So for the first time in my life, I had to pull out my driver’s license to watch a movie. I’ve been to R-rated movies in my younger years, along with friends who did not look like they were 17+, and the movie theater employees let us in without batting an eye. Now that I’m actually of age and they’re asking me for identification, this truly shows the caliber this movie has to offer.

And with good reason.

Deadpool was one of the most crude, unfiltered, and entertaining movies I have seen all year. While this may sound negative, it is quite the opposite. Deadpool is entertaining specifically due to its lack of a filter. Sadly, many parents have failed to recognize this, disregarding the character Deadpool as simply “another Marvel superhero” and thus, their eight-year-old son can watch the movie as easily as he can watch The Avengers. However, Deadpool is not a hero (he even explicitly states he’s not a hero twice in the film!), he is an entertaining antihero who breaks the fourth wall constantly, slashes bad guys into pieces, and possesses a very witty yet inappropriate sense of humor that earns this movie its R-rating.

Deadpool stars Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson, a quick-witted smartass of a human being out to seek revenge on the man who, in an experiment gone wrong, mutated Wade Wilson into the loveable Deadpool.

The main highlight of the movie is Ryan Reynolds. Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool will go down as the greatest role in his acting career. Reynolds stated that he has dreamed of playing Deadpool for years, waiting for an opportunity for Deadpool to star in a film that would do the character justice rather than change the character into something he’s not (looking at you, X-Men Origins: Wolverine). Reynolds has sculpted and crafted the character to perfection, delivering each line to its full caliber, never once seeming out of character or out of place. He simply is Deadpool, the same way Robert Downey Jr. is Iron Man. Reynolds is Deadpool to the point that once filming for the movie has concluded, Reynolds stole the Deadpool costume from the costume department and brought it home.

For me, the major highlights for the film is not the gore-filled action sequences but the clever writing and fourth-wall breaks that occur several times throughout. Deadpool is known for his fourth-wall breaks, as he’s a comic book character who knows he’s in a comic book. He mocks common tropes and clichés and uses it to his advantage. Likewise, the film version of Deadpool knows he’s in a movie and that there’s an audience watching him, making for a very memorable experience. The character constantly makes fun of the movie studio that distributed the movie (20th Century Fox), calls Ryan Reynolds a bad but attractive actor, and consistently mocks Hugh Jackman as Wolverine (another 20th Century Fox Marvel character).

While there may have been slower subplots of the film, these subplots are entertaining as well. I must say that the romantic subplot between Wade Wilson and Vanessa Carlysle (played by Morena Baccarin) beats out almost every other romantic arc I’ve seen in a superhero movie simply due to both characters being interesting and having motivations that go beyond their romantic interest for each other. I also enjoy the subplot between Deadpool and his relationship between the two X-men characters in the movie. (In one scene, Deadpool says there are only two X-men characters because the studio couldn’t afford to put in more characters.) These characters, Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead, provide for a very entertaining subplot that really adds another dynamic to the character, showing that Deadpool is definitely not a hero and that he’s only out for his own interests and those around him.

While the movie is filled with violence, sex, humor, and fourth-wall breaks, Deadpool still stands out as a solid film with a well-paced plot. It earns its R-rating due to these factors and I cannot imagine the same movie had they toned it down. It is pure fun, humor, and entertainment the whole way through. And while it may not be the most educational or moral movie out there, it is truly entertaining and showcases a hilarious Marvel character that many people may not even heard of. Overall, I watched this movie twice, and I was very satisfied with both screenings. I recommend anyone who is willing to just sit back and watch an hour and forty minutes of crude yet clever writing and solid, hilarious performances, to do so.

Also, like with all Marvel movies, wait for the after-the-credits scene!