Deadpool 2, despite the obvious problems common with sequels, is, at some points, superior to its original. While its still largely a comedy that openly riffs on the
superhero genre while blatantly copying the formula, it also seeks to
do something even the best reviewed superhero movies still try openly
and fail spectacularly to do: give the character a heart. Yes,
there's still more comedy here than seems necessary and the titular
character still fires his mouth off faster than any gun he can find,
but, now with seemingly actual stakes, it feels like the franchise
has finally grown beyond just being a sophomoric comedy and fallen
into a unique niche of being a sophomoric comedy with the early
makings of a soul. Also, there's a Hugh Jackman cameo (because we all
know what's REALLY important here).
Yes, readers, Deadpool 2, much like its predecessor but
so much more, is awesome. Ryan Reynolds continues to be an odd
mixture of both the perfect embodiment of the character and very
nearly a real-world version of the character, Josh Brolin comes
through beautifully as the first interesting version of Cable ever,
Zazie Beetz's Domino proves to be both a serious foil and and equally
fun-to-watch character to Deadpool's mile-a-minute dialog and, after
a first movie that didn't really try explore what comic book Deadpool
truly is (mainly due to budget constraints), genuine effort is
finally put into exactly why this indestructible psychopath truly is
the way he is in the comics. Throw in a surprisingly accurate new
character in the second act with his own theme song (which I now want
as a ringtone) and a heartfelt third act to tie everything together
and you finally have a Marvel movie that Disney keeps going for but
never quite nails: a true rendition of a comic book character that
can seemingly sustain a franchise.
As for bad, what little there is, those coming to the
theater hoping to see the likes of Colossus and Negasonic Teenage
Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) in all their prequel glory will find
them pushed to the side for an oddball riff on the team-up formula
that doesn't actually go anywhere (which kind of makes that sequence
funnier). Say what you will about the first movie, it had loveable
characters that are sadly underutilized here due either to real world
issues in the filmmaking (T.J. Miller's legal woes) or just plot
necessity (Blind Al is more of a therapist this round).
As for watching it, did you see the first movie? If so,
this is more of the same with a hint of better things that could
come. Did you avoid the original Deadpool due to disagreements with
the hit-or-miss humor or the R-rated stigma that most superhero
movies avoid? Chances are you won't be convinced by this effort
either. If its the latter, good luck with the rest of the movies out
this week.
David Leitch (Atomic Blonde) continues to take unique
dramatic liberties for the sake of great action scenes with Deadpool
2, the followup that should have been the first movie if Fox had had
the guts to fund the first movie properly. Following a personal
tragedy resulting from a failed assassination, Wade Wilson (Reynolds)
seeks some form of meaning in his life by attempting to save young
mutant Russell (Julian Dennison) from time-traveling killer Cable
(Brolin). Stuff will explode more spectacularly than the first movie,
Deadpool will make rapid fire references not only to the success of
the first movie but to the annoying tropes of every superhero movie
currently in existence, a team will be built of some of the most
obscure Marvel characters for the sake of a one-shot joke and the
post-credit scenes will prove to be both fulfilling (he cleans the
timeline) and one big practical joke (it openly mocks you for
expecting more). Go for the fun action and the rapid fire dialog;
stay for the unexpectedly heartfelt payoff.
My score: 9/10. Remember the line from Deadpool 1 about
the cure for blindness? Yeah. They somehow pay that one off and still
make it funny.
