Deadpool

Review By Todd Pearage, Team interlinc WriteGroup member, toddpearage@me.com

February 12, 2016
Rated R: strong violence, language throughout, sexual content, graphic nudity.
Starring Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein and Brianna Hildebrand
Directed by Tim Miller

PLEASE UNDERSTAND, THIS MOVIE IS NOT FOR KIDS!

Based upon Marvel Comics’ most unconventional anti-hero, DEADPOOL tells the origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson, who after being subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopts the alter ego Deadpool. Armed with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humor, Deadpool hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life.

As a huge fan of the superhero films, I can’t decide if I’m angry or saddened by what I just watched. I think it’s both. Deadpool is a Rated R film that is extremely violent and jam-packed of sex, nudity and profanity. And it is in a genre that is destroying box offices everywhere. Just look at these numbers—Marvel’s The Avengers has made over $600 million, Iron Man, Captain American, Thor and Guardians of the Galaxy are all in the $200 million neighborhood. People – a lot of people are going to go see Deadpool. To make matters worse, I sat next to a father who brought his two sons (best guess they were 8 and 5) to the 10:00pm showing. Yes he brought an 8 and 5 year old to a R-rated movie and 10 o’clock at night! UGH!!

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So let’s take a minute and break it all down. There is no doubt that the comic book character Deadpool is a fan favorite. And with his super sarcastic comebacks and superhuman skills, who wouldn’t love him?! Some of you might remember him in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Although he is nearly unrecognizable, it was his first appearance on film. Film makers decided to give him laser eyes and swords that came out of his arms, which caused most fans to scratch their heads, but when they sewed his mouth shut, fans lost their minds! Ever since that debacle, fans (myself included), casual movie goers and even Ryan Reynolds have been begging for a legitimate Deadpool movie.

Be careful what you wish for.

I remember seeing the now infamous “test footage” that most people believe Reynolds leaked online. It was more brutal than other Marvel films like Iron Man or The Avengers. It was darker and I wondered how this was all going to unfold. The story goes that this test footage was shopped around and rejected for years, but once it broke the internet, it was greenlit in less than 24 hours.

Then the announcement came that it would have an R rating and they were still pushing the envelope. Allow me to confirm your worst fears. They did push the envelope. They made a Marvel superhero movie that kids will be begging to see…but they should NOT see.

Deadpool is extremely violent and graphic. This “hero” is not trying to save the day or protect the innocent, he’s trying to kill the “bad guys” in the most gruesome ways possible. Most superheroes have a “no kill” policy, and while that cannot always be the case, Deadpool seems to have a “no survivor” policy. And the deaths are graphic, gory and often disturbing.

Then there is the profanity. Most people know that Deadpool is known as The Merc with a Mouth. And its one of the reason most fans love him. He is witty, sarcastic and pretty funny. That being said, I was shocked that F-word was in almost every film. And it’s just not the F-word, there are explicit sexual references, crude jokes and a long list of other profanities.

But what shocked me the most was the amount of sex and nudity in the film. The film includes full-frontal male and female nudity and an extended sex scene that lasts several minutes. These scenes evoked some laughter from the audience, but there was nothing funny about it. There is also a scene in a strip club that seems to go on forever.

Are there any redeeming qualities to the film? Yes there are a few. Colossus is the voice of reason. He tries to convince Deadpool to leave his offensive ways behind and join the X-men. He’s reasonable, self-controlled and even rebukes him for this use of profanity. But Deadpool laughs him off and mocks him.

There is one small glimmer of decency in Wade Wilson aka Deadpool. When he talks about his battle with cancer, he says, that it’s not what the cancer does to you, it’s what it does to those you love. And it is that selfless acts that leads him down the road to becoming Deadpool.

As the credits rolled I sat in my seat and wished Ryan Reynolds and Tim Miller had made a PG-13 superhero movie that pushed the envelope…not an R-rated movie that pushed the envelope way too far.

SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
NO—and trust me, they are going to want to see it!

There are several sex scenes, both male and female full frontal nudity and a lot of sexual references. The violence is extremely graphic and there are A LOT of F-bombs.

CONVERSATION STARTER
How would you describe the relationship between Deadpool and Colossus?

Why do you think they don’t get along?

Do you have friends like Deadpool who always seem to do the wrong thing?

Read Hebrews 10:24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.

How can we motivate our friends to do good?

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