Back in April 2015, I wrote up a thoroughly irritated response to our favourite feminist dingbat’s angsty, ill-informed bloviating about THE GREATEST TV SHOW OF ALL TIME. In that rather annoyed (but completely justified) screed, I mentioned in passing that I was waiting for Ryan Reynolds to ruin the then-upcoming Deadpool movie the way he ruined Green Lantern.

A commenter pointed out that the reason why that latter movie was so atrocious was more likely due to the writers and the director than the lead actor himself. Now, having seen a fair few Ryan Reynolds films in my time- ranging from the highly underrated gross-out classic National Lampoon’s Van Wilder, to the also rather underrated and thankfully not-too-saccharine Definitely, Maybe, to of course the pile of horripilation that was X-Men Origins: Wolverine, I was somewhat inclined to agree.

But I retained a considerable amount of scepticism because, well, it’s Ryan Reynolds. He is better known for being very handsome and bedding absurdly beautiful women than he is for his acting.

Exhibit A (plus B and C to the bottom right)

Eventually, though, after a very great deal of procrastinating, I finally got around to actually watching the new Deadpool film last night. And, my word, was I surprised.

The film was actually really good. It was crass, bloody, extremely violent, over-the-top bonkers, and refused to take itself seriously. It had all the subtlety of watching a clown on crack attempting to set a house on fire.

And I have to say, it was very funny.

Now, I’m not actually a fan of the Deadpool character. I much prefer the stoic, strong-silent-type badasses, such as Master Chief, Batman, and Wolverine. Endlessly talkative wiseass loudmouths generally aren’t my cup of tea.

However, the downside of reading the books, comics, and graphic novels- and watching the movies and cartoons- that star such Clint Eastwood-type Sigma males, is that they tend to be very dark and grim. That kind of endlessly grinding nihilism has its time and place, for sure, but once in a while it is nice to watch or read something that absolutely refuses to take itself, or anything else, seriously.

Deadpool is the exact opposite of films like The Dark Knight or The Wolverine– both of which are terrific films that I really liked and continue to enjoy. What makes Deadpool good, though, is the fact that Ryan Reynolds absolutely nails the title character’s performance.

So, it would appear that my deeply held belief that Mr. Reynolds simply did not have the acting chops, the skills, or the presence of mind to pull off the character of Deadpool was, to put it mildly, rather mistaken. And therefore, I owe him an apology.

Hence, Mr. Reynolds, what can I say other than: “oops“.