While I didn't care enormously for the second Deadpool, the first one was really a breath of fresh air for me when compared against the PG safety of the Avengers and their one-liners. A theory of mine for a while with these movies is that a lot of their enjoyment hinges on some degree of self-awareness. And almost uniformly, the ones I enjoy least can't make fun of themselves, and the ones I enjoy most can. Is Deadpool over the top? Absolutely. But I think having such a degree of self-awareness is kind of essential in a franchise that's gotten as huge as it has. And I think it would have been a worse and more contrived feeling movie without him, because the plot was admittedly pretty stupid.

And while all the jokes have been improved by the higher-ups, I do see an admirable humor and levity in their ability to so plainly admit that all of the movies since endgame have kinda fallen flat. I got a pretty good laugh out a lot of the movie's self-deprecating humor.

Anyway, great piece Simon!