Deadpool 2 (2018)
20th Century Fox
Directed by: David Leitch
Written by: Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick & Ryan Reynolds
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Morena Baccarin, Zazie Beetz, Brianna Hildebrand & Julian Dennison
Describing ‘Deadpool‘ to someone unfamiliar with the character can sometimes be… difficult. Yes, it’s a comic book movie, but it’s unlike any other comic book movie out there. The titular character is a katana-wielding, mass-murdering, 4th wall-breaking, joke-cracking anti-hero. The original film brought in over $780 million at the worldwide box office and if reaction at the press screening last week was any indication, the sequel which hits theaters this weekend will far surpass it. Yes, Wade Wilson is back in ‘Deadpool 2‘ and, once again, Ryan Reynolds is the perfect embodiment of “The Merc With A Mouth”. This time around, he’s trying to protect a young mutant named Russell Collins from a time traveler Cable who is hell-bent on killing Rusty at all costs. Along the way, Deadpool must learn how to be a team player as he assembles his X-Force to stop Cable and save Russell while also redeeming himself in the process.
The introduction of Cable is an interesting one because the vast majority of comic book fans know the character who first appeared in “New Mutants #87” (co-created by the same Rob Liefeld who also co-created Deadpool himself in the same title just 12 issues later!) and Josh Brolin does a fantastic job of portraying the no-nonsense, time-traveling mutant. This film, however, provides virtually no character development for him. We don’t know why he has come back in time to kill Russell until over half way through the movie. Honestly though, due to the nature of Deadpool both as a character and a film franchise, it’s very hard to let that little hiccup stop one’s enjoyment of the film. The other new cast members including Zazie Beetz as Domino, Terry Crews as Bedlam, Lewis Tan as Shatterstar, Bill Skarsgard as Zeitgeist, Rob Delaney as Peter and Julian Dennison as Russell all make for fresh and welcome additions along side returning actors such as Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Stefan Kapicic as Colossus, Karan Soni as Dopinder and TJ Miller as Weasel. The stand out for me was definitely Zazie Beetz whose performance here as Domino merits that she gets her own spinoff movie and soon!
The plot, even involving the idea of time travel, is not overly complex at all but again, I wasn’t expecting a deep storyline from a Deadpool film. I went in expecting more of what I saw in the original movie and I got it in spades! ‘Deadpool 2’ was exciting, irreverent, action-packed, hilarious and definitely not for children. That’s a hard ‘R’ rating, people!! I can’t say too much more without spoiling certain aspects of the movie, but I will say that the writers get huge credit from me for finally doing one of my very favorite Marvel Comics characters proper justice AND also for having the BEST post-credits scenes of any comic book movie. Ever. Period! So if you enjoyed the original, if you’re a huge comic book fan, if you can’t get enough Ryan Reynolds OR you just want to go laugh harder than you thought possible, see ‘Deadpool 2’ in theaters this weekend! I’d have to give this film a solid 9 for “maximum effort”!! (But good luck getting that Air Supply song out of your head.)
