Review of Deadpool 2 (2018) by Joshua M — 25 Aug 2018

I have not had as good a time watching a flick from this year as I have from seeing this one (though I would still consider "Black Panther" as my favorite movie of the year so far). I was pretty critical of the first "Deadpool" because it seemed to focus more on R-rated humor and what gags could be permitted under that banner instead of crafting a good story for Wade Wilson to take part in, but that is NOT the case this time around.

The humorous stuff comes from the situations Deadpool finds himself in, rather than it ALWAYS being the joke factory pouring from his mouth, and that makes all the difference (plus, it allows him to evolve as a character).

Coming in this year-of-all-years in the superhero "Golden Age Decade" for silver-screen adaptations (with huge, "world-ending events), I especially appreciated the relative "small-potatoes" stakes of this story compared to the other big superhero movies that have been released.

The flick had a very high "hit-to-miss" ratio on the successful gags in there, and I was hilariously shocked to see some of the things they got away with (as far as jokes not only ragging on the Marvel Universe, but also across the aisle at DC and even movies you would not expect to be referenced in a soft-"R," potty-mouthed, blood-soaked superhero movie).

The movie also benefits (from a visual and action standpoint) from the upgrade to "John Wick" director David Leitch (after Tim Miller left the project). A few minor niggles, along with some dodgy CGI in places, keep the film from complete greatness, though, even if they don't mess it up too badly.

First, I really do not feel a major act in the first portion of the film had to occur to give Wade the proper motivation to travel on the journey he goes on in the flick; I think it could have been done in a way that the sequence I speak of did not need to incite Deadpool's growth.

The other thing is how shortchanged the supporting cast gets in terms of screen time and development. Even if I already have a working background knowledge of these folks as a comics fan, as a movie-lover I wanted to see much more from Zazie Beets' Domino and Josh Brolin as Cable; however, they are not afforded enough time and care to offer more than the basics and one-dimensional personas, info on where they come from and what drives them, and the like.

Still, this film serves as a very entertaining romp, and even matches up to "Infinity War" on poignant moments. They went too far on the sexy/gutsy-gore stuff and forgot about a story in the first one, but they got the formula right this time.

I cannot wait for a third (unless Disney cancels it with the Fox merger), and viewers should avoid missing out on this one.