It takes a special kind of character to break the fourth wall and talk to the audience in a way that Deadpool does. While this happens from time to time, outside of the few times this occurs in Fight Club, I cannot think of a single major film to date that has done this successfully. The first Deadpool film did this seamlessly as it took us on a journey through the anti-hero’s shady past, and the follow up builds on this as well as other aspects flawlessly. Everything from the over-the-top violence and crude humor to the one off cameos, Deadpool 2 hits its target, even when aiming left of center.

The film opens an unknown amount of time after the events of the first film, with Deadpool using his abilities to take down high value targets that other assassins are too afraid or ill-equipped to handle. After pissing off the wrong target, he loses everything and is soon suicidal, found by Colossus and taken in by the X-Men. Needless to say, his first mission as part of the team goes south and he’s found in a mutant prison. Soon into his stay, the time traveling Cable, played perfectly by Josh Brolin (Avengers Infinity War, Sicario) arrives to assassinate Deadpool’s new cellmate. After his violent escape, he sets out with his not so trusty sidekick Weasel, played by TJ Miller (Silicon Valley) to build a team, known as X-Force. The team sadly falls apart too soon, as the characters play well off of each other.

The entire cast works well, playing out like a highly dysfunctional family with the supporting cast offering just as many, if not more laughs than Ryan Reynolds in the titular role (as well as pulling an uncredited double duty as one of the film’s villains). Reynolds, Brolin, and Zazie Beetz (Atlanta) as Domino bring the characters to life, ripped straight from the pages of the Marvel Comics’ series they are based upon. Beetz simply steals any scene she is in with her comic timing and commanding presence, avoiding her becoming nothing but eye candy, which is the case with many of the female superheroes (I.E. Black Widow, Catwoman, Harley Quinn). My lingering complaint with the film is that Domino’s makeup and hair differ greatly from the comics and make the character almost unrecognizable visually. While I can see why the opted to have a single eye covered in white makeup opposed to her entire body, which would be a nightmare touching up on the set of an action film, I found her afro to differ greatly and is far from tactical, considering she’s an assassin.

The movie involves some time travel, which has been an issue in the past with the overall series but this movie handles it well, making few changes in the past that would come back to bite them in the ass. The X-Men film series are known for having the very definition of a nightmare when it comes to continuity, and Deadpool 2 does right some of these wrongs, yet makes some similar mistakes as well, due to a blink and you miss it cameo. The film even goes as far as to try to right one of the series past mistakes.

Much like the original film, there is quite a bit of CGI that works well. Colossus makes a triumphant return, and while he looked a bit too SyFy channel movie of the week in terms of appearance in the original, he often looks like he is a legit man made of metal in this outing. While I feel his appearance in X2 was more appealing, this venture was a step in the right direction. The movie’s biggest baddie (in terms of size and scope) is also 100% CGI and looks impressive, with this being his best on screen appearance to date.

If you thought the original Deadpool was an immature, crude, hyperviolent piece of trash, you’ll probably think the same of this sequel. If you’re like me and look at him as one of the best superheros on the market, film or otherwise, you’ll have an amazing time watching the story unfold.

10 out of 10

Pros

• Great Cast
• Amazing Use of CGI
• Hilarious Throughout
• Rights Some of the Series Past Wrongs
• Bigger and Better in Every Way (That’s What She Said)

Cons

• Domino’s Overall Appearance Could Have Been Better

Deadpool 2 was written by Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, as well as Ryan Reynolds, and directed by David Leitch. It was released in theaters on May 18th, 2018. The film was not provided to us for review.

 

Here at GBG we use a rating method that you are more than likely familiar with – a scale of 1 to 10. For clarification, we intend on using the entire scale: 1-4 is something you should probably avoid paying for; 5-7 is something that is worth your time, but probably not at full price; 8-10 is a great movie that you can feel confident about paying money to see in theaters or at home. If you have any questions or comments about how we rate movies, please let us know.

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