Review by Adam Winn, Staff writer

Most people are familiar with the popular Marvel superheroes like Captain America, Iron Man, Wolverine, etc. Unfortunately, most are unaware of one of the darkest, wittiest superheroes in the Marvel universe: Deadpool. However, audience members going to watch “Deadpool” expecting a typical superhero film are in for a shock.

“Deadpool” is packed with crude humor and gratuitous violence. While this isn’t normally the type of thing viewers expect to see in a mainstream superhero movie, it not only works, but outshines a majority of its genre predecessors.

The movie is based on the “Deadpool” Marvel comic books and tells the story of former Special Forces operative-turned-mercenary Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds). After being diagnosed with late stage terminal cancer, he is mysteriously approached by a recruiter that claims the people he works for can cure Wilson of the disease through experimental treatment.

After much contemplation, he decides to give the experimental trials a shot. After arriving at the secret facility, he soon realizes the scientists have much more sinister plans for him. He discovers their goal is to turn him into a mutant with superpowers and use him as a slave soldier.

The experimentation ultimately is a success and cures him of his cancer and does give him superpowers in the process. However, the experiment leaves him horribly disfigured. Wilson then escapes from the lab and vows to track down and kill the scientist Ajax (Ed Skrein) who was responsible for torturing and mutilating him.

With his newfound superpowers, he decides to take on the name “Deadpool” and with help from X-Men members Colossus (Stefan Kapicic) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) he sets out on his mission to get the revenge he deserves.

Theatergoers should be aware that this is an R-rated film and it absolutely deserves the rating it received. This is not the type of superhero film that the viewer would want to take their children or younger siblings to watch. The film contains an abundance of sex, graphic nudity, non-stop foul language and violence, so if the viewer gets easily offended by this type of raunchy storytelling, then this is definitely not the film for them.

One of the best parts about the film is the fact that it is consistently breaking the fourth wall. Deadpool frequently speaks directly into the camera, letting the audience know that he knows he is just a character in the movie.

At one point in the movie when Wilson is about to undergo the advanced experimentation, he tells the recruiter, “Don’t make the suit green or animated!” This is obviously a reference to Reynolds previously starring in the critically-panned superhero movie “Green Lantern,” in which he played the title character and wore a computer-generated suit.

Another instance of this is when Colossus starts to drag Deadpool back to the X-Men Mansion and tells him, “You are gonna have a talk with Professor Xavier.” Deadpool responds with, “McAvoy or Stewart? I find these parallel universes so confusing.” This is obviously an amusing jab at the fact that two different actors have played the character “Professor Xavier” in the “X-Men” franchise.

It’s also important to mention the film is told non-sequentially. This filming style works extremely well and does so using flashbacks, that way it doesn’t confuse the audience or allow them to get bored with the plot.

The casting for this movie is perfect, from the main characters to the secondary characters. The role of Deadpool feels almost as if it was written specifically for Reynolds. He brings this perfect balance of humor and seriousness to his character and even though Deadpool is more of an anti-hero than an actual superhero, the viewer is still bound to find themselves rooting for him.

“Deadpool” is an outrageously hilarious film that never once takes itself too seriously. The flick is one of the best superhero comic book adaptations to date. As long as the audience decides not to take the movie very seriously either, then they are likely to find it enjoyable from the opening credits all the way to its fantastic conclusion. After watching the film, the viewer just might leave the theater with a new favorite superhero.