Deadpool 2

Deadpool 2

Starring Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brokin, Morena Baccarin, Zazie Beetz

Directed by David Leitch

The Story:
Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) once again finds himself on the side of justice as he has to protect a troubled mutant named Firefist (Julian Dennison) from Cable (Josh Brolin), a time-traveling cyborg who's set on killing the kid.  To do this, he enlists a superhero team consisting of lucky Domino (Zazie Beetz), along with old friends Colossus (Stefan Kapicic) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) to stop him.

The Synopsis:
Sequels often have the issue of "been-there-done-that" where we've already been treated to the characters depicted and therefore lessens the impact of the film.  The first "Deadpool" was a revolutionary work of nature, the first superhero movie (sorry "Blade") to be rated R, and served as a film that is indeed not for children, unlike all the other Marvel brand titles.  Ryan Reynolds was practically born to don the red suit due to his physicality and especially his snarky, sarcastic nature.  The film became a massive hit, and green-lit the final "Wolverine" movie to also be rated R, giving us one of the best superhero films since "The Dark Knight."

So when "Deadpool 2" came out, the allure and fascination of a R-rated superhero movie was already gone, so the story had to be something compelling, the acting above reproach, and the stakes amped higher than before.  Thankfully, "Atomic Blonde" and "John Wick" director David Leitch took over behind the scenes, and with a script co-written by Reynolds himself, the result is a sequel practically as great as the original (there's some small quarrels I had about it) delivered with the same attitude and included the gambit of genres - action, comedy, and even some heartfelt emotions you'd never expect from the Merc with a Mouth.

Much like sequels go, we have to advance the characters to a different level than they were before.  Now Deadpool has the father itch, and finds a ward in young Firefist, an angry mutant kid who's been abused at a mutant halfway house of sorts and has the ability to summon fire from his...well...fists.  One of the great underappreciated aspects of the "Deadpool" franchise is being able to pick mutants with the most unique (and easily insulted) names, such as Firefist (which Deadpool has issues saying without busting out laughing), and of course Negasonic Teenage Warhead.  Anyway, the two find themselves in jail when the time-traveling Cable arrives to kill the kid because he somehow wreaks destruction in the future, and Deadpool sets out to stop him.

Much as superhero movies go (delicious how Deadpool makes fun of superhero tropes), Deadpool realizes he can't do it alone, and hires a gang of mutants to help, including Bedlam (Terry Crews), Shatterstar (Lewis Tan), Vanisher (who's main power is...invisibility), Zeitgeist (Bill Skarsgard, AKA Pennywise), and of course Peter (Rob Delaney), who has absolutely no superpowers whatsoever.  There's also Domino - played with gusto by "Atlanta" star Zazie Beetz) - who's superpower is "being lucky" which...might or might not be a superpower at all.  Yet out of all of them, she has the most screen time and is given the most elaborate fight scenes, proving to the audience (and Deadpool) that luck can indeed be a superpower and can also be really cool to see on screen.

Not forgetting his old friends, Deadpool also turns to Colossus and the Negasonic Teenage Warhead to help, and while Colossus thankfully gets more screen time than the first, the film terribly under-uses the Negasonic Teenage Warhead, who's now become a more strong, confident hero.  This is the main issue I had with the film, and while it's a small one, it's one that really bugged me.

Deadpool has always been unique in the fact that he breaks the fourth wall, and is incredibly observant of what is happening.  When Colossus gets into a fight with another CGI character, Deadpool mentions "here's a fight between two CGI characters."  When Cable tells him why he has to kill the kid, Deadpool simply asks why he didn't just go back in time before the kid was born, and the answer Cable gives makes Deadpool look at the camera and say, "well, that's just poor writing."  Reynolds knew that people would harp on issues like this (just read any of the thousand thoughts on "Infinity War" for reference), and he disarms the negativity the general pubic would give the film otherwise.

When it comes to performances, Reynolds once again nails it with delicious glee and humor, and you obviously know that not only does Ryan Reynolds exceed expectations, but he also has a personally strong desire for the character (you don't see this type of enthusiasm in "Green Lantern" for sure).  Josh Brolin is having the year of his career (previously starring as Thanos in "Infinity War," and will be the lead in the anticipated "Sicario" sequel), and as another anti-hero, he works perfectly with Reynolds' Deadpool in a way leaps and bounds better than other dysfunctional duos (like Dwayne Johnson's Hobbs and Jason Statham's Deckard from the "Fast and the Furious" franchise).  The other actors do great jobs as well, but the film is ultimately an off-beat buddy comedy between two uniquely different individuals.

There's not much else to be said about the film without going into spoiler territory, but this is a film you'll have to see more than once, because you'll definitely miss some golden jokes because you're laughing so hard at the jokes previously.  Plus there's a slew of cameos and callbacks, some shocking moments (both used for dramatic effect as well as fall-out-your-seat laughter), and some knockout action choreography only the director of "John Wick" can deliver.  Not to mention that uproarious title sequence that pokes fun at James Bond.

The Summary:
From start to finish, "Deadpool 2" is every part its predecessor's equal, with a few minor issues here and there.  It has maintained the offbeat heart and humor Ryan Reyolds delivers, and again is a pure delight.

The Score: A+