Deadpool made a lot of money, like a lot of money. Deadpool opened with $132.1 million over the weekend and added another $18 million on the Presidents Day holiday. Its weekend numbers made it the biggest opening weekend ever for Fox and the biggest opening weekend ever for an R-rated movie. So in spite of my lukewarm reception, Deadpool still managed to have a huge opening, more than doubling even the most generous projections.
Nothing talks louder than money in Hollywood so I’m concerned that Deadpool’s success might signal a turn in the superhero genre. In my review I made it clear that I’m not a fan of Deadpool so I wasn’t a big fan of his movie. I want my heroes to be heroic; I want to see them walk the hero’s journey and come out the other side different and better. Deadpool sidestepped the hero’s journey, mocking it along the way. I understand the appeal of that for some, but I don’t want it to become the blueprint for every superhero movie going forward.
I don’t want to see Doctor Strange hanging out in a strip club.
I don’t want to see Black Widow and Bruce Banner having sex.
I don’t want Captain America to abandon his moral compass and start dropping a bunch of f-bombs.
I’ve got concerns over the superhero genre but, of all things, I have faith in Disney’s ability to stave off the potential wave caused by Deadpool. Fox owns the rights to Deadpool and as a company is definitely more inclined to produce an R-rated superhero feature. Disney owns Marvel and the film rights to many of its characters; I can’t see Disney altering its Marvel philosophy simply because of Deadpool’s success.
One of Disney’s greatest strengths is preserving and protecting its characters and intellectual property. Disney and Marvel know the cultural significance of characters like Thor and Captain America and they won’t do anything to sully those characters’ reputations. Deadpool’s reputation is that of a foul-mouthed anti-hero; his character fit his movie. Disney isn’t going to alter any of Marvel’s characters in order to fit into the Deadpool mold. Tony Stark is never going to break the fourth wall and mock the hero’s journey because it turned him from a selfish weapons developer into a peacekeeping hero.
Disney’s philosophy isn’t altruistic: little kids buy toys and parents aren’t going to let their kids see movies like Deadpool. However, this is a case where Disney’s capitalistic endeavors actually help to preserve a little good in this world. We all know what it’s like to walk through a difficult experience and come out of it the same broken individual; maybe that’s why Deadpool was so successful, because it actually better mirrors our own experience. But I don’t want to stay the same broken individual; I want to grow, I want to change and I want to do something beyond my own selfish desires. Super heroes give us a vision for what we could be, not necessarily with the powers and abilities, but with an attitude that chooses to seek the good of others above our own.
That’s the attitude for which we were created. That’s the attitude that Jesus modeled for us in his life and death. And that’s the attitude I want to see on the big screen as my heroes choose to be heroic.
What do you want out of a superhero movie?
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