“Deadpool” breaks all the rules for all the right reasons

By CHRIS MARKHAM

The year 2016 is stockpiled with some of the most anticipated superhero movies of all time. From both the DC and Marvel cinematic universes, major strides will be taken this year in both franchises as the new “arms race” of superhero movies is well underway. Marvel struck first this year with one of the most heavily, and controversially, marketed movies in recent memory. “Deadpool” took over Valentine’s weekend with record numbers, and for good reason.

The “Deadpool” marketing campaign stressed the idea that this movie would not be like other superhero movies of the past. Rated R, petitions were made for “Deadpool” to be censored enough to earn a PG-13 rating to allow younger superhero fans to watch. By doing this, Deadpool would have strayed away from his comic book roots of being the edgy, anti-hero that you love to hate.

For the sake of the preservation of the character and straying away from traditional, worn out routes of past superhero movies, “Deadpool’s” ‘R’ rating allowed the producers to do the character justice and use a good amount of crude humor and raunchiness that was used to perfection.

The movie was the perfect mix of action and humor, with a hint of romance added in. There are parts of the movie that make you want to cry of sadness and others that make you cry from laughter. From the opening title sequence to the after-credit scene, “Deadpool” is a nonstop humor-filled thrill ride that is worth every penny.

Although Deadpool’s movie rights are owned by FOX and is a part of the X-Men cinematic universe, small parts of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is owned by Disney and features The Avengers, were mentioned throughout the movie.

By doing this, they open the doors for a cross-over of the two franchises should movie rights be bought over by one or the other. An example of this occurred in 2015 when Disney bought the rights to Spiderman from SONY, and now the web-slinger is pinned to make his MCU debut in “Captain America Civil War,” another sure-to-be blockbuster superhero movie of 2016.

“Deadpool” is slotted to have a sequel and by introducing other members of the X-Men team in the movie allows for future X-Men movies to feature Deadpool should they choose to.

Deadpool uses the ability to “break the fourth wall” to add to his comic relief and even further distinguish itself from other superhero movies of the past by speaking directly to the audience at times. He referenced previous Marvel movies, specifically Hugh Jackman as well as poking fun at Ryan Reynolds’ previous stints as superhero characters, particularly the failed “Green Lantern” of 2011.

Although those roles were one-and-dones, Reynolds has publically said that he is willing to ride his new Deadpool role all the way to the end. And from the success of his latest movie, there’s no reason to believe that the end is in the near future.