The Deadpool movie has been a long time in the making.

From the legion of Deadpool “cosplayers”—fans who dress up as fictional characters—who flock to New York Comic Con every year to star Ryan Reynolds pushing the idea of a movie for the past decade, there is no doubt as to the popularity of the character. It may have taken a while for the movie to come about, but like anything that’s slow-cooked for a long period of time, the wait has been absolutely worth it.

I’ll be honest, I was a little worried about this film. The viral marketing has been fantastic, riffing off of Reynolds’ rom-com past to promote the movie. The clips and trailers for the movie have been equally funny, but there was a small doubt in the back of my mind, a faint echo of the failure that was 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

And I worried that, as is the case with many comedies, the funniest parts of Deadpool had been put into the trailer.

I was so wrong, and never happier to be so. The movie—about a mercenary named Wade Wilson, a.k.a Deadpool, who gains superpowers during an illegal procedure to cure his cancer, and then uses his newfound powers to save his girlfriend, Vanessa Carlysle—is packed with fast-paced action and amusing repartee.

From the beginning of the opening credits I knew that it was going to be funny, with the credits stating “Starring: God’s Perfect Idiot” and “Written by: The Real Heroes Here.”

Sure, there is slapstick humor and some jokes fall a little flat, but overall the comedy is spot-on. There is one particularly hilarious moment between Deadpool and a character named Blind Al, but for the sake of spoilers that’s all I’ll say.

I will say that it is exactly what readers of Deadpool’s various comics would want, if not expect. Breaking of the fourth wall and self-references are rampant (remember that scene in the trailer when Deadpool references the atrocity that was 2011’s Green Lantern? There’s more where that came from). There is even one scene in which Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead are talking about Professor Xavier and Deadpool asks, “MacAvoy or Stewart?”

The digs at Wolverine and the actor who has repeatedly portrayed him, Hugh Jackman, are some of the funniest moments in the film.

There are a few things the movie doesn’t really accomplish though. I wish that it had included Lady Death or Cable, but it’s understandable that it doesn’t because even Deadpool admits the studio may not have had enough money to afford more characters.

Another relationship that fans are dying to see on the big screen is that of Spider-Man (Peter Parker) and Deadpool. Both characters have a chemistry in the comics that leads to them frequently sharing issues, and it would be worthwhile to see that transition to the silver screen.

In addition, Morena Baccarin’s character Vanessa is known in the comic books as the mutant Copycat. Maybe in the sequel we will get to see her latent mutant abilities surface like Wade’s powers do. This first movie has set up the characters and story of Deadpool nicely enough that there will be plenty of time to address missing factors in subsequent sequels, which are sure to come given the film’s huge, and somewhat surprising, financial return.

Another facet of the comics that I think the movie underplays is the fact that Deadpool has conversations with himself, or rather, voices only he can hear, something that is common in his comics. Deadpool is unique in the comic book world because the character knows he’s a comic book character.

Deadpool is a self-aware creation who calls out the clichés common in comic books as well as his own faults, meaning his self-awareness doesn’t only extend to the fact he knows he’s in a comic book, but he is also aware of the mistakes he makes. I wish that had made it into the movie in a more direct manner.

While the movie misses some key elements that make the Deadpool comics unique, it does the character a great justice. Many of the friends that I watched the movie with hadn’t read the comics but thoroughly enjoyed the movie.

At his core, Deadpool is an extremely relatable character, even if he has a skewed morality. He’s not the perfect hero with a heart of gold; he’s the lovable anti-hero who likes to frequent strip clubs. He thinks twice about the morals of hitting a woman and shows mercy to children because he knows what it’s like to be young and make mistakes.

From a studio perspective, Deadpool also proves that it’s possible to have an R-rated superhero movie that does well at the box office—its $132 million opening weekend was the biggest ever for an R-rated film. The movie is raunchy and gory, and I doubt it would be as captivating if it were rated PG-13.

Much like 2012’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Deadpool has opened the door to a different kind of superhero movie. In fact, both movies seem to build a new recipe for success: a bevy of morally gray characters; a dollop of romantic subplot; and whacky, refreshing humor.

There will be, of course, some people who won’t like this movie, and that’s understandable. The humor and action aren’t for everyone, and some people won’t get the character. But much like Guardians of the Galaxy, the movie has proven to be a breakout hit despite the relatively unknown characters.

Granted, it doesn’t add anything in terms of cinematic excellence or even screenwriting, but it’s probably one of the funniest movies you’ll watch this year.