Well, it finally happened. It took a while to get to this point, but there’s no going back now.

Deadpool has finally hit cinemas.

(What? What did you think I meant?)

Wherever your thoughts went, we’re here for yet another in the long, long, long (long) line of comic book/super hero adaptations taking over movie screens. So what if it’s late to the party? So what if it was mauled almost to death while trapped in production hell? So what if they already destroyed the character in the X-Men Origins timeline (that doesn’t exist anymore – which you’d know if you were a good little consumer)?

Is the movie any good?

No.

But it was still great.

Deadpool has a paper thin plot that resembles a Saturday morning cartoon more than a movie. It focuses almost a third of its time on, dare I say it, the dreaded “origin story” (though for the record, I don’t think origin stories would be so hated if they didn’t all play out in the exact same goddamn way). But with all that against it, Deadpool is gleeful. It celebrates the character, the world of super heroes, and most of all, the fans. With incredible character chemistry, cutting humor, and just the right amount of winks and nods to the audience, the movie holds your attention for its entire 108 minutes. Instead of building tension in a world going to hell, it build a sense of joy. It makes you want to see more of Deadpool being Deadpool, even if he wasn’t doing anything other than that.

Movies that are this much fun have been hard to come by lately, especially in the super hero cinematic universe. The genre seems to be stuck in an apocalypse-porn spiral. In flick after flick, it’s the darkest of times, the fate of the world hangs in the balance, and our heroes face the ultimate sacrifice. Not even Marvel, an empire built on fun characters and bright colors, is immune. Pair that gloominess with the fact that DC and Marvel have 20 movies coming out back to back in the next four years, and the whole thing starts to feel more like homework than fun.

And I want it to be fun again. I want to be excited to see these movies. As someone who dreamed of seeing these characters coming to the big screen, I should be giddy. The X-Men facing the ultra-goofy Apocalypse? Avengers vs. Avengers with a splash of Spider-Man? Batman and Superman sharing the screen to make way for the Justice League? Harley fucking Quinn?! This is an unparalleled age of wish-fulfillment for all of us who grew up worshiping these characters.

And yet, all I feel is fatigue.

And that’s why Deadpool succeeds. Not the R rating, not the F-bombs, not the immature jokes or the blood and violence. I left the theater with a big smile, repeating my favorite lines to my friends, replaying them in my mind so they remained burned in my memory. It was, finally, a film that just wanted to celebrate itself and its fans – us. It was alive and goddammit, isn’t that amazing?!

… But not everyone is that lucky.