Courtesy 20th Century FoxAre you ready for Deadpool?
Even the most knowledgeable, the most seasoned comic book fan, is probably ill-prepared for what is going to befall them come Friday. That's because Deadpool is a whole new kind of superhero movie.
That's right, forget everything you've learned from The Avengers, and don't even think about drawing a comparison to Spider-Man. Deadpool would probably laugh and/or kick your a-- if he heard something like that. And that, friends, is exactly why we love and appreciate him so.
This Friday marks the release of the action-packed flick, which has been highly anticipated for...well...years. And years. But even with all this time devoted to looking forward to seeing Ryan Reynolds in his skintight suit for two glorious hours (and, yes, that view really is as good as it sounds), most non-professional superhero followers probably don't know all that much about the actual story behind the aforementioned costume. And that's why we're here. Consider this your one-stop-shop for a Deadpool brief—it's exactly what you'll need before checking in to watch Ryan Reynolds turn into a mutant man and put his sword right through a guy's torso. Sorry, was that too spoiler-y?
This isn't your Grandmother's superhero movie.
For starters, it's a R-rated. And that means exactly what you think it means: It's crass, it's dirty, and there are several F-bombs. Once you watch Deadpool, you'll probably find the family-friendly nature of all those, ahem, Avengers, to be near-laughable. At first, though, it's a bit shocking—and we're not exactly strangers to dirty jokes. Take the near-countless "sit on my face" jokes. Or the time we see Reynolds...um...saying hello to himself to the image of a stuffed unicorn. Or the time we maybe, possibly, saw Ryan fully in the buff. (We're gonna need a DVR to confirm that one for ya).
The flick also earns its R-rating with the violence. If you were hoping to chow down on a plate of nachos and some cookies before viewing, changing your plans would be advisable. Deadpool has a bit of a murderous streak, and a major penchant for killing in unconventional ways. If it's gory and bloody and involves bones sticking out in places where they don't belong, he'll kill you that way. It's a wee bit heavier than Captain America and his cute little shield.
Deadpool's origin story isn't exactly an accident.
If you haven't brushed up on Wade Wilson (a.k.a. Deadpool) lately, just know this isn't exactly a whoops-I-got-bit-by-a-spider situation. Our main character is a former Special Forces operative who subjects himself to a rogue experiment in an attempt to cure a terminal cancer diagnosis. Sure, he was a bit ill-informed about the intentions of the magical cancer-curing-and-superhero-making factory and didn't mean to come out of it with those crazy disfigurements, but what do you expect when you go to a place called WeaponX Workshop? The guy running the place, Ajax, is a total masochist—he went through the same procedure gone awry as Wade—and gets all kinds of pleasure out of torturing and ruining Ryan Reynolds face. That beautiful face! A moment of silence, please.
Not surprisingly, Deadpool is totally obsessed with revenge.
His main M.O. is hunting down the aforementioned Ajax, as well as his henchwoman, Angel Dust (the one who carries out the real dirty work). Think of it as Deadpool's way for saying "Screw you for ruining my life." It all goes along with the theme of Wade Wilson as the antihero—he's known as The Merc With the Mouth, and boy does he know it. In fact, he really doesn't save anyone at all—that's not really his schtick. Damsel in distress? Nah. Murderous rages? Sure.
He's got an interesting group of friends.
When you're a half-mutant you don't attract the creme de la creme of citizens. For Deadpool's part, his squad consists of his fellow mercenaries, which in layman's terms means really creepy guys that look like a biker gang and beat up really bad guys for money. He is, though, being courted by fellow specially-powered folks Negasonic Teenage Warhead, an angsty youth, and Colossus, a guy who can turn his skin into steel and is taking a break from the X-Men. We'll keep mum on how that turns out. Deadpool also has a roommate (seriously) who goes by the name Blind Al (seriously), and happens to be an old lady he found on Craigslist (seriously). They might be an unconventional twosome but boy can they banter about Ikea.
But his romantic life is even more interesting.
Every superhero needs a love interest, right? Deadpool is no different, even if he's not exactly a catch right from the outset. It might be confusing to hear that a mutant mercenary falls in love with a prostitute-turned-strip-club-cocktail-waitress and they make the perfect couple, but it's the darn truth. In fact, the only reason Wade Wilson even found himself at WeaponX is L-O-V-E. He wanted to make things right for his one and only, Vanessa, even if it meant doing things a little unconventionally. We don't want to give away any more than that (something has to be a surprise!), but we can assure you that your Valentine's Day itch for a little romance will not go unscratched.
Ryan Reynolds was born to be Deadpool—and he looks darn good doing it.
The actor has been a huge fan of the Marvel Comics, and joined the movie incredibly early on, helping to champion it to the big screen. In fact, he was Deadpool before Deadpool was Deadpool. Ya read? Reynolds joined the project way back in 2005, work on the script began in 2009, and director Tim Miller came on board in 2011. The actor was so attached to the character that the rest of the team took to calling him the "Deadpool Police," thanks to his constant course-correcting if he felt the flick was veering into too-bizarre territory.
But beyond all that technical movie-making mumbo jumbo, let's get to the good stuff: Ryan looks fabulous. There's probably no other actor who could make scaly mutant skin look sexy, but he went and did it. It's probably those biceps practically bulging out of the superhero suit that distracted us from the aforementioned skin, but we're not complaining. Viewers are encouraged to keep their eyes peeled for more than a few glimpses of...well...use your imagination.