Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9.5/10

Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Karan Soni, Ed Skrein, Michael Benyaer, Stefan Kapicic, Brianna Hildebrand, Style Dayne, Kyle Cassie, Taylor Hickson, T.J. Miller, Randal Reeder, Isaac C. Singleton Jr, Morena Baccarin, Hugh Scott, Gina Carano, Stan Lee, Rob Hayter, Jed Rees, Leslie Uggams.

As 2016 starts to really rev up in the cinema, the superhero franchise gets underway for yet another year for the lover of all things Marvel, D.C. and all those that lay between. Arguably Marvel is not going to have its own way this year with the forthcoming Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice film being eagerly anticipated by the sound of slavering lips and fans pacing up and down deciding which costume to wear at any of the Comic Cons this year; Marvel won’t have it all their own way but they have stolen a huge march on the game by releasing Deadpool onto the cinema public attention nice and early.

Not only is Deadpool one of the wittiest films to come out of the superhero/graphic novel crossovers but it is by far one of the funniest, black humoured and unreservedly hilarious films to come out of America in decades. Its genius resides in its total absolution of sticking to convention and absolving itself of taking its self seriously. Yes it has the residue of what it means to be a hero, of offering the graphic novel fan the characters they deserve and the casual interloper into the world of masked vigilantes the thrill of being seen with those who take such matters earnestly; it is also has the effects of the Noir attached to it, of the premise that the one you’re rooting for, the one to whom is making the whole film stand out as an enjoyable experience, is the anti-hero; the one to whom nothing is viable.

Whether in the direction of Tim Miller, the script-writing of Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick or in the beauty of the performance by Ryan Reynolds, T.J. Miller, Karan Soni or the marvellous Morena Baccarin, this “Red Noir” is colourful, as playful as anything audiences will see all year and perhaps most crucially the most important super or costumed hero film to come out of either Marvel or D.C.’s film list since they re-invented Superman for the silver screen in the 1970s.

Fresh, exciting, exhilarating and not afraid to hit below the belt, Deadpool is the film to see as Britain shivers its way into Spring.

Ian D. Hall