Occasionally, a film will leave you wondering if certain aspects are left in, what calibre of material did they have to leave out? Deadpool will leave you slightly stunned, yet still stupidly satisfied, and pondering the bigger questions; how many butt jokes did they actually have to cut? Ryan Reynolds has never quite made a star-proving film until now, probably because he’s been a crude and unpolished peg in a plain leading man hole. However, Deadpool is the last will and testament of years of miscasting. It is brash, brutal and, above all, funny.

Wade Wilson is a walking ‘I’m not a hero’ trope bent on revenge against a maverick experimenter who had turned him into the immortal Deadpool as a quick fix for Wade’s cancer (explained neatly through flashbacks). Deadpool, wanting revenge for being turned into an unlovable monster, enlists the help of the only two X-Men who appear to be awake when he knocks on the Xavier Mansion’s door, Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead. Despite the obvious X-Men rota issues, kudos must be given to giving an eight foot metal Russian a believably endearing personality. Although there may be some obvious plot holes and clichés to be found here, it is acceptable, because Deadpool will frequently point them out to the audience in the form of a near-continuous internal monologue. Violence is not something which is avoided here, including one scene where Deadpool ‘127 hours’ himself, which hopefully requires little further explanation. Deadpool is the same old story but told in an unforgettable way.

It is a film about dialogue, it probably (and proudly) holds the world record for variations on ‘inanimate object no.1’ having sex with ‘inanimate object no.2’ jokes, but that doesn’t really retract from any enjoyment. A few jokes are a little hit and miss, some seem like remnants of a humour belonging to a fourteen-year-old teenager who wears too much Lynx deodorant, but the sheer pace of jokes moves any duds swiftly on.

It does what Kingsmen did to spy films, except the entirety of Deadpool has a similar gutsy, although less derogatory, tone to Kingsmen’s infamous ending scene. There are also a lot of in-jokes to the Marvel (and DC) universe, which receive significantly less laughs than most others, except the smug chuckles of a select few as they spill popcorn on their worn out Lantern Corps T-shirts. Some of the very specifically American references also go over our British heads, like every episode of The Simpsons about the Super Bowl or an episode of Friends about Thanksgiving. However, on the whole, the only difference between the quality of Deadpool and some of the better Marvel films such as Iron Man or Guardians of the Galaxy is the 20th Century Fox logo and repeated references to crack dens.

However, as a result, a real issue with Deadpool lies with the plot. Although incredibly meta opening titles imply that the plot intended to be more than a stereotypical origin story, there are moments where the film becomes very traditional. However, this only goes to show the strength of the rest of the film which make these moments stand out as dull beacons. The ‘British villain’, Ajax, clearly attended the Justin Hammer school of unmemorable villains. His repeated villainous catchphrase is yelling “what’s my name?”. Yet, despite Deadpool literally spelling it out (in bodies, naturally), it still required a google to remember it. The remainder of the cast does a decent job, but this is really Ryan Reynold’s film. Although don’t fret about the lack of X-Men star power, Hugh Jackman still gets the biggest laugh of the film.

Swearing is often cited as giving the perception of a person as a more likeable, honest character. This is probably true in the case of Deadpool who curses, breaks the fourth wall and has enough monologues to make him almost insatiable. The best superhero films of recent years have taken on a sub-genre in order to place a spin on increasingly stale plots, such as the incredibly niche but workable idea to make Captain America: The Winter Soldier an espionage spy thriller. Deadpool is the shining black comedy within a genre that has been treading water, which is especially noticeable as the latest trailer for Batman vs. Superman acts as the final opportunity to use the bathroom before Deadpool begins.

Most importantly, it leaves memories of the previous mute incarnation of Deadpool behind in a messy, crude, destructive trail.