Review of Deadpool 2 (2018) by Teddy F — 28 May 2018

Deadpool 2 manages to improve upon its predecessor whilst maintaining the same level of laughs, references, fourth-wall breaking, and action that made the first movie such a breath of fresh air.

It has been said many times, but I'll say it again anyway, Ryan Reynolds was born to play Deadpool/Wade Wilson; he just seems to get the character. In the role, Reynolds is hilarious and doesn't have a care in the world. He goes back and forth between talking to the audience and the characters in the film with ease. You can have no shame when playing the role of Deadpool and Reynolds completely understands this. He shows the necessary level of energy every step of the way and never lets up on the gas. Similar to Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Reynolds fits Deadpool like a glove. Part 2 of Josh Brolin's amazing summer box office run (Pt. 1 being Thanos in Infinity War) picks up with the role of Cable, who is sort of, but not really, the villain. Cable is a big, cyborg mercenary dude who is on a mission that conflicts with Wilson's epiphany-lead undertaking; this leads to a couple exciting action sequences between the two. Brolin doesn't show much humanity at first, but slowly reveals it as the film progresses. Cable is a fun character to watch fight and Brolin successfully establishes his character as the tough-as-nails, detached emotion variety, but more could have been done with the character. A surprising stand-out, Zazie Beetz who plays Domino, made quite the first impression and looks to be a strong addition to the already strong collection of supporting characters.

Perhaps the biggest flaw of the first Deadpool was its lack of story. It showed Deadpool's origin followed by the pursuit of the man who made him look like an "avocado had sex with an older, more disgusting avocado." Deadpool 2 succeeds in finding a story to go with everything that made the first movie great. In the sequel, Deadpool has to protect Russell, a kid mutant who is being hunted by Cable, and learn things along the way. Themes of love, family, purpose, abuse, friendship, and choice run throughout the movie; the movie felt less like a series of gags building to a climax, and more like a well-rounded story.

The comedic nature of the Deadpool films are what make them special, and Deadpool 2 is easily the funniest movie I have seen so far this year. The jokes are always present and rarely miss. I would say Deadpool 2 is as funny as the first movie. The action is explosive and uncompromisingly brutal; it also is as violent as the first movie. Once again, the soundtrack choices are interesting as songs are played over scenes you'd never think they'd be used for, lending to the unserious tone. Most remarkably, Deadpool 2 does not end up like many other sequels to smash-hits where the original is made out of a unique formula and succeeds due to its freshness, but when the sequel comes around, the film feels slightly more forced and less fresh. Deadpool 2 stays away from this, improving upon the original even if just slightly. It did not feel forced in the least and its antithesis to other superhero films is appreciated. My only critiques of the film are minor, the end gag dragged on a little too long, the kid was a little annoying at times, and many of the references are likely to be lost in time due to their contemporary nature.

Deadpool 2 is a film you should see today and is something rarely seen in sequels, an improvement on the original.