Superhero movies have become increasingly popular over the past several years due to their universal appeal to both children and adults—a rare juxtaposition contributing to their success at the box office. However this past February, Fox Studios took a risk when they released “Deadpool,” the first rated R movie from Marvel. On its opening night, “Deadpool” proved the skeptics wrong becoming one of the fastest selling R-rated movies of all time.

“Deadpool” is anything but a typical superhero movie; its not your family-friendly Marvel movie like “Iron Man” and “Guardians of the Galaxy,” nor is it one of the more serious DC Comics movies like the “Dark Knight” and the upcoming “Batman vs. Superman-Dawn of Justice.” “Deadpool” is nothing like these other superhero movies, with almost all of the jokes only applying to a more mature audience. However, despite the swearing and the dark and perverted jokes, “Deadpool” maintains a certain level of taste by making sure no jokes become overdone. 

One of the most original aspects of the movie is how often the characters break the “fourth wall,” or directly address the audience. In fact, Deadpool was known for breaking the fourth wall within his comics. In the film, several of Deadpool’s jokes directly relate to Ryan Reynolds, the actor who plays Deadpool, while other jokes mock the studio’s lack of funding.

Perhaps the best aspect of “Deadpool,” however, are its realistic and visually stunning action scenes. The movie has gunfights, swordfights, and even just plain fistfights, all of which are violent, gory, and bloody. This graphic choice further distinguishes “Deadpool” from the rest of the superhero movies. In one scene, Deadpool is seen attempting to run over a bleeding man with a zamboni, while laughing at the evident hilarity of the situation. Beyond the gore, each fight scene is expertly choreographed, making them look extremely well done.

“Deadpool” may be a different breed of superhero movies, but the film was still masterfully crafted. With its vulgar jokes, fourth wall breaks, and epic fight scenes, “Deadpool” cements itself as a truly groundbreaking superhero movie.