Entertained, but mildly disappointed

To the local Showcase cinema last night, to watch the very much talked about Deadpool.

A positive aspect of the evening was the refurb of the cinema.

Electric reclining armchair seats with electric footrests.

Nice.

A negative aspect of the evening was having to tell the two spotty, hoodie-wearing twats beside me to shut the fuck up.

Again.

This seems to be a regular occurrence these days.

And then there was the film.

Deadpool is the latest addition to the Marvel superhero stable (except Mr Pool is firmly cast in the anti-hero mould).

Ryan Reynolds excels in the role.

And I’m not just saying this because he is

1. Bearded (like me) and
2. A Triumph motorbike-owner (also like me)

No, I’m saying this because Mr Pool (or Dead, to his friends) is a sharp-talking, wise-cracking, superslick-witted action character, and this sort of role is right up Ryan Reynolds’ street.

But.

There’s something about the film that is just not quite right.

It’s a slick production, the film is raking it in at the box office, and yet.

It would be easy to say that Deadpool is, heart and soul, an all-cylinder action film.

Except it isn’t.

I get the impression that although its heart is in the right place, its soul is on another plane.

The film is rich in swears (as Kick Ass was), has an abundance of eloquently-choreographed action (as Kick as did), has likeable characters (as Kick Ass had), and is rich in witty repartee (as so too was Kick Ass).

And yet Deadpool is no Kick Ass.

I was disappointed.

There are film gags, directors gags, and lines, that film buffs will wallow in with great enjoyment, from other films a-plenty, but I can’t help feeling that Deadpool was a box-ticking exercise.

Peter Bradshaw (a film critic to whom it is well worth listening) described Deadpool as ‘neurotic and needy – and very entertaining. An innocent pleasure’.

And it is an innocent pleasure, but it’s not without its faults.

Empire Magazine gives Deadpool 3 out of 5 stars.

Robbie Collin in the Telegraph also awards Deadpool 3 out of 5 stars (and says of it ‘This isn’t the future of superhero movies, but it’s an enjoyably obnoxious detour’).

Personally I’d give Deadpool 3 out of 5 as well.

And I gave Kick Ass 5 out of 5.