The Sharp-Tongued, Dangerous Mercenary in Red My first encounter with the character named Deadpool happened when I watched "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" (2009), where the spotlight was on Hugh Jackman’s Logan and Liev Schreiber’s Sabretooth. Of course, I remembered Wade Wilson, played by the charismatic and familiar Ryan Reynolds, but his chatty, often out-of-place hero left no impression on me. In fact, Deadpool’s muddled final appearance in that movie completely cooled my interest in the character—almost to zero. That’s why I wasn’t exactly excited about the solo Deadpool film in 2016, even though I’d heard a lot of buzz that this time he would finally appear as the beloved character comic fans knew. The movie, I have to say, shocked me—in a good way. After watching it, I finally understood why the R-rating was necessary and who Deadpool really was. The hero, and the entire film around him, stand out from the usual world of X-Men movies, Marvel projects, or anything DC has done. This world is unusual, funny, sometimes downright cringey, but definitely unforgettable. The film owes its success to a sharp script, solid direction, and of course Ryan Reynolds’ unique performance. Here, he brought Wade Wilson to life in a completely new way. The talkative hero delivers endless witty lines, breaks the fourth wall, and even shows he’s capable of love. Speaking of which—his love interest was wonderfully portrayed by Morena Baccarin, whose character managed to be both tender and strong, forming a great on-screen duo with Wilson. Screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick did an outstanding job. The film isn’t aimed only at fans of the character or the comics. The story is crafted so that even someone who knows nothing about Deadpool can grasp the concept of both the hero and the movie they’re watching. Deadpool is revealed to the audience as someone we’ve never quite seen before—a character ready to go his own way, tearing apart the expectations of the superhero genre most viewers are used to. The creators clearly had confidence in their project and their lead actor. They delivered an engaging, entertaining story that even manages to poke fun at the superhero genre itself. Sharp one-liners follow the characters and audience throughout, drawing plenty of loud laughs. The comedy stays strong all the way through, with a lot of “toilet humor” mixed in—but if you’re in the right mindset, the jokes land again and again. And it all blends seamlessly into the narrative, which, yes, does have a storyline behind it. Visually, the film delivers as well. There are plenty of stylish action scenes, filled with chases and fights. And they’re impressively done despite the relatively modest $58 million budget—small by superhero blockbuster standards. The cast adds to the film’s charm. The undeniable highlight, of course, is Ryan Reynolds. Sometimes it feels like he was born to play this character. But as I was reminded again, you still need a strong script and capable director (especially when comparing his Deadpool here with his version in the 2009 Wolverine film). The rest of the cast shines too—Gina Carano, Ed Skrein, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Brianna Hildebrand, Karan Soni. Each actor fit right in, gave their character memorable traits, and added to the fun. "Deadpool" is an excellent movie. It entertains and makes you see the superhero world from a different angle. It clearly stands out among the X-Men films it’s loosely tied to. Sometimes it’s the very first movie you think of when recalling something both large-scale and hilarious. A quality film you’ll definitely want to revisit more than once. 8 out of 10