‘Deadpool 2’ Review

Director: David Leitch

Writers: Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick and Ryan Reynolds

Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Julian Dennison, Zazie Beetz, Brianna Hildebrand, Stefan Kapicic, Karan Soni, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Terry Crews, Bill Skarsgard, Lewis Tan, Shioli Kutsuna, Eddie Marsan, Leslie Uggams and Rob Delaney

Synopsis: Foul-mouthed mutant mercenary Wade Wilson (AKA, Deadpool), brings together a team of fellow mutant rogues to protect a young boy of supernatural abilities from the brutal, time-traveling mutant, Cable.

 

*Reviewer Note: This will be a spoiler free review.*

*Reviewer Note 2: There is a post-credit bit.*

 

Not only did we get a Deadpool movie, we now have a sequel! After the massive success of the first movie, a movie that many fans have been wanting to see on the big screen, 20th Century Fox had no choice but to make a sequel for the Merc with a Mouth. Of course, some things changed as director Tim Miller was replaced by John Wick and Atomic Blonde director David Leitch and the budget was upped to make the sequel more bombastic. So, does the sequel work, or as Deadpool jokes in the trailer, ruin it?

Deadpool 2 follows Wade/Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) as he takes a protector role of sorts for a young troubled mutant, Russell (Julian Dennison), who finds himself in the crosshairs of the time-traveling Cable (Josh Brolin), who wants to kill him. Seeing that he can’t protect Russell by himself, Deadpool puts a team together called X-Force that consists of the “lucky” Domino (Zazie Beetz), Bedlam (Terry Crews), Shatterstar (Lewis Tan), Zeitgeist (Bill Skarsgard) and Peter (Rob Delaney). What follows is what you’d expect from a Deadpool movie: F-bombs, pop culture references, slight gore and hilarity.

Deadpool 2 is interesting. On one hand, it’s like I previously mentioned, it’s what you expect from a Deadpool sequel. On the other, it brings a storyline you probably wouldn’t expect from a Deadpool movie. That storyline is what really kicks off the movie, and is threaded throughout all the jokes and actions. For the most part is works, but there are times when we cut back to it that it feels a lot like tonal whiplash. It’s not a complete negative, but it wouldn’t be fair to not bring it up. To big fair, the first movie did it too, but I found the actual storyline worked far better here than in part one.

That being said, the movie has a lot, and I mean a lot, of surprises that I truly did not see coming. All I will say is keep your eyes out because the movie is filled with Easter Eggs to the brim.

When it comes to the new characters, the big one is obviously Cable. Brolin already has a long-awaited character out in theaters in another movie, and now he’s bringing the very complicated history character Cable to the big screen. Brolin definitely has the look for Cable – yes, the make fun of the height for you comic book purist – and the attitude. Cable is a no nonsense, tough-as-nails badass who is determined to get to Russell by any means necessary. It’s a great introduction to the character, but he doesn’t get a ton of screen time, it is called Deadpool 2 not Deadpool and Cable.

The other characters don’t have a ton of development, especially when it comes to the X-Force members. The only expectation would be Zazie Beetz’ Domino, whose powers are constantly being doubted by Deadpool, even as she uses them at one point. I personally don’t know too much about Domino from the comics, but her personality in the movie is rather laid back, which Beetz does to perfection here. That leaves us with Russell, played by Hunt for the Wilderpeople standout Julian Dennison. Russell plays an important part to both Deadpool and Cable, and we get a descent understanding on why he does what he does, and why Cable would be after him.

The returning X-Men characters, Colossus (Stefan Kapicic), and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) are now joined by Yukio (Shioli Kutsuna). Colossus does have a little more to do this time around, but they’re really just there for Deadpool to make more jokes about the X-Men.

One thing I will say I’m just a tad bit disappointed by is the action. Don’t get me wrong, the action is good, but it’s not to the level of John Wick or Atomic Blonde, which again, were directed by David Leitch. There’s one scene in the beginning of the movie that is a little to choppy, which is a shame, because it could have been really cool if we saw what was going on a little more clearly. Again, the action isn’t bad, the later action sequences are great the watch, but that would be my nitpicky pick.

All in all, Deadpool 2 is a hell of a lot of fun. Jam-packed with jokes, action, surprises and tons of Easter Eggs, the sequel does indeed surpass the previous movie in a lot of ways.

Deadpool 2

4 out of 5

‘Deadpool’ Review

Director: Tim Miller

Writers: Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick

Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Ed Skrein, Morena Baccarin, Gina Carano, T.J. Miller, Brianna Hildebrand, Karan Soni, Jed Rees, and Leslie Uggams

Synopsis: A former Special Forces operative turned mercenary is subjected to a rouge experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopting the alter ego Deadpool.

 

*Reviewer Note: This will be a spoiler free review.*

*Reviewer Note 2: There are post-credit scenes*

 

It’s been a long time, but fans have finally gotten their Deadpool movie, and it doesn’t suck! After the disaster of trying to bring the character to life in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and after the “leaked” test footage that took the internet by storm, 20th Century Fox listened to the fans and decided to give the Merc with the Mouth a chance. Not only that they gave the film the Rated-R rating the film really needed for the character. Finally, we see the end result and its one that can possibly make every Deadpool fan happy. Cue the review.

Deadpool has an interesting set up in the first act. It acts as an origin story, for those unfamiliar with the character – which is probably a lot of people – and a “love story” between Wade Wilson (Reynolds) and Vanessa (Baccarin). However, the origin and love story are told in a flashback form during the heavily promoted expressway action sequences. It’s done fairly well and in a true Deadpool, and even comic book, way. The first time Wade meets Vanessa is at his favorite bar that is run by his best friend Weasel (Miiler). The two start an immediate relationship, but it comes crashing down when Wade finds out he has a serve case of cancer. This leads to an encounter with a mystery man (Rees) who promises him he can not only cure his cancer, but make him a superhero. Wade eventually goes and encounters Ajax (Skrein) and his right hand woman Angel Dust (Carano), who tell Wade they aren’t just curing him, they are making him a super slave and are putting him through a rigorous experiment

Of course, something goes wrong in the lab and with the experiment and leaves Wade disfigured. Soon after, Wade promises a mission of revenge to find Ajax in hopes that Ajax will fix his disfigurement so he can go back to Vanessa and live their lives in peace. What follows is an action-packed, one-liner dropping comedy antics.

Now, Deadpool definitely won’t be for everyone. It’s brash, over-the-top, some will find it offensive, and with that the humor is something you either go with or just won’t find funny. However, there is no denying that Deadpool is a ton of fun to sit through and watch. Of course, that doesn’t mean its perfect – no film is. Despite the long wait, there are some things that just don’t click in the film, and one of them is something that drives Wade/Deadpool throughout the film: the love story. There’s nothing wrong with Reynolds and Baccarin’s chemistry and most of it is great, but the love story is a bit thin and won’t be the thing you’re talking about walking out.

The other underdeveloped and weak point is the villain. Ed Skrein fares better here than he did in The Transporter Refueled, but his character is only okay and doesn’t really do anything to stick out too much. Same can be said for Gina Carano’s Angel Dust, although she does have a highlight moment near the end of the film, but the character doesn’t do much other than stand next to Ajax and look menacing.

The other supporting cast do well with what they have. Going back to Morena Baccarin, she plays the part well and does the best she can with what she’s given. Leslie Uggams, who plays Blind Al, Deadpool’s roommate is pretty great and her scenes with Wade/Deadpool are damn hilarious and is involved in one of the funniest moments of the film. Briana Hildebrand’s Negasonic Teenage Warhead is pretty cool, but her scenes are limited only when Colossus – voiced by Stefan Kapicic and facial performance by Greg LaSalle – is around. Speaking of Colossus, he is treated so much better here than he was in the X-Men films and actually has more screen time than I thought he would. Finally, T.J. Miller, who I’m not really a big fan of, is great in this, especially when he’s with Reynolds. Any time the two are together, you’ll definitely being laughing.

What makes Deadpool work is Ryan Reynolds. Deadpool I think would have not worked if it wasn’t for Reynolds, his quick wit and perfect comedic timing. Reynolds himself is a huge fan of the character, as are the writers of the film in Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick – both of which also wrote Zombieland and G.I. Joe: Retaliation – and director Tim Miller, which adds a nice added layer to the care that they took to create and bring the character to life on the big screen. The other thing about Reynolds is that he never really lets up. Wade/Deadpool is always talking so the jokes and one-liners are always in full swing. That being said some of the jokes tend to fall flat, but believe me, that’s a rare thing. Deadpool’s humor might be an acquired taste, but I’m sure even non-Deadpool fans or people that are not fans of the humor will find some of the jokes funny. Crass at times, and targets some people, but funny nonetheless.

All that is thanks to the rare comic book movie rating of being Rated-R. I’m not really one to complain about rating or get into a movie rating argument, because honestly for me, it doesn’t matter what a movie is rated as long as it’s good or highly entertaining. However, I did agree with many to say that Deadpool need to be Rated-R to really be a proper adaptation of the character and his wacky – to put it lightly – personality. The personality of Deadpool is also something non-fans will have to get use to, but Deadpool fans will highly appreciate and feels like the character jumped right out of the comic book.

All in all, Deadpool has been a long time coming, and thankfully it’s finally here and is damn great. Right from the opening credits – which are awesome – you know exactly what you’re getting into. Is it perfect? No, but Ryan Reynolds pulls you in and takes you on this crazy ride and a damn enjoyable one at that.

 

Deadpool

4.5 out of 5