[yasr_overall_rating]
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.
Deadpool gives us a break from our tired tropes of superheroes saving the world. He always has. While self-referencing and completely cartoonish, Deadpool has never shied away from picking the low-hanging fruit. Not to mention the violence. Oh, the unmitigated violence of Deadpool. It’s funny because this movie franchise started on a lark with a very little budget (for a superhero movie) and wound up occupying a unique place in our pop culture lens. It’s the superhero movie for people who hate superhero movies. “Deadpool 2” doubles down on everything that made the first one great, while still stringing together a cohesive story that manages to tug at your heartstrings a little bit.
The strength in this movie lies not in its action bits, but in its comedy and self-styled tonal dissonance. Deadpool lives and dies by Ryan Reynolds (first and foremost) but he soars in this one proving to us the first movie was not a fluke. Deadpool’s jokes layer on multiple platforms throughout the movie from recycled bits to brand new bits. Remember Deadpool regrowing his hand? That bit comes back, even bigger. More fourth-wall breaking than I can remember from the previous one. What’s amazing is the genuine character arc for the film. Despite being a raunchy comedy packed with CGI gunbattles and fun references, the writers make us feel genuinely appreciative of the lesson at the end of it all.
“Deadpool 2” takes what made the first “Deadpool” so excitable for audiences and multiplies it by two. They mimic the structure of its predecessor down to the last bit, but they double their ingredients. There is not one, but two overly serious characters (Colossus and Cable) for Deadpool to buddy up. Now we have two wise-cracking assistants (TJ Miller comes back, Zazie Beetz joins in.) Julian Dennyson shows us his straight-faced comedy chops even as he performs a demonstration of pain we can connect with on a visceral level. Bigger CGI battles, more bullets, and lots more inappropriate dick jokes hurled by blind old ladies.
Look, I could go on to tell you that Deadpool utilizes plenty of great beats. I’d describe how the audience died laughing throughout the film, and how the jokes are on multiple levels so it’s not just all Ryan Reynolds groping Colossus. I’d remark about the inclusion of new characters only accentuating an already hyperbolic flick. Fans of the previous movie are sure to love it (just as it might vindicate their non-love for Superhero movies), and people new to the character will be utterly confused and completely shocked but not without something to laugh at. At this point though, I shouldn’t have to tell you all this cause you know it. You’ve seen the amount of advertising on this one.
Now available on Digital HD and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray & DVD August 21st
