Deadpool was a fun action-comedy and a relieving breath of fresh air in the comic book superhero movie landscape. A hard-R action comedy, they did not hold back on the title character’s signature humor and his abilities. I was somewhat familiar with Deadpool before the movie, having read some of the Deadpool and Cable comics from the mid-2000s, and while I am not the biggest fan of the character, I do appreciate his humor and his fourth wall breaks. Deadpool may not have been great, but it didn’t have to be after the notoriously terrible version brought forth in the hilariously awful X-Men Origins: Wolverine, all they had to do in a follow-up/reboot was prove they could be competent with the character. As such, it did not have to be ambitious, just good enough. Now is the time to be more ambitious, do something greater. To that end, Deadpool 2 establishes itself superior to the first movie and thus far my favorite comic book movie of the year as of this review!
There is more plot this time around, and as a result, better opportunity for jokes as well! Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) has continued with mercenary work for two years since the first movie, but circumstances have led to him becoming an X-Man (trainee!). Deadpool comes to form somewhat of a bond with a troubled mutant kid named Russell Collins (Julian Dennison) just in time when Cable (Josh Brolin) comes from the future to kill Collins! Now Deadpool must protect the kid with all the weapons and 4th wall jokes and raunchy humor he can possibly muster! And yes there is an opening credits sequence that is at least as funny as the first movie!
Reynolds has well-established his sense of humor at this point to show how he’s the perfect Deadpool! Every chance he gets, Reynolds ups the ante and lets loose as the merc with a mouth! We actually get to see more of the human side to the merc as well. Not that there was none of that in the first movie, but it’s more under a microscope this time around. You either love Reynolds humor or you hate it and that will probably determine whether you love or hate Deadpool 2.
Josh Brolin brings it all here as Cable and now I can’t think of anyone I would rather have in the role. I can certainly imagine someone else, but I just don’t want to see someone other than Brolin. He brings the perfect blend of stoic determination and dry humor to the role required in a character like Cable, playing off as a fun counterbalance to Reynolds quippy, irreverent, joyous nature. Brolin did not exaggerate when he described the dynamic as similar to Eddie Murphy (Coming to America, Mulan) and Nick Nolte (The Thin Red Line [1998], Hotel Rwanda) in 48 Hrs (which I highly recommend)! Comic book fans will notice that Cable here is more “gun-fighting, sci-fi high-tech badass”, than anything, not displaying his telepathic or telekinetic abilities at all. This is an intentional creative decision by the writers and director, as they felt showing all those elements might be too much food to chew on for the first cinematic introduction of the character, and Brolin has said he signed a four-picture deal to portray the character (assuming that contract still matters anyway). Brolin may have stated he prefers playing Thanos, but I know I prefer his Cable! (Yes there is a joke said to Brolin’s face about this.)
Zazie Beetz (Atlanta, Geostorm) shines as one of the movie’s standouts, Domino! An assassin whose mutant power is literally described as “luck” (in the comics, she just so happened to know the code without thinking it to a safe that just so happened to be filled with millions of dollars). Contrary to what Deadpool will tell you, her power in this movie is “very cinematic”. To explain more is to give spoilers but Beetz was such a joy in the role and I’m (hopefully) looking forward to more of her in the (please let me be right) upcoming X-Force movie!
Julian Dennison was as fun here as when I last saw him, essentially playing almost the same character from Hunt for the Wilderpeople (a wonderful comedy-drama from the director of last year’s excellent Thor: Ragnarok, Taika Waititi, also highly recommended). If you’ve seen Wilderpeople, you know what to expect here, plus pyrokinesis. Learning that Reynolds wanted Dennison in the movie specifically because of Wilderpeople and that the role was written specifically for him makes me happy! Nice to see Reynolds and I have similar taste in movies!
Colossus (mo-capped and voice performed by Stefan Kapicic) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) return with about the same amount of screentime from the last movie and give us basically more of what was liked from there, also overseeing Deadpool’s potential entry into the X-Men. Weasel (TJ Miller) and Dopinder (Karan Soni) also return in much the same function and are still funny for it. This time they help Deadpool to form X-Force! A team of individuals that are “elite, powerful, gender-neutral, young enough to carry this franchise for 10-12 years”. To explain more is spoilers, but rest assured, it is comedy gold!
Deadpool 2 is a more than worthy follow-up to the fun that was the first movie and is a superior film to that one! With the audience’s confidence established, Reynolds and co. plowed ahead and sought to be more ambitious, securing one of the guys who killed John Wick’s dog, and creating a better movie. I am happy to say they succeeded and then some! I can only look forward to what’s in store next so long as Reynolds’ involvement is ensured! (Please? Please, Disney? Please let Reynolds do whatever he wants with Deadpool and his closely associated characters. Please let him have autonomy as far as his corner when he’s inevitably integrated into the MCU. And please let him keep taking potshots at both the MCU, the DCEU, and Marvel and DC and anything in general. Please just allow Ryan Reynolds to be Ryan Reynolds!)
