A lot of films fall into the trap of being overly sincere — or, in more recent years, too self-aware. Movies like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice showed us what can happen when a movie takes itself far too seriously, and on the other end of the spectrum, if every other minute of a film is littered with self-referential dialogue that spells out "yes, this is a movie about stupid stuff that we all know is stupid," then there's no room whatsoever for real emotional investment by the audience.

Deadpool, the first and best of its meta-kind, showed that it's possible to be extremely self-aware but also legitimately emotional at the same time. Deadpool tied most of its fourth-wall-breaking antics to the main character's superhero alter ego, so that whenever Wade Wilson and Vanessa Carlysle were sharing an intimate, real beat, no "you're watching a silly superhero movie" humor would crop up and ruin the moment. It was a smart balancing move that ensured audiences would care about Wade and Vanessa's happiness and wellbeing, while also being able to laugh at all of Deadpool's zany shenanigans.