Deadpool

We finally figured out what to do with Ryan Reynolds.



How did Deadpool influence the superhero movies that followed? Mostly, Deadpool seemed to make it OK for superhero movies to be darkly funny, and if not that then at least raunchy. (There was a whole thing after Deadpool came out and was very successful about how they were reshooting parts of Suicide Squad to make it more like Deadpool.) (David Ayer, Suicide Squad’s director, said the rumors were false, which, he must’ve been telling the truth because Suicide Squad wasn't nearly as funny or as good as Deadpool.)

Who is the breakout star of Deadpool? This is going to sound strange, given that he was billed as the movie's star so how could he even be considered for the Breakout Star vote, but the movie’s breakout star was Ryan Reynolds, who, prior to Deadpool, was never a fit in action movies. He was always good (or serviceable, probably) when he could lean solely on his quips (Waiting... remains his best-ever work in that capacity). And he even showed glimpses of actual great acting in movies, too (his final scene in Smokin’ Aces where he breaks down while he kills the guy in the hospital bed is honestly moving; and he's fantastic in all of Buried). And he was strong in romantic comedies (The Proposal is fun, and Just Friends is even more fun). But he had his feet swept out from under him in each of his action movies prior to Deadpool. He wasn't allowed to be funny in Safe House, or allowed to be cool in R.I.P.D., or allowed to be anything more than a shirtless torso in Blade: Trinity. But in Deadpool, he gets to be all of those things, all at once, in a role pitched exactly for him. He was great. It was great.