#CMCExperiences

Our PGIMAC Student, Siddhi, shares her thoughts on the movie Deadpool

Critical thinking involves the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment. Here’s a review cum analysis of the movie Deadpool through the processes like identification of stereotypes, role of media in confirming and breaking prejudices etc. taught to us in the subject.

Much to the relief of the character’s fans, with Tim Miller’s ‘Deadpool’, Deadpool finally had a movie all to himself. The 2016 film’s take on Deadpool was much closer to his comic book version, unlike the sewn mouth, laser-shooting apology that previously appeared in ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’. Deadpool being Deadpool, he breaks the fourth wall, gossips about all of it within first ten minutes of the movie and the fans are left with no doubt about his authenticity.

The movie then proceeds on to Wade’s journey. How the mercenary met his fiancée, got cancer, left his fiancée for (his version of) her own good, lost good looks, got superpowers and found himself in the mess of a combat that the movie opened with, with ‘Angel of the Morning’ playing in the background of crotch close-ups. All of it leaving Wade stuck with his superhuman healing-ability and scars obtained in the process that he doesn’t mind making a startle-show out of to ‘Dopinder’, a cabbie. Like in many superhero movies, we have a supervillain. Ajax, the mutant who ruined Wade’s appearance and can fix it apparently. Meanwhile Deadpool hopes to reunite with his lost lover. His friends assure him that she wouldn’t reject him for bad looks, audience knows that ‘good girls’ in movies don’t reject their guys for looks, Wade however, lacks the courage and fails multiple times. Given how he never misses a chance to explicitly express disgust towards his face, it isn’t a surprise.

The movie does fair justice to Deadpool himself. He is almost everything he’s supposed to be. Sliding towards the latter on the thin line between badass and asshole. It’s common for the comic Deadpool to put up a self-centered show and yell gibberish like ‘I will be the next Hokage’ (-Naruto reference) out of nowhere. The movie Deadpool is self-absorbed, loves attention and throws around pop culture jokes, meme references, mocks anything in sight, mostly by turning it into a joke regarding human genetalia. Though it’s arguable to call him funny as quite often it’s visible that he’s trying too hard.

Every other character in the movie is plain. The reason why Deadpool appears trying too hard to be funny is because all other characters are given deliberate and obvious lines, leading to Deadpool saying something hat packs a punch of funny or ‘cool’. Spare a few exceptions where they had a funny line that they just can’t get Deadpool to say. Deadpool as a concept itself, is somewhat a mockery of a superhero. But that shouldn’t be an excuse for dumbing down all other characters. There is literally a scene where he asks the Negasonic Teenage Warhead whether she has a comeback and she plainly accepts defeat. Way to go!

As a movie, Deadpool isn’t apologetic that it’s been made presumably for male audience. The fourth wall breaker talk has Deadpool say “You may say, my boyfriend said this was superhero movie…”, and goes on for several ‘funny lines’ throughout the movie those fans like to regard as ‘dark humour’ but ends up being ‘locker room humour’. Another unhealthy gender-portrayal reference can be pointed out as every time Deadpool gets into an uncool sticky situation, he uses a high-pitched ‘girly’ voice unlike his normal voice. The ‘Negasonic Teenage Warhead’ and ‘Angel Dust’, the female mutants, literally have no role apart from easing and rising the tension respectively in the fight sequences as per convenience, and carry an unnecessary angry face.

The most unforgivable is Vanessa, the fiancée. Unlike the comic Vanessa who is also a mutant ‘Copycat’, movie Vanessa starts off as available for ‘anything you want to do to her’, and looks & talks like the cool-guy with curves. She’s barely anything more than personification of the dream-girl of teenage-boys who are awkward around the opposite sex. Once Wade wants stability and commitment, she turns into the motherly care-taker. And finally a damsel in distress, saving whom makes hero feel like a hero and she accepts him with all his ‘scars’. This relationship left a feeling of having watched ‘Beauty and the Beast’ with guns and sad humour, except, Vanessa doesn’t even get books like Belle.

Coming from advertising background, I would conclude that ‘Deadpool’ is to Marvel what ‘Fair & Lovely’ is to Unilever. With both the brands trying to juggle between good old means of revenue, all the while investing in ‘Dove’ and ‘Wonder Woman’ for the new times’ sake.