For years Fox Studios had held onto the script of Deadpool, a rated R comedy comic book movie, fearing that it would not be successful. 7 years later this film was brought to life starring Ryan Reynolds, directed by Tim Miller, and written by Rhet Reese and Paul Wernick.

This movie may not win any Oscars and it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but wow was it hilarious. The well paced action we have become accustomed to along with a crude sense of humor we haven’t seen before in comic book movies created a perfect blend. This combination made this film a contender for the best of the year and is one of the funniest movies in recent memory.

There was some doubt going into the making of this film. Rated R comic book films do not have a reputation for success. Deadpool is also a risky character for a live action movie. Reynold’s ability to act in a comic book movie was also in question. Deadpool not only put all of these doubts to test but even proved them to be the strengths of the movie.

Rated R comic book movies, with the exception to a few outliers, haven’t had a great batting average for success. And for many the expectation was that Deadpool would be no different. However this movie took full advantage of its R rating and it added to this movie’s humor. Many of the jokes in Deadpool don’t necessarily need the R rating, but it’s the icing on the cake that puts the humor over the top.

Many also doubted if the character Deadpool could be brought properly to the big screen. Deadpool is a tough character to do justice. He’s clever, witty, has a risky sense of humor, and breaks the rules often. He’s an anti-hero as in he doesn’t stand for justice just for stopping people worse than him. The character even goes as far as to break the fourth wall speaking to the audience. Often times Deadpool will take a break from the action to speak to the audience about the situation, himself, and even pop culture. But the masterfully crafted script allows Deadpool to be himself and then some.

Reynolds has not had a great history in the comic book genre. This includes his roles as the character Deadpool in X-men Origins: Wolverine (2009) and as The Green Lantern (2011). Both of these movies were generally seen as failures and Reynolds’s performances considered below average at best. But after this movie it is clear that those performances must have been hindered by poor writing. Reynolds was born for this role. His portrayal of the character Deadpool and not so secret identity Wade Wilson was fantastic. It’s very rare that an actor portrays a character so well that they own the character. For example Robert Downey Jr. has managed to own the character Iron Man or Tony Stark and Heath Ledger owned the Joker. Reynolds’s performance as Deadpool is worthy of these lofty comparisons.

Deadpool is a fantastic movie comic book fans will love it and non-comic book fans will be surprised they liked a comic book movie. With good directing and fantastic writing Deadpool is an outstanding satire on comic book movies and a great comedy in its own right. It’s humor is relentless and leaves no one safe by the end of the movie. This movie makes us fall in love with a hero who is more likely to commit a crime than he is to save a cat from a tree. And most importantly Deadpool is an enjoyable well thought out movie that will have you laughing from start to finish. I highly recommend seeing it before it leaves theaters.