10 Things Everyone Hates About Modern Movies

Deadpool obviously did a fantastic job bringing meta humour to the mainstream in a big way. Self-awareness wasn't a new trick invented by the Merc with a Mouth, for sure, but for such a proudly fourth wall-breaking superhero film to gross almost $800 million worldwide was previously unthinkable.

Winking at the audience can be a ton of fun, but there's also the distinct feeling that Deadpool and films like it open the door for less-inspired filmmakers to use that meta angle as a crutch, to effectively hang a lampshade over their lazy screenwriting.

Writers often use a veil of wink-wink snark to fend off audience critique, such as The Hangover Part II making jokes about the same things happening again, Sucker Punch allegedly being a critique of sexism while also serving as a striking example of it, and Jurassic World riffing on how much product placement sucks while featuring it in spades.

There's a smugness to this sort of manipulation which audiences are finding increasingly repellent, that writers think they can go the low-effort route while cracking wise about it and get away with it. No dice.