Deadpool (2016)

Deadpool is a 2016 American black comedy superhero film directed by Tim Miller and written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. It is the eighth installment in the X-Men film series, and stars Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, T.J. Miller, Gina Carano, Leslie Uggams, Brianna Hildebrand, and Stefan Kapičić. In Deadpool, antihero Wade Wilson (Deadpool) hunts the man who nearly destroyed his life while also trying to reunite with his lost love.

Development began in February 2004 with New Line Cinema, but put the film in turnaround in March 2005, with 20th Century Fox buying the rights. In May 2009, after Reynolds portrayed the character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Fox lent the film to writers, and Miller was hired for his directorial debut in April 2011. Enthusiastic acclaim from leaked CGI test footage by Miller in July 2014 led to Fox greenlighting the film in September. Additional casting began in early 2015, and principal photography commenced in Vancouver from March to May.

Deadpool premiered in Paris on February 8, 2016, and was released on February 12 in the United States in IMAX, DLP, D-Box and premium large format. The film received positive reviews from critics, who praised its style, faithful depiction of the titular character as well as Reynolds' performance, action, stunts and Tom Holkenborg's score, but criticizing its formulaic plot and violence. The film was a massive blockbuster success, grossing over $782 million worldwide and breaking numerous box office records, becoming the seventh highest-grossing film of 2016, the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time when unadjusted for inflation, and the highest-grossing X-Men film. Shortly after its success, a sequel was greenlit by Fox.

Wade Wilson, a former special forces operative working as a mercenary, meets an escort named Vanessa at a local bar, and their one-night stand becomes a relationship. A year later, Wilson proposes to her, but he is then diagnosed with liver, lung, prostate and brain cancer. Despite Vanessa's love, he detests the thought of her watching him waste away, and he leaves her in the middle of the night.

A recruiter from a covert organization approaches Wilson and promises him abilities that will cure his cancer. Wilson reluctantly agrees. He is taken to a remote laboratory where he meets Ajax and Angel Dust, and instantly resents them. Ajax injects a mutation-activating serum into Wilson and subjects him to daily torture to activate it. When Wilson's body fails to respond, Ajax asphyxiates him in an oxygen chamber, developing an accelerated healing factor that cures him but leaves him disfigured. Wilson finds a way to destroy the lab and escapes his confines. He battles Ajax, but relents when Ajax promises a cure. Ajax then impales him with rebar and leaves him for dead.

Wilson survives and attempts to return to Vanessa, but is afraid of her reaction to his disfigurement. After consulting his best friend Weasel, Wilson begins the task of tracking down Ajax to get the cure. He becomes a masked vigilante, adopts the alter ego "Deadpool", and resides with an elderly blind woman, Al. Following a string of leads, Deadpool tracks Ajax to a convoy on an expressway. He executes the numerous convoy guards, subdues Ajax, and demands the cure. He is interrupted by Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead. They try to convince him to join the X-Men, and Ajax escapes. They attach a restraint to Deadpool, but he frees himself by severing his own hand, which regenerates overnight.

Ajax and Angel Dust go to Weasel's bar and learn about Vanessa. Weasel warns Deadpool that she is in danger, and they go to the strip club where she works to warn her, but Deadpool hesitates. Ajax and Angel Dust abduct Vanessa and tell Deadpool to meet them at a decommissioned helicarrier in a scrapyard. Deadpool persuades Colossus and Negasonic to help him rescue Vanessa. They travel to the scrapyard and battle Ajax, Angel Dust and their team of mercenaries. As Colossus and Negasonic fight Angel Dust, Deadpool kills most of the mercenaries and engages Ajax in a hand-to-hand combat atop the helicarrier. Negasonic accidentally destroys the equipment stabilizing the helicarrier, tipping it and scattering Ajax and Deadpool. As Colossus carries Negasonic and Angel to safety, Deadpool saves Vanessa and injures Ajax. When Deadpool demands his cure, Ajax laughs and reveals there is none. Despite Colossus's pleas to spare him, Deadpool shoots Ajax dead, much to Colossus' disgust. Vanessa is initially angry with Wade for abandoning her, but they reconcile and kiss after she learns why he did not return sooner.

In a post-credits scene, Deadpool tells the audience that the film is over and announces a sequel featuring Cable.