Title: Deadpool 2
Release Date: May 18, 2018
Studio: 20th Century Fox and Marvel Entertainment
Director: David Leitch
Release Format: Theatrical
Running Time: 119 minutes
From the over the top gags that mostly work to the serious moments in between action pieces, Deadpool 2 lives up to the hype in almost every way.
Deadpool 2 isn’t just the most hilarious superhero movie of all time, but it is also one of the funniest movies that I have ever seen. Credit to most of this success goes to Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Ryan Reynolds. The first two are writers of both Deadpool films and Ryan Reynolds not only played our favorite Merc with a Mouth but also spent some time in the writers’ room this time around.
What still shocks me about this film, like the previous one as well, is the amount of effort and jokes that are put into the marketing of this franchise. Let me get something straight before I continue, all of the trailers do not spoil anything. Half of the jokes used in the trailers were swapped out in the final product. Same with the plot itself.
This is a non-spoiler review, don’t worry. I’m not going to give you any specific plot points but I can’t stress how much happens in Deadpool 2. The best thing is, again, none of it was spoiled in the trailers. So what is this one about then? Here is the best way I can put it without giving too much away.
Wade Wilson takes it upon himself to save a mutant teenager named Russell from Cable, a time-traveling badass from the future. To save this troubled kid, Deadpool must recruit a team to stop Cable. This team is called the X-Force.
The X-Force squad consists of low-tier heroes like Bedlam (Terry Crews), Domino (Zazie Beetz), and Shatterstar (Lewis Tan) among others that I won’t name for spoiler reasons. One of the most talked about characters from the trailers, Peter (Rob Delaney), is also apart of this team. Peter doesn’t have as large of a role as I expected walking in but he is used perfectly with the time he is given.
Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand), Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), and Colossus (voiced by Stefan Kapicic) return but their time are somewhat diminished compared to the original Deadpool. They still have major roles throughout but the film puts more emphasis on Cable, Domino, and Russell.
Blind Al (Leslie Uggams), Weasel (T.J. Miller), and Dopinder (Karan Soni) also return in Deadpool 2 with increased screen time. Miller has had many issues off-screen but his performance as Weasel does not reflect that in the slightest. His comic relief is one of the reasons why this movie works so well. Same goes for Blind Al’s character. The banter between Reynolds and Uggams is still present here and you will be laughing every time these two share a scene. Dopinder on the other hand…well, I’ll get to him later.
The stand-out character in this film is the luck-powered Domino. I never quite understood the “controversy” around the casting of Zazie Beetz as Domino seeing as she has been nothing but fantastic in the hit FX series Atlanta.
In Deadpool 2, Beetz stole the show. Her deadpan humor and powers push this film over the edge to be better than the first in my mind. The second stand-out character is, and this is going to sound a bit crazy but, Wade Wilson himself. Ryan Reynolds proves that he is the only actor that can play Deadpool with his performance here. Not only did Reynolds deliver with the mask on but he shined in serious character moments without it as well. Josh Brolin, or Thanos himself, did a great job as Cable. Like Domino, Cable’s more straight-laced personality meshed well with the outlandish merc with a mouth.
Now to what didn’t work. Although Deadpool 2 featured more CGI stunts and bigger budget action scenes, I felt like they weren’t on par with its predecessor. This isn’t necessarily the movie’s fault if I’m being honest. The first Deadpool was smaller. It was more personal and to the point. Here, there are so many explosions and characters to introduce that the movie became too bloated at times. Along with that, Dopinder and his character-arc fell flat. He really only has one running joke the entire movie and you will be bored of it in the first 30 minutes.
Make sure to stick around for the four mid-credits scenes too. We know that there was supposed to a fifth mid-credits scene but due to disturbing test audiences, a post-credits scene of Wade Wilson killing an infant Adolf Hitler was cut. Yeah, I can’t believe I just wrote that sentence. Crazy times.
Verdict: Overall, this movie is a hilarious ride that is well worth your price of admission. The non-stop comedy, fantastic performances by most of the cast, and great surprises throughout help make Deadpool 2 better than the original.