Deadpool

What’s it about?

Former Special Services operative Wade Winston Wilson becomes immortal but hideously scarred after an evil scientist experiments on him. As a newfound vigilante, he sets out to track down the man who ruined his looks.

The facts 

• Created by Tim Miller
• Starring Ryan Reynolds (The Proposal), Morena Baccarin (Firefly), Ed Skrein (Transporter Refueled), T.J. Miller (Silicon Valley), Gina Carano (Fast & Furious 6), Brianna Hildebrand (Tragedy Girls), and Stefan Kapičić (Better Call Saul).
• English language
• Runtime: 108 minutes

Why did it get this rating? 

This film was classified by Te Mana Whakaatu, Classification Office. You can find out more about classification process and ratings here.

Graphic violence

This film contains frequent violence and bloody scenes that can sometimes feel excessive. Characters are killed in various ways, most of which are clearly shown. The film contains regular humour which may soften the weight of some violence.

Some of the strongest moments of violence include:

• A character cuts off his hand, spurting lots of blood everywhere, with the bones and flesh of his arm stump shown briefly in slow motion. This shot is very gory, however, the man does not feel the pain and it is quickly followed by humour.
• A character is tortured for several weeks on end. He is kept in a glass box, beaten, electrocuted, and suffocated painfully, sometimes just for the perpetrators pleasure.
• Several people are shot in the head, with blood and brain matter splattering out briefly.
• There are montages where several people are killed with swords. One man is seen crawling away on a hockey rink with a long trail of blood, before he is killed offscreen by a large, wheeled ice maintenance machine.

Sex scenes and nudity

Deadpool contains sex scenes and depictions of male and female genitals.

In one scene, a male performs oral sex on a former female prostitute, and she penetrates his anus using a sex toy. 

Graphic female genitalia are displayed with full frontal nudity as sexualised nude females perform in a strip club for males.

There is a fight scene in the dark where a man’s buttocks and penis are shown in glimpses.

There are frequent strong sex references throughout the film, such as explicit descriptions of sexual acts, like “teabagging” and “ball-swallowing.”

Offensive language

This film contains regular and diverse use of offensive language, with words “motherf*cker, “sh*t,” and “b*tch.” The N-word is heard twice in a song.

When content stays with you: 

We all have our boundaries, and it’s completely okay if something you’ve watched is weighing on your mind. If certain content lingers with you, consider having a chat with friends or whānau to debrief about what you’ve just seen. But if you’re still feeling affected, please reach out to any of the following helplines for support.  

• 1737
• Safe to talk
• Lifeline
• Youthline

Further information 

• Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau?
• Brain development – how it works, why it matters