The merc with a mouth has returned for another round of bloody ass-kicking action, laugh-out-loud comedy, and so many fourth-wall breaking references it puts its predecessor to shame. Directed this time by David Leitch (John Wick) Deadpool 2 ups the ante in many ways from the first film with a wider array of characters and a story still very personal to Deadpool himself but one that expands its reach within the X-Men universe. The story follows Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) who attempts to learn what it means to belong to a family as he focuses on bringing together a team of mutants to put a stop to a rogue mutant… and also deal with the arrival of Cable (Josh Brolin). Deadpool 2 delivers on everything you’d expect, lots of swearing, blood, guts, crude humour, and a so many superhero and pop culture references you’ll need to watch this movie at least twice to take them all in. It’s a much busier film than the first as there is a lot more to do and a lot more characters to give time to which I feel both helps and hinders this sequel. It’s very much in the same style and even adopts certain storytelling techniques from its predecessor. It tells this story with a rapid pace that is always moving and makes 2 hours go by in no time.
Ryan Reynolds’ presence is what makes a Deadpool movie… well… Deadpool. He has the character nailed down to a tee to the point where he is synonymous with the character. As everyone would expect he is flawless in the role, he delivers his lines perfectly and every comedic moment from him is absolutely on point. There isn’t a single joke or reference from Reynolds that doesn’t hit the mark and he is as good as can be in this film. The wider range of supporting characters includes familiar faces Weasel (T.J. Miller), Colossus (Stefan Kapicic), Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand), and Dopinder (Karan Soni) and newbies Cable and Domino (Zazie Beetz). As there is a lot more going on this time around that means there is a lot more sharing to be done when it comes to screen-time. Of the returning cast Dopinder is the only one who I’d say has an increased amount of time on-screen whereas everyone else is featured less-so with the inclusion of Cable, Domino, and some additional roles. It is a little disappointing when it comes to a couple of the characters who you want a little more from but can’t get it because the story doesn’t always concern them. But nonetheless everyone is great in the sequences that they are on screen and they all contribute to the comedy in ways unique to their characters’ personalities.
Cable specifically is an awesome new addition to the cast and his role in the story and overall arc is possibly the most interesting. Josh Brolin brings his masterclass badassery to the role and makes a very memorable mark on the film. Now the question arises… which of his 2018 superhero roles is better, Thanos or Cable? Only time will tell.
The story itself I feel is very well balanced in terms of the time spent dishing the jokes, showing Deadpool gruesomely dismember criminals, and touching on some of the more emotional moments. There aren’t any jarring changes in pace and it moves along quickly and consistently throughout even when it does take a breather for some brief character building. The tradeoff with having a more involved story is some characters do feel a little sidelined and maybe didn’t even really need to be in the movie at all. I was wholly engaged in the story and the fourth-wall breaking references thankfully never got to the point where they were too distracting as they fit within the nature of the tone of the film. Speaking of fourth-wall breaking, the comedy here is rapid right from the beginning, one after the next after the next, and it doesn’t slow down at all. It carries all the way through the action sequences and integrated very well. The action scenes themselves I’ll say are choreographed even better than in the first film, there’s a lot more variety in the combat this time around with the addition of more characters and it makes for some much more exciting action sequences.
Fans of the first Deadpool will know what to expect here and Deadpool 2 delivers across all fronts. It still doesn’t quite reach the level of the first film for me as I do prefer the tightness of the first story more-so than this one but it’s still an exciting fast paced journey nonetheless. It delivers with more jokes than before, more characters, more action, and a wider variety of material to really latch onto. I love the new additions to the cast in Cable and Domino and they instantly cement themselves as part of this universe fleshing out the world a little more. I say definitely check this one out of you are a fan of the wisecracking humour associated with the character of Deadpool as you will not be disappointed.
Just so you know, there is no after-credits sequence but there is one/two mid-credits scenes that I can definitely say are the best scenes to appear during the credits of any film EVER. Literally the best in history and will be very hard to beat going forward.
9/10
[EDIT]
All through writing this review and afterwards there was something within this movie that was bothering me, something that didn’t really resonate with me how it was intended. And that is the fact that this movie touches on a couple of familiar story beats, jokes, and other stylistic choices from the first film, most of which I don’t really love. I understand why some of these choices were made; to establish a connection either in the story or stylistically to the first Deadpool but I don’t think they work as the writers intended. For instance, there is a stylistic choice featured in the first Deadpool that is present because it makes sense to be, it plays into how the story is told and is intelligently weaved in. The same choice is used here in one sequence but it’s done because it’s in the last film and not really because the story calls for it. That’s the problem I have, these choices are made just because something is a part of the first movie and it didn’t really fit in for me.
My above score from my first experience with the film will stay but this will have an affect on how I might score the film going forward.
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