Ryan Reynolds and Morena Baccarin star in a scene from the movie "Deadpool." The Catholic News Service classification is O -- morally offensive. (CNS /Fox)

By Catholic News Service

Sarcasm and splatter add up to a nasty odyssey in this vengeance-driven Marvel Comics adaptation from director Tim Miller.

Diagnosed with terminal cancer shortly after finding true love (with Morena Baccarin), a former Special Forces operative (Ryan Reynolds) seizes on the offer of an underground cure. Though the treatment to which he’s subjected not only heals him but endows him with super powers, it amounts to a round of horrific torture that also horribly disfigures him. So he sets out on a long quest to catch up with and kill his principal tormentor (Ed Skrein).

Like the battered prize at the bottom of a box of rancid Cracker Jacks, there are some traces of morality to be found in this profile of a smart-alecky antihero. Yet any rewards that might be gained by digging down for them are thoroughly canceled out by an ethics-empty conclusion blatantly denying the inherent value of human life.

Skewed values, including a benign view of violent revenge, constant mayhem with extreme gore, strong sexual content including graphic premarital and aberrant activity as well as full nudity, a few uses of profanity, pervasive rough and crude language.

The Catholic News Service classification is O — morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

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