Review: Deadpool (2016) · 7:19am Apr 27th, 2016
Deadpool is, in a word, disgusting.
It is a vulgar, tasteless affair, where child molestation, brutal murder, sexual abuse, drug addiction, and cancer all treated as a target for a relentless seep of sewage, and, like puss oozing from a wound, infects everything around it, creating a septic, morally desolate wasteland of a film. It is a fool that thinks itself wise, posing as a deconstructive parody of the superhero and action movie genres, only to end up indulging in the very same tropes and story beats as other, far superior films of the genres.
Whatever spark director Tim Miller brings to the proceedings is also drowned out by his obsessive compulsive desire to constantly wink at the audience. The jokes, or the horrible puss that calls itself jokes, are all of the most vulgar and lowbrow nature. The best way to describe it is as if the most stereotypical, basement dwelling reprobate slob comic fan wrote a screenplay while out on a two week bender. There is no charm, there is no wit. Only vulgarity atop vulgarity, wrapped up in a package that tries to present itself as something new and innovate, when it's merely rehashing the same tropes that oh so many a deconstructive comedy has used before.
Take the fourth wall breaking for example. The film is dominated by a relentless stream of winks and lampshade hanging. The film tries to make this look as if no other film has ever done. Apparently, nobody here saw Goodfellas, which has a snarky narration by the protagonist. Apparently, nobody here saw The Wolf of Wall Street, which focused on a selfish jerk who hedonistically indulges in his vices. And nobody apparently saw The Big Short, which had rapid fire pop culture references and aggressive fourth wall breaking. Even the non-liniar narrative has been done many, MANY times before, from films as varied as 8½ to Annie Hall to Fight Club. Even then, this film doesn't exactly break the fourth wall in any really groundbreaking ways. It's the standard "character acknowledges he's in a film" stuff that's been done before, and frankly, far, far better in other films.
The other aspect of the humor, and one that dominated the proceedings, is an almost fetish level obsession with the most disgusting sex jokes. There are at least eight jokes about child molestation. That's right. Children being sexually abused is treated as a valid subject to make light of in this film. Eight times. And those are the eight times I was aware of. Also, cancer is treated as a joke, or, if the film did treat it seriously, I was made so numb by the pedophile and child molestation jokes that I no longer cared. By that measure alone, the film flies far past any semblance of taste.
The acting performances are random, since I don't care about any of the characters. Pretty much every character (except Nega Sonic Teenage Warhead and Colossus) is an unrepentant pervert/sociopath/murderer/asshole, and since nobody here takes even the smallest step to improve themselves, or perhaps try to change their lives for the better, the film is simply a festering mess of unlikable characters, of whom I couldn't care less if they live or die. In fact, most of the time, I spent the movie wanting to see these characters suffer (the closest I came to enjoying the film were the sequences where Wade Wilson is tortured horribly by Francis, who at least was I could empathize with because he was heaping pain and suffering upon Wilson).
Ryan Reynolds continues to be anathema to me. He is a smug, pompous bastard, and Wade Wilson is simply one of the most disgusting human beings ever to walk the face of the earth. It's quite fitting that he ends up looking so disfigured. I suppose it really is what's inside that matters. Wilson is a character who indulges in sex, violence and masturbating to My Little Pony rip-offs, while joking that the X-Men are all a bunch of closet child molesters. This is a man who encourages other people to murder their rivals. This is a man who's only semblance of a human relationship is founded exclusively on how much perverted and deviant sex the duo can have with each other (as illustrated in a needlessly graphic montage of him and his girlfriend celebrating each holiday by indulging in increasingly perverted and disgusting fetishes and sex acts). And since the relationship is purely sexual, I have no real investment in the relationship. So what that Wilson is dying of cancer? So what that he's disfigured and now fears he won't be able to have sex with his hot girlfriend? I don't care, because the film obviously doesn't think a human relationship requires anything more then raw sexual gratification and indulgence.
The violence is so over the top that it merely makes you numb. One can only see people get their heads/legs/arms/hands/testicles mutilated graphically so many times before it's just merely a barrage of senseless violence with no plot relevancy beyond the purely indulgent.
Colossus and Nega Sonic, who are probably the closest this film comes to "likable characters", are sorely underused. The extent of their relevancy to the film is for Colossus to stand as a point of mockery and ridicule for his dedication to altruism and goodness, and Nega Sonic is the subject of a prom sex joke from Deadpool. Also, she kinda smashes stuff with her powers.
The villains have no motivations beyond simply being villains and because the plot demands that someone be somehow more morally repugnant then Wilson is, which, of course, they fail at. Very rarely have I so actively rooted for the bad guys then in this film.
The score by Junkie XL is passable. I'm not sure if it's trying to play the standard action movie soundtrack sound straight, or if it's some sort of subversion. Whatever the case, it's nowhere near the scope or impact that Junkie's masterful score for Fury Road was. The rest of the soundtrack is a random bunch of songs, from rap to George Michael to "Angel of the Morning". They're withstandable because they're catchy hooks, but even that is brought down by "The Deadpool Rap", which is basically some random rappers boasting about Deadpool's killing and sexual prowess.
In the end, Deadpool is, by far, the most disgusting film I've ever seen. It is a perverted, graphically violent and morally debased film that revels in how many different ways it can offend or reach new depths of depravity. It is the physical personification of everything I loathe in comedies of late, and, while it's typically bad form to personally pass judgement on those in the audience, I must state categorically that only the most perverted, or debased and morally backwards people can enjoy a film like this.
If you think child molestation and people masturbating to children's toys is funny, then God help you.
Half a star. A complete waste of film, and of your time. I'd rather watch Dawn of Justice again. At least that didn't make jokes about child rape.
Well, certainly a different appraisal than I've seen of it most of the time.
Hooo boy I'm actually so glad I dodged this particular bullet.
3899795 don't believe the hype.
This movie is complete garbage
I try hard not to wish ill on people these days, but god I hope Fox goes bankrupt.
3899802 Damn straight
I thought it was good but some points were still just plain wrong.
At least Colossus had a personality in this film.
And this my friends is why I never trust movie critics, because I fucking love this movie and I'm buying the Blu-ray the second it comes out.
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You say it's garbage, but it's the highest grossing R-rated movie of all time, the highest grossing X-Men movie of all time, and is the highest grossing Fox movie not directed by James Cameron or George Lucas.
You also need to take into account the fact that the vast majority of people, and critics, loved this movie and a sequel has already been greenlit. Case in point, the movie theater I was at when I saw the movie was completely full and everyone was laughing and having a good time. The part that really sticks in my mind was I sitting next to this little old black women, and I'm talking old, easily in her 60s. After the movie was over I asked her what she thought. I was expecting her to say she didn't like it, but to my surprise, she said she loved it. So you're saying all these people, myself included, are morally backwards? Yeah, I'm calling so much bullshit on that.
Sorry to say this Hobbit, but you're just wrong here and I highly advise any who haven't seen the movie already to go and at least give it a try.
3899799 One last thing.
You're saying that the villians are somehow less morally reprehensible than Wade. Let me remind you that these people, Ajax in particular, lured unsuspecting people with the promise of a second chance, only to subject them to absolutely brutal torture to awaken mutant genes they might not even have. If they're lucky, or unlucky, enough to survive that and actually get powers, they're fitted with collars and sold into slavery as living weapons.
You're saying this people are better than Wade, who was at that point a retired spec ops soldier working out of a mercenary bar being paid to intimidate people, that's it.
You're calling out people for enjoying this film, but if you were actively rooting for these guys, than I've got to call you out on that.
I'm sorry, but I must totally disagree with you on this movie. If only for the fact that you seem to have absolutely no knowledge of this character. (It's like the comment I heard someone make about the first Hulk movie, "What's with all the jumping?") I have never read a Deadpool comic, but I do know that he is a very violent person who suffers from having several "voices" in his head due to what he was subjected to. And he is constantly breaking the 4th wall and making crude jokes. (So your reference and claim that this movie is just ripping off other movies that have broken the 4th wall in the past has not validity.) And to depict him in any other light is doing a great disservice to the writers and readers of his comics. But then, Hollywood is constantly doing that with it's characters. And that is why a lot of movies of this genre fail with their target audiences.
As for the disrespect of and making a joke about cancer, I didn't see it. What I did see was a person doing the best they could not to fall into depression. And trying to protect those he loved. And a corrupt organization which took advantage of sick people for it's own gain. And after loosing my mother to cancer, I would be very quick to take offense if this move had treated it as you seem to think they did.
You also seem to have not looked past all the "sex" to see just how truly deep and loving Wade's relationship was with his girlfriend. And how torn up he was that she could never love someone as hideous as he has become.
So, all in all, I find that this review is very shallow and seems to be based completely on your disgust for the vulgar humor in it. And I will freely admit that this is a very violent and vulgar movie, but to be an effective film critic one should leave their biases outside of the theater. And try to judge the film on it's own flaws and merits
And in the future please do not debase people who do not like what you do. Ripping apart someone's character and morality is very rude and completely unprofessional. Just remember, if we all liked the same things then this would be a very boring world.
Avenging-Hobbits, please don't think of this as an attack on you. I fully respect your beliefs and feelings, and you are most certainly entitled to your opinions. But in this case I feel that I must disagree with your review. I wish you well and hope you have a wonderful day.
Please, Dawn of Justice better? Even REAL critics agree that Deadpool is a far better movie.
But I understand if this movie isn't your thing. I've meet one other person who didn't like it. This movie hardly has the critical mind...in mind. This is a movie for the fans, as it should be, and most fans agree that it's awesome. It's Deadpool to a chimichanga. His crude humor, in your face annoying attitude, his fourth-wall breaking; all the things you bash is all that makes Deadpool loved by his fans.
So, bash and hate on the movie as you wish. I'm still gonna watch again and again laughing at every joke and appreciating everything this cast and crew of done for this movie, because this movie has been long in the making and its hard work and dedication deserves respect.
Well, truth be told, I've never been very fond of Deadpool in the comics or anywhere else. In my book, Ryan Reynolds makes a far better Hal Jordan/Green Lantern than a Wade Wilson.
I thought it was pretty good actually. 3 out of 5 from me. But to each their own.
[Leaves cruel comments about your opinion]