DEADPOOL (15)

Director: Tim Miller

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Ed Skrein, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller

DEADPOOL is a very different kind of comic book film.

Forget the likes of Batman lurking in the shadows or the gung ho Avengers saving the day.

Marvel's 'Merc with a Mouth' is definitely 'super' but, as he stresses throughout his long-awaited origin story, he is no 'hero'.

As gleefully violent as he is subversive, Deadpool is both a celebration and parody of comic book culture in one package.

The unhinged character, played brilliantly by Ryan Reynolds, makes inappropriate and puerile jokes, mocks his fellow super-powered pals and continually breaks the 'fourth wall' by speaking directly to the audience.

It will certainly be the first time you have seen a comic character carry around his arsenal of weapons in a Hello Kitty rucksack.

And it shows how far superhero films have dipped into our consciousness that such a self-referential film can exist on the big screen.

But it somehow works. This is mostly due to actor Ryan Reynolds who is a huge fan of the character.

Reynolds wanted to do right by Deadpool after his first disastrous outing in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and this film is his love letter to the character.

Credit also goes to director Tim Miller, who did the visual effects for Scott Pilgrim, for his uncompromising to approach to Deadpool's lurid charm.

The film's format, shifting between present day and backstory, also works well.

The story sees Special Forces operative-turned-mercenary Wade Wilson diagnosed with cancer shortly after finding the love of his life, Vanessa (Morena Baccarin).

But he is approached by a shadowy group promising him a cure...and bonus superhuman powers.

When things inevitably go wrong, he vows revenge on Ajax (Ed Skrein), the man who almost destroys his life.

With self healing abilities, Wilson reinvents himself as Deadpool with a fetching red outfit (it hides the blood), katanas and pistols.

He also reluctantly teams up with X-Men stalwart Colossus and the brilliantly named Negasonic Teenage Warhead – Brianna Hildebrand is excellent as the powerful but sulky teen.

But for a film that celebrates being outlandish, Deadpool's 'save the girl, get the bad guy' story becomes a bit conventional by the end.

And Ed Skrein's Ajax is two-dimensional even by comic book film standards.

How much you enjoy Deadpool depends on how much you like superhero films and how seriously you take them.

But – zany, gratuitous, puerile – this is the most fun a comic icon has had in years.

RATING: 8/10

DAVID MORGAN