I have a
confession to make: I had never heard of
Deadpool until I saw X-men Origins
Wolverine in theaters. As such, I
was outside the outrage bubble when the plot twist first played out. Since then I’ve done proper research and completely understand the backlash.
That said, like many of my fellow film and comic fans, I was giddy when
Fox gave the greenlight for a Deadpool film.
Not only would it give the character’s fans what they’ve been clamoring
for, but it would redeem Origin’s misfire.
While I haven’t revisited the first film as of this writing, I remember
enjoying it in the theater. The action
was decent and the humor had me rolling at times, but part of the end didn’t
fully click with me. I’ll go more into
this when I revisit part one.
Third act criticism aside, I
enthusiastically awaited the sequel. My
enthusiasm was rewarded. Deadpool 2 is not only an excellent
comic book film sequel, it is one of those rare sequels that surpasses its
predecessor in every way.
Picking
up where the first film left off, Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) continues to work as
a freelance mercenary while enjoying his relationship with Vanessa (Morena
Baccarin). Things take a dark turn when
their home is invaded and Vanessa ends up dead.
Deadpool kills the assassin, but the action does nothing to abate his
morose mindset. He joins the X-men to
see if fellow heroes can help, but ends up in a mutant detention center after
killing am abusive orphanage worker.
This is where Cable, a mutant from the future, enters the story. His family was killed by Russell
Collins—Deadpool’s cellmate and the orphan he was attempting to aid—so Cable
travels through time to kill Collins and prevent his family’s fate. While a mercenary, Deadpool is not cool with
the slaughter of children and puts himself between the two. It is now up to Deadpool—with the aid of his
team, X-force—to save Collins from Cable’s wrath while attempting to prevent
the child’s dark future from flaming.
Every
aspect of the film was on-point. The
humor is what one would expect from a Deadpool film, but the timing and nuance
is improved from the first film; I can see more of the jokes aging well. From what I’ve gathered Deadpool 2 had double
the budget of the originally, allowing the crew to step up the action and
special effects. Both deliver and
compliment the film’s story; one draws the audience in and the other wows them
with spectacle. There were a few moments
where the CGI was shaky, but not distractingly so.
The cast was wonderful. Reynolds—the heart of this series—amazed once
again as the Merc with the Mouth. It’s
evident from his body language and vocal inflections he enjoys playing Wade,
and his enthusiasm helps the audience investment in the film. His dramatic timing is better this go-around,
which helps that aspect of the plot.
Josh Brolin was the perfect choice to play Cable. While I’m mainly familiar with him from the
Deadpool game, the film gives enough information for one to understand who he
is and what drives him. While the
antagonist, the audience understands why Cable is attempting to murder a child,
even if they don’t condone the action.
His character arc truly begins during act 3, where he must work with
Deadpool to reach a compromise. Without
giving spoilers, he makes a character defining choice. There was a Thanos joke,
but it’s blink and you’ll miss it and Cable no-sells the quip.
Morena
Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Brianna Hildebrand, and Leslie Uggams reprise their
supporting roles, each using his or her time well. Outside the obvious, the only major subplot
here is the revelation that Negasonic is gay, and it’s handled respectfully;
who doesn’t love Yukio. Zazie Beetz is
great as lucky merc Domino, handling herself well in the action scenes and
having a fun back-and-forth with Reynolds at times. While the weakest of the supporting cast,
Julian Dennison gives a decent performance, getting his character’s plight
across and helping carry the plot forward.
It’s hard to say from one viewing if he’s better angry or
sympathetic. Bill Skarsgard plays the
acid-spitting member of X-force, a cameo I didn’t notice at first. He’s ok here, but I didn’t realize how lanky
he was until now. Brad Pitt also has a
cameo, one I won’t spoil for those who haven’t seen the film.
The film’s first post-credit
sequence might turn some fans off.
Without giving much away with spoilers, it involves Deadpool using time
travel. While it doesn’t take much imagination
to guess what Wade plans on doing, it will impact Deadpool 3, and from a certain point of view makes aspects of this
film pointless. While it does not
bother me personally—especially since it falls in line with Wade’s character—I
can see why others might not feel the same.
Like or hate the
first film, this is a Marvel film everyone should watch. The humor and action are spot on, and enough
drama and conflict is sprinkled within to keep one invested. While I enjoyed Infinity War, this one I liked better, as it’s balanced perfectly. 4 out of 5 swords.
