After a wealth of superhero movies in recent years, Tim Miller’s Deadpool (2016) stood out as a mastery of satire and irony within the genre. Ryan Reynolds performance as Wade Wilson/Deadpool shines, earning him a Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actor in a Comedy and international acclaim. The movie shattered box office records for R-rated films, and the film additionally earned a Critics Choice Movie Award for Best Comedy as well as the People's Choice Award for Favorite Action Movie in 2016. The movie inverts conventions of the medium to play with audience expectation but stays within the realm of normalcy for the genre. Though the structure of the movie is like most other super-films, the character of Deadpool lends the film a distinctly revisionist tone, where the movie mocks similar films while maintaining much in common with them.

         The film follows much of the conventions of the classical cinema style, but has definite ties to formalism. By playing with videography, narrative, timeline manipulation, and a present narrator, Deadpool remarks on its status as a film. Louis Giannetti, a professor of film studies and author of Understanding Movies, says that, “Formalist movies are stylistically flamboyant.” where “The stylized draws attention itself: it’s part of the show.” (Giannetti 5 )The formalism of the film is maintained by the character of Deadpool, where he regularly turns to the audience to describe plot elements in-scene, as well as discussing his own self-awareness and breaking the fourth wall, fully aware that he is a character in a movie. By being so open with the audience, they were made to feel very included, invested in both the story and the lives of the characters. Though the film is in the classical cinema style, it does lean heavily towards the formalist style, where “Classical cinema avoids the extremes of realism and formalism in favor of slightly stylized presentation that at least has a surface plausibility” (Giannetti 6). Though the plot was unrealistic, the story maintained this sense of plausibility, where the audience was welcomed into the fold of the story through elements that contributed to the openness of the story. From a narrator that portrayed events in a very intimate manner, the audience was welcomed by a “friendly neighborhood Deadpool,” and served as equal part spectator and listener.

        The photography of Deadpool is contrary to conventional style of filming, so the audience is forced to stare in occasionally obscene and taboo ways. The cinematography encourages voyeurism, drawing focus to the groin and rear for shock value. Indeed, the photography of the film chooses to further emphasize the film’s decisions to push boundaries, changing conventions of the medium slightly to get the audience out of their comfort zone. Deadpool starts unusually for an action film, with an iconic opening sequence following a slow moving continuous shot, with the camera exploring a frozen moment in a very kinetic scene. In a continuous shot, the camera rotates through an exploding car, focusing on individual elements in turn. Once the audience is shown every part of this frame, the camera is pulled out in the same fluid shot, showing us the entire exploding vehicle. In one shot, the protagonist looks through a bloody hole in his arm at an oncoming enemy. As the focus turns from his injury to the attacker, the focus of the shot changes, using the injury as an iris that shifts the audience’s focus to the oncoming strike. As a whole, the film does not shy from gore, using the intensity of blood spatters to brighten an otherwise muted color palette. Indeed, it is Wade Wilson’s iconic red suit that stands out in a landscape focused on the dark underside of dive bars and concrete structures, the red of his suit in stark contrast to the elsewise black, grey, and shadowy locales.

        While the lighting style itself is more high-key, well-lit characters stand out against very dark backgrounds of the slums. The darkness of the backgrounds and dramatic lighting further the idea that there is a dark underside to the character, using mise en scene to further the claim that Deadpool is not a conventional hero, nor a typical mercenary. In Sister Margaret’s, the mercenary bar, Wilson is shown at the counter for the entirety of the first act, in contrast with the seedier group of people behind him. The seating area of the bar serves a different clientele, the rowdy and trigger-happy mercenaries that are not governed by Wilson’s same moral code. Indeed, he is not shown in this area of the bar until he is approached to join the experimental clinic. By moving to meet with the man, Wilson is symbolically crossing the threshold into a grayer area. This is not to say Wilson is superior, as the mise en scene ensures the audience that he and his associates are shown as broken people. In both of Wilson’s apartment’s there is a wealth of exposed studs, broken furniture, and an overall dingy environment, showing his disorganization and overall brokenness.

        The editing of this movie stays true to its formalist ties, regularly playing with conventions for dramatic effect. In editing, the main focus seems to be thematic, where distortion of time is used for comedic value as well as storyline maintenance. Because this story was told in a nonlinear fashion, different scenes are spliced together to create a hectic timeline, where the narrator constantly jumps through the events of the story, telling the audience only what is relevant at the moment. The editing serves as another way to defy expectations, where the action is regularly contrary to the norm. In one such scene, the protagonist takes advantage of a freeze frame to ask the audience “Did I leave the oven on?” in the midst of a brawl. The transitions are stark, where they quickly jump between shots and scenes with little blending, though they maintain elements of the initial shot. One transition freezes Wilson while he gives narration, which is quickly replaced by an action figure in the same position to mark the change between shots. Largely the editing is done for comic effect, blending different aspects of production to create a fluid telling. After Deadpool was being criticized for violence, his protests of “nobody’s getting hurt!” was negated by a body suddenly falling from an overhead freeway sign. In regards to Wilson’s scenes of conflict, his fights were largely presented in montage, where bits and pieces of each fight were cumulatively spliced together; which is also seen in his attempt to find a suit that works well for him.

        The sound of the film was especially noteworthy, as it plays with narration as well as music. In one scene we see Deadpool listening to his radio, singing along and explaining the action of the scene with the audience. As the action begins, he jumps back into the thick of the central plot, now serving as the protagonist instead of the self-aware narrator. This transition is marked by the change of the song (Salt-N-Pepa’s “Shoop”) from diegetic to non-diegetic, where the audience continues to hear the song after it has stopped playing for the characters. Later on, the soundtrack and mise en scene work in tandem, as the holiday outfits and song (Neil Sedaka’s “Calendar Girl”) walk the audience through a year in the life of Wade and his girlfriend Vanessa (Morena Baccarin,) which showed the passage of time. Similarly, The Chordettes’ “Mr. Sandman” overlay Wilson torture in the clinic, again showing the passage of time, but here adding an ironic element, as the upbeat song is an ironic choice to play over graphic torture. To Wilson, jokes serve as a coping mechanism, able to brush off atrocities by making light of them. Indeed, the sounds of this film are but another way the audience is made to see the events from Wilson’s perspective. After he is impaled through the brain, Chicago’s “You’re the Inspiration” plays over Wilson’s cartoon hallucination, giving the scene a silly but euphoric feeling, in contrast to the intensity of the battle happening around him. After Vanessa is attacked, the music becomes distorted, signifying Wade’s return to reality, and the fight surrounding him.

Deadpool tells the story of Wade Wilson, a former member of special forces that turns to the life of a mercenary after his discharge. Despite having a troubled past, he is able to find love in the form of Vanessa, a spunky prostitute. Their idyllic home life is quickly interrupted as he’s diagnosed with terminal cancer and turns to a shady clinic in hopes of being cured for her. The treatment leaves him disfigured and able to regenerate, surviving any injury. He spends the remainder tracking Francis (Ed Skrein,) the man who mutated him, in hopes of being turned back. Once Vanessa is kidnapped, Wade uses the help of other supers to attack Francis’ base and get her back. The film concludes with the antagonist dead, Wade and Vanessa reunited, and “Deadpool” coming to terms with his new life, disfigured with super powers.

        The movie itself can fit into a variety of genres and uses the conventions of each to poke fun with cinematic tradition within it. The movie is a hybrid film, with elements of science fiction and romance, but is predominantly a comedic action movie. The humor of the film is dictated by its characters, where the macabre characters use dark humor and sarcasm to joke with one another. The story is a self-identified love story, with Wade openly saying that his desire to be with Vanessa motivated his decisions in the course of the film. However, he later revokes this, saying that “it’s not a love story, it’s a horror story” as he undergoes the treatment. While Wilson has the same morality as many other superheroes, the execution is different because he is able to justify what he is doing is right. His deontological justifications do not fit perfectly with convention, as he kills Francis in cold blood, because he deserves it. Another super, Colossus (Stefan Kapicic) is in the midst of giving Wilson a speech on mercy when he suddenly shoots Francis, citing that he was not going to spare him anyway. In this, he defies the conventions of the superhero subgenre, based on absolute morality instead of the amoral protagonist seen in Deadpool . However, the movie does end karmically, with the antagonist dying and the protagonist getting his happy ending. Though this karmic justice satisfies the conventions of the super genre, the film largely challenges conventions and unspoken codes of the genres presented, with a wealth of ironic and anti-heroes propelling the plot onwards. A highly reflexive film, the extremely revisionist nature of the film nonetheless relies on its character to fuel action and break defy typical convention.

The narration of Deadpool is from the perspective of an extremely ironic first-person narrator, where Deadpool himself is a biased narrator, regularly commenting on events from the perspective of both a narrator and an involved character. Wilson dramatizes events in the story, where the visibility of the director is obvious throughout. The movie pokes fun at conventions of the genre with an extremely ironic narrator, who is both self-aware and openly mocking. The audience is invited to see the events from his perspective, presented in such a way that nearly forces identification with the protagonist. The narrative is straightforward and transparent, where the audience is explicitly shown different facts of the narrator as if reliving Wilson’s own memory.

        The movie starts in the center of the narrative, where the audience is introduced to Deadpool in the midst of a brawl on the freeway. At this point, he begins to tell the audience of the circumstances that lead him to this point, starting two years prior during his time as a mercenary. Once the audience is caught up to the opening scene, we progress alongside Wilson, seeming to learn the story as it is occurring. The plot focuses on Wilson’s desire to be cured, first from cancer, and then from the mutation that saved his life. He seeks out the clinic for the cure and then stalks his mutator, destroying much of his criminal enterprise in the process. The first act is idyllic, focused on establishing Wilson’s character and his relationship with Vanessa. She largely acts as the motivation of the film, where all of his actions are for her benefit, getting better for her. At the peak of his happiness (his engagement) he suddenly falls, leading to a diagnosis of terminal cancer. This causes a downward spiral, culminating in his decision to undergo torture in hopes of triggering a mutation. His transformation serves as the inciting incident, with Wilson himself saying that everything going wrong in his life could be traced to this “ one big, bad decision.” The second act begins with him surviving the clinic, now un-killable and on the hunt for the man who changed him. In retaliation, Francis kidnaps Vanessa in the midpoint twist, where Wilson now has to come save her. In act three, Deadpool attacks Francis’ base, eventually saving her and killing him in final victory.

        The narrative of the film is shaped by Wade Wilson, an ironic anti-hero that remains a sympathetic character despite his dubious morality. After reaching rock bottom with a diagnosis, Wilson’s motivation is entirely fueled by his need to get better, to return to the man he was before cancer. He eventually comes to a place of tentative self-acceptance, reuniting with Vanessa and ending on good terms with the majority of the other characters. Wilson’s earnest but biting journey is in direct contrast to Francis, the man who originally mutated him and eventually kidnapped Vanessa. Francis is acting solely to make money, intending to sell the super powered mutants to the highest bidder as super soldiers. He admitted to acting cruelly for his own satisfaction, telling Wilson he is continuing to torture him “not because I need to, but because I want to.” Because of his cruelty, the audience is positioned against Francis, much more likely to identify with the sympathetic and fun-loving Deadpool. While Francis masochistically enjoys pain, Deadpool largely perceives it as the means to an end, not always necessary but sometimes enjoyable. If he had not been such a sympathetic character in regard to his moral code and humor, the audience would likely be poised against him acting as a vigilante.

        Though the premise of an origin film with romance, villainy, and transformation is repeated time and time again in the superhero genre, Deadpool stands apart due to its titular character, who pushes the events of the narrative in unconventional directions. The myth of the superhero genre fundamentally relies on the idea of justice, where the wrongdoers are punished, and the good guys reign supreme. The hero is typically deserving, a figure of hope. Deadpool is not, rather an anti-hero that operates in the moral grey area for the greater good. Though he is the hero of this story in his own right, he largely acts in self shame of his appearance. He lives with a blind woman and otherwise hides underneath a red suit “so the bad guys can’t see me bleed”, because of an intense vulnerability and fear of rejection. His journey to get “fixed” comes from Deadpool’s desire to be Wade Wilson again, as he effectively became a new person in the midst of his mutation. His transformation marks the end of Wade Wilson the man, and the birth of Deadpool. After he is vanquished by Francis, he claws his way from the ashes, completing the motif of rebirth like a phoenix.

        Deadpool is different from many other similar films largely due to its humor and ability to criticize. In a hyper-masculine genre, Deadpool shines as an emotional protagonist, continuing the movie’s theme of otherness. The movie focuses in on the conventions of movies, and defies them within reason, where an audience still understands, but is encouraged by a film that is simply different. In this film, the love interest is not a complicit and demure leading lady, but rather a confident and outspoken sex worker, who is unapologetic in her sexuality and motivation. Likewise, Wilson himself flies in the face of typical male bravado, displaying a sense of masculinity without falling into the trap of the average man. He is shown sewing his own clothes, crying, and even flirting with other men, in direct opposition to the typical sort of hyper-masculine character seen in this sort of film. While he is still a strong male character, his effeminate touches don’t undermine his masculinity, nor do his violent tendencies have a root in emotional suppression. By making Deadpool an “other” sort of character, he becomes a commentary on gender relations and the divide between the masculine and effeminate in the genre.

        While Deadpool is host to a variety of sympathetic characters, the movie nonetheless has a foreign feel to it, as it inhabits the lives of a different class of people. Though the world of heroes and mutants is out of touch, the world of Wilson is similarly distant, where the criminal underbelly is a foreign concept for the average viewer. This world is not seen as negative, but rather an unusual class governed by a different sort of moral code. By portraying a killer in such a positive and sympathetic light, it could be said that the movie is advocating for a sort of interpretive morality, where sticking to a personal code of ethics is more important than being completely moral. Though Deadpool condones violence, it is largely presented as a means to an end, while Francis is more interested in sadistic killing, without regard for the reason why. Though both protagonist and antagonist are killers, their reasons why are extremely different. While Deadpool kills for justice (killing Francis so he could not mutate anyone else) Francis kills because he finds pleasure in it and is therefore morally repugnant in a way that Wilson is not.

        Though on the surface Deadpool is similar to the dozens of superhero movies released over the last several decades, it differs fundamentally because of its unconventional protagonist, as well as its address of broader social issues. An extremely revisionist film, the movie focuses on the conventions of the superhero genre and pokes fun at it through production techniques and characterization. It appears to be a simple raunchy movie, but it transcends conventions of its film to create an interesting world for the audience.

 

References:

Giannetti, L. D., & Leach, J. (2005). Understanding Movies (Thirteenth ed.). Toronto, Ont.:

Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Miller, T. (Director). (2016). Deadpool [Motion picture]. USA: Marvel Studios .

Deadpool (2016). (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2017, from

http://www.imdb

.com/title/tt1431045/