Movie Date : Deadpool (M18)
Make a date with Deadpool this Valentine's Day — you're bound to fall in love.
STARRING: Ryan Reynolds, Ed Skrein, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Brianna Hildebrand, Gina Carano
DIRECTOR: Tim Miller
THE SKINNY: Former Special Forces operative-turned mercenary Wade Wilson (Reynolds) learns he has cancer.
In order to stay alive and be with his beloved Vanessa (Baccarin), he subjects himself to a sadistic experiment
that leaves him badly disfigured. His newly acquired accelerated healing powers come in handy as he seeks
revenge on Ajax (Skrein), the person who turned him into a mutant.
RATING: M18
MARS by JASON JOHNSON
I love the fact that Deadpool's real name is Wade.
It's an odd name and it happens to be the name of a lifelong friend.
So many superheroes have dignified, old-fashioned names like Bruce, Clark and Tony.
Wade sounds different - a little goofy even - and it's the perfect moniker for this outsider character.
The only thing Deadpool really compares to is the original Kick-Ass (2010).
Like that film, it is filled with gleeful violence and lacerating humour. Unlike that film, however, there's also quite a lot of sex.
Deadpool's love interest Vanessa is a hooker.
We get to know them as a couple through a montage of their seasonal sexcapades. Every holiday, a new position. How festive.
The thing I probably like best about Deadpool is that his mission is very personal, even selfish.
He wants the baddie who made him ugly to make him pretty again so he can get back with his girl. He also wants to kill the baddie. He's driven by vanity, revenge and love/lust.
The one complaint I'd have about Deadpool is that the people who will appreciate it most - teenagers - won't be allowed to see it due to its M18 rating.
I've seen nastier NC16 flicks than this, like 2001's Hannibal -a guy ate his own brain in that one.
I'm not blaming the ratings board. What I'm saying is that the team behind Deadpool could have maybe been a bit more careful with the stuff they included. There's edgy and then there's scuzzy.
Verdict : 4/5
VENUS by JOANNE SOH
You'll know right from the start that this is not your typical Marvel superhero movie.
Read the opening credits and you get its tone.
It is irreverent, politically incorrect and extremely violent. Yet, it is absolutely full of fun.
Reynolds was born to be play a motormouth - and he finally may have a hit movie on his hands.
His self-deprecating humour works overtime here.
Not only does he make fun of himself a lot, he also mocks the superhero genre, particularly a certain mutant group that calls itself the X-Men. And that's why this comic book flick stands out from the rest.
It dares to be different and it dares to offend.
For one, Deadpool is no superhero. He's just one rather selfish man who wants payback and it doesn't matter to him how many heads he needs to slice off or blow up just to get to his target.
His behaviour is so bad that two minor characters from X-Men need to take him in to give him a good spanking.
But underneath that trash-talking and trigger-happy facade is a man with a big heart and a diehard romantic.
How can you fault someone like that?
You can tell this passion project is a labour of love, albeit one whose low budget is pretty obvious.
The production isn't as slick as your Captain America and Iron Man movies. But that works in Deadpool's favour, giving it an indie feel - perfect for the anti-hero who just can't shut up.
Verdict : 4/5
THE CONSENSUS: Make a date with Deadpool this Valentine's Day — you're bound to fall in love.
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