Deadpool

Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds), a dishonorably discharged special forces operative, is now a wise-cracking, mercenary for hire with seemingly no limits to the type of jobs he will take and execute, all of which are accompanied by his twisted, sick and perverse style of humor. These are the extent of Wade’s good qualities. Wade finds a sympathetic partner in Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), who shares his sardonic view of life, but circumstances soon spiral out of control, forcing him to volunteer for an experiment that will turn him into Deadpool—essentially the same man, only with super human fighting abilities and a healing factor that can regenerate any part of him that is injured or destroyed. This makes him near impossible to kill.

The experiment that left him more than human also left him horribly scarred and disfigured, so the film kicks off with him already as Deadpool, bent on a mission of revenge. This is not a tale of redemption, nor does it recognize that “with great power, comes great responsibility” (Spider-Man), and, in fact, Deadpool himself says on more than one occasion, “I am not a hero,” and in this he is dead right.

A comic-book based film that doesn’t fit in with any of the others, yet released in the genre by Marvel, “Deadpool” is a crass, vulgar, exploitive movie that appeals to the sordid nature in all of us and will, most probably, be enormously popular among certain demographics. I urge you not to fall into the media hype, as there are matters to consider before deciding to see this.

Objectionable Content

The “R” (Restricted) rating given to “Deadpool” has been pushed to its maximum limits in every category.

Violence: Extreme. Deadpool is armed with guns and swords, so the men that oppose him are frequently impaled, limbs cut off (including decapitations), shot in the head, choked, necks broken, burned alive, dragged to death, smashed by cars and debris, and blown up. Blood is seen throughout the movie. The gore that is oft-times shown can be found in horror films and includes extended scenes of torture, asphyxiation, burning, and, in one so called ‘comical’ scene, Deadpool saws off his own hand. Apparently, some countries that normally censor films before distribution decided prudently not to even make the attempt and will not be releasing the movie.

Language: Extreme. The machine gun like delivery of expletives is fast and furious, only taking breaks during heavy action, or if there is little to no dialog heard, and includes the following curses: f* (65+ including 12 mother-f*****), sh**(36), bs (2), as* (7), as*h*** (3), bit** (2), bj (3), and the n-word at least once during some of the songs playing in the background, which contain even more cursing. Deadpool repeatedly refers to masturbation and various euphemisms for male genitalia, homosexual and various perverse sex acts.

More importantly, the Lord’s name is taken in vain several times, OMG (1), God (3), God-d*** (1), Jesus (1), Jesus Christ (2), plus hell (3) and damn (2). The count above is the minimum that was heard and, including songs, is in actuality probably higher but is enough to provide a guide.

Sex/Nudity: Extreme. Vanessa is dressed in both underwear and in a dominatrix outfit, and nude during an extended sex scene between her and Wade before his transformation, Wade’s backside is shown as well as side nudity of him during his torture. Full frontal nudity is seen of both women in a strip club and of Wade. The fact that his genitalia is most likely computer generated does not lessen that fact that it is very visible three times during a battle. Crotch and rears are focused on several times, including when Deadpool is shot right up the rectum.

Lessons

Speech. Both before and after he becomes Deadpool, Wade curses without caution or much thought. All of us were once like this, speaking our mind without any consideration of others, but eventually childhood comes to an end. The Word of God warns us about what this really says about us and why we should speak to others kindly.

“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” Luke 6:45

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Ephesians 4:29

Immorality. Dismissed from special forces, Wade became ‘muscle for hire’ and always felt free to threaten and steal from men that have done nothing to him, as shown early in the film. He does not hesitate to involve himself in nefarious schemes, and the only thing we don’t see him do is falsely testify against another. Still, the Word of God is clear that Jesus wants us to leave that aberrant nature behind, because, while a Holy God has always loved us, he hates sin.

“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” Colossians 3:5

“There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.” Proverbs 6:16-19

Redemption. The X-Man Colossus (Stefan Kapicic) attempts to draw Deadpool to the side of ‘good’ with an offer to join the heroic X-Men, which Deadpool rejects, and a plea to be merciful to an enemy is also emphatically rejected by Deadpool. Our God is indeed a God of second chances, but the Bible warns us that if we continue to chose the path away from him, he grants us our wish, to our own shame.

“For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” Romans 1:21

“Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice.” Romans 1:29

The majority of the recent comic-book adaptions to film have been positive ones, but the new trend towards the anti-hero has reached a low with “Deadpool.” Sometimes quirky, but mostly effective, CGI affects aside, the few and far between genuinely humorous moments are enveloped within such a morass of perverseness and obscenity that it should kill the enjoyment from any thinking adult, let alone Christians, who should be heeding the Spirit inside us and avoiding “Deadpool,” as well as films like it yet to come. Why miss the film everyone will be talking about? The reason is simple:

“…that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.” Philippians 2:15

Violence: Extreme / Profanity: Extreme / Sex/Nudity: Extreme

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