Deadpool - B

Ryan Reynolds

Rated R, 107 minutes

Get ready, 2016 will be a big year for superheroes, and it gets started with a bang with the action-packed, raunchy and often hilarious "Deadpool." Filled with blood, guts and enough profanity to make your Mom blush, it's certainly not for everyone (and most certainly not for anyone under 13), yet far more enjoyable than you want to admit to. Gifted with accelerated healing powers and a twisted sense of humor, mercenary Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) adopts the alter ego Deadpool and hunts down the man (Ed Skrein) who nearly destroyed his life. Directed by Tim Miller in his feature directorial debut and co-written by "Zombieland" scribes Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, the raunchy and rollicking "Deadpool" is the latest from the "X-Men" universe to be brought to life, though Deadpool the superhero, who was actually seen in "X-Men Origins: The Wolverine" movie (and played by Reynolds there too) is the most antihero of the bunch, with an ability to heal himself. With an immensely clever opening title sequence, it starts with a bang and never lets up with a fast-pace, loads of graphic violence and packed with more clever one-liners than you can remember. It's perfectly cast, with Reynolds' sarcastic wit and charm on full display, who must battle the menacing Ajax (Skrein) to get his life back; Deadpool gets help from two junior league X-Men mutants, Colossus (Stefan Kapicic) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (newcomer Brianna Hildebrand). TJ Miller, Leslie Uggams, Morena Baccarin and Gina Carano round out the main cast, all of whom figure prominently in Deadpool's circle of friends and enemies. Storywise, it's threadbare and slightly muddled, and is "Deadpool's" biggest flaw, yet comes with an immense amount of action and a slew of profane one-liners that is highlight of the movie and of which I could do not do justice here by mentioning all of (one of which, in which he calls his blind roommate - Uggams - Ronnie Milsap - still makes me chuckle). If "Deadpool" is a big hit, and I'm sure it will be, expect to be more "Deadpool" movies, which would make many, especially the fan boys who have been clamoring for this for years, very happy. Whether you like this sort of thing or not, you'll have a fun time with the funniest superhero in ages, the guy in the red tights (and it's definitely not Spider-Man) known as Deadpool.