Marvel Studios
Deadpool is back, as is his irreverent humor, bloody sword and gun skills, and fourth wall breaking one-liners. Deadpool 2 attempts to tell a more complex story than its predecessor, introducing new characters to its universe and picking up with some fan favorites. Although the hype for Deadpool 2 is at an all-time high, any viewers are wondering the same thing; can Deadpool 2 break the common Hollywood trend of lackluster sequels? Let’s see if the merc with a mouth is still as funny the second time around.
What made the first Deadpool so good wasn’t just its unique take on the superhero formula, but also its simplistic story that revolved around the foul-mouthed antihero. Deadpool 2 amps things up a notch, giving us a story that is multi-threaded and focuses on several different characters. It’s still a very Deadpool-centric movie, but this time his antics are accompanied by some new faces. The story isn’t the only thing that’s been beefed up, as most of Deadpool 2 feels bigger and higher budget than the last. This is both a positive and a negative, as Deadpool 2 both succeeds and struggles under its own weight.
The narrative mostly revolves around Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) trying to protect a young mutant from the time-traveling soldier named Cable (Josh Brolin). Cable’s character is purposefully brooding and dark, matching his interesting albeit light character motivation. Generally speaking, the story is surprisingly emotional at points, and Cable does a decent job instituting some of that weight. It’s still full of arguably juvenile humor and pop culture references, but the newfound weight seems to come at the cost of some of the original film’s heart and charm. In many ways, Deadpool 2 is an improvement upon the first, but at the expense of some of the originality that made it so effective in the first place.
The pacing and storytelling in Deadpool 2 is also a bit fragmented. The movie takes its sweet time catching us up with Deadpool before establishing the other main players, and by the time the stage has been set, the stakes don’t feel nearly as high as they should. At times, the movie seems caught between two tones; a subversive comedy and a franchise that needs to be expanded as its universe grows. With so many new characters and connections to be made, the throughline of Wade Wilson’s motivation gets lost in the mix. The first two acts of the movie are paced quite quickly, jumping from scene to scene. The third act is a bit more focused and scenes take longer, giving the latter half of the movie a heavier feel. Deadpool 2 is kind of like a roller coaster in that sense; there’s a very big drop at the beginning, followed by a flurry of twists and turns. Unfortunately, the climb to the final drop takes a bit too long, although the view from the top of the hill is quite pleasant.
Luckily, Deadpool 2 is still great for tons of hearty laughs and entertaining action scenes. Across the board, every fight in Deadpool 2 is fun and inventive, namely the ones involving Domino (Zazie Beetz). Domino’s superpower is luck, and the way its represented on screen is pretty entertaining. As Domino enters fights, her actions often trigger a series of events that play out in her favor, like some kind of demented and violent Rube Goldberg machine. Although Cable doesn’t get as much character building as I would’ve liked, his presence on screen during action scenes is commendable. Josh Brolin does a good job bringing out the darker side of Cable, and watching him in action is fun and exciting. Generally speaking, he’s an undercooked villain who has a decent arc, but Cable is best when he’s kicking butt. The film’s pace also adds a bit of excitement to the action, as there’s is not much downtime between set-piece moments. As far as the look and feel of the movie, I really only have one complaint; some shoddy CGI. It’s not too noticeable, and the issues only involve one or two characters, but some of the CGI was awkward enough to pull me out of the experience. To avoid spoilers I won’t be very specific, but one certain character stands out as lower quality than the rest. When all the CGI action is exploding on the screen you won’t notice it, but I couldn’t help but notice the lack of polish in other scenes.
When it comes to the jokes, most of them hit, but a few fall flat. This is mainly due to the pure amount of jokes per scene, as Deadpool 2 is utterly packed to the gills with one-liners and witty quips. By the halfway point in the movie, the excessive amount of references to other Marvel franchises can wear a bit thin, but the movie always has a few clever tricks up its sleeves. There are a few really great scenes that subvert expectations, resulting in highly memorable sequences. In fact, I often found more humor in the situational comedy and tone shifts than the dialogue itself. Sure, a few lines had me giggling in fits, but I was more entertained with the situations Deadpool finds himself in.
Overall, Deadpool 2 succeeds as a successor to one of the most popular comedies in recent memory. It does this by mixing a fun and light attitude with some more serious subject matter while remaining topical and exciting. The film has its fair share of setbacks, like the ridiculous amount of references to The Avengers, but these are mostly forgivable. The main narrative gets a little bit lost in the shuffle and the focus of the movie waivers, but you’ll likely be having too much fun to care. While I don’t think Deadpool 2 will stand the test of time in the way the original does, it’s still a highly entertaining comedy and refreshing take on the superhero formula. Your enjoyment will vary depending on your expectations, but if you keep them in check, I think you’ll find Deadpool 2 to be quite a good time.
[su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D86RtevtfrA”]
Movie Rating: 3 stars.
Movie Rating Guide
1 Star = Unwatchable
2 Stars = Cannot Recommend
3 Stars = Great for the Fans
4 Stars = A Solid Movie
5 Stars = Must Own (DVD/Stream Download)
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