, what makes this movie so good is that the smart-ass personality that Wade has developed as an independent bounty hunter is retained in his Deadpool personality. Much has been made about the R-rated-ness of this film, and based on the language and graphic violence, it definitely deserves the rating. But the success of the film is not because of the R-rating. The success is because the character of Deadpool is an R-rated smart-ass. And Reynolds plays that character perfectly. I loved this movie because Wade/Deadpool plays a consistent character in context with the story. My fear is that movie execs will think the success is because of the rating and start throwing a bunch gratuitous language/violence into future franchises to get a rating, when that language/violence doesn't really fit the characters or story. I hope not. But for this instance, it is on point.
5 stars (out of 5)