# Deadpool (2016) Review: The Superhero Film That Talks Back > Deadpool stars Ryan Reynolds as a scarred, wisecracking mercenary in an R-rated superhero comedy that mocks the genre while delivering a fast, violent origin story. Canonical: https://celluloidscore.com/reviews/deadpool-2016-review/ Published: 2026-07-23 Last updated: 2026-09-24 Author: Kaiser Khan — Founder & Editor Language: English Review basis: direct-viewing Spoilers: none Rating: 4/5 ## Verdict Yes, with reservations. It is a gleefully crude, genuinely funny antidote to solemn superhero films for adults, even if the story underneath is a standard revenge plot. ## Is Deadpool worth watching? **Yes. Deadpool is a fast, filthy and frequently hilarious superhero comedy, and Ryan Reynolds is so perfectly matched to the role that the film's rough edges barely matter.** Its big idea is attitude: a hero who knows he is in a comic-book movie and refuses to take any of it seriously. The reservation is that beneath the jokes sits a very ordinary origin-and-revenge story, with a thin villain and a modest-looking finale. ## What is Deadpool about? Wade Wilson ([Ryan Reynolds](https://celluloidscore.com/stars/americas/canada/ryan-reynolds/)) is a former special forces operative turned small-time mercenary who finds unexpected happiness with Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). When a terminal diagnosis upends his life, he submits to a rogue experiment that promises a cure. It leaves him with rapid healing powers, a badly scarred body and a grudge against Ajax (Ed Skrein), the man who ran the programme. Reborn as the masked, motor-mouthed Deadpool, Wade sets out to track him down. [Deadpool](https://celluloidscore.com/movies/deadpool-2016/) is an American production in English, directed by Tim Miller in his feature debut from a script by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. It runs a lean 108 minutes. T.J. Miller plays Wade's bartender friend Weasel, Leslie Uggams his blind roommate Al, and Brianna Hildebrand and the voice of Stefan Kapičić provide two X-Men who are less than delighted by his company. ## Reynolds was born for this Reynolds had spent years trying to get this version of the character on screen, and the commitment shows. He plays Wade as a man who uses jokes as armour, and his timing is relentless: insults, pop-culture riffs and asides to the audience arrive faster than anyone could plan for. Even under a full mask, with only his voice and body language, he dominates the screen. The romance with Baccarin is a surprise strength. Their early scenes together are raunchy and funny, but they also give the film a warm centre, and Vanessa is written as Wade's equal in crude humour rather than as a damsel. It is the reason the revenge plot has any emotional charge at all. ## Breaking the genre's fourth wall The film's structure is cleverer than its reputation. It opens in the middle of a freeway ambush and then jumps back and forth to explain how Wade got there, with Deadpool narrating and commenting on his own story. The fake opening credits, which mock stock characters rather than naming the cast, set the tone within seconds. This self-awareness was the film's real innovation. At a time when superhero blockbusters were growing ever more solemn and interconnected, Deadpool poked fun at studio logic, at its own budget and at the conventions of the genre it belonged to, and it proved that a smaller, adult-rated superhero comedy could find an enormous audience. ## Where the formula shows through For all its irreverence, the story is surprisingly conventional. Ajax is a generic villain with little personality beyond cruelty, and Gina Carano's henchwoman Angel Dust exists mainly to give Colossus someone to fight. The final showdown in a scrapyard is noticeably smaller in scale than the opening, and the film's economy occasionally looks like thrift rather than style. Some jokes, too, are juvenile for the sake of it, and the constant barrage can be tiring. ## Who should watch Deadpool? It is for adults who enjoy crude comedy and have grown tired of self-serious superhero films. Anyone expecting a family-friendly Marvel adventure should look elsewhere: there is graphic violence, gore, nudity, sexual content and constant strong language. At 108 minutes it never outstays its welcome, and the scenes during and after the credits are worth waiting for. Where to go next: - [Deadpool 2](https://celluloidscore.com/reviews/deadpool-2-2018-review/), the bigger, better-choreographed sequel, with Josh Brolin's Cable as a perfect straight man. - [The Incredibles](https://celluloidscore.com/reviews/the-incredibles-2004-review/), for a very different, family-friendly film that also has sharp fun with superhero conventions. ## The verdict Deadpool is a gleeful, profane shot of energy that gave superhero cinema a much-needed sense of humour about itself, powered by a career-defining Ryan Reynolds performance. The plot and villain are routine and the finale looks thrifty, but the jokes, pace and attitude make it a genuinely entertaining [action](https://celluloidscore.com/genres/action/) comedy. **Rating: 4/5** ## Related title - [Deadpool (2016)](https://celluloidscore.com/movies/deadpool-2016/) ## Editorial - [Editorial standards](https://celluloidscore.com/about/editorial-policy/) - [Report a correction](https://celluloidscore.com/about/corrections/)