Deadpool 2

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deadpool_2_poster.0There are times when it feels like a movie has lost a sense of direction, and is relying on one-liners to fill in the gaps until it finds a way forward. Deadpool 2 never feels that way, mainly because the whole film is a series of one-liners. That is how Deadpool 2 gets Deadpool right.

Deadpool is supposed to be an immortal wisecracking antihero, and that’s exactly what Deadpool 2 delivers. In fact, movie Deadpool may be even more potent than his comic book counterpart, since we have seemingly hundreds of superhero movies to send up and most are easy targets.  Deadpool makes sure not to miss any by taking seemingly hundreds of shots at them. None are spared, with Ryan Reynolds’ past superhero movies (and Reynolds himself) being hit as much as any other (and maybe more). More than anything, that self-effacing attitude is why Deadpool works.

Deadpool 2 is stupid and it knows it.  It will do anything to make you laugh, and it will succeed. But Deadpool 2 doesn’t stop there. As you get into the film’s rhythm, you realize that in between the jokes, there’s a ton of action, a superteam origin story, the onscreen debuts of two classic X-Men characters, significant character development, and best of all, a much-needed mop-up of some major continuity issues. And with an X-Force movie on the way, Deadpool basically has birthed his own cinematic universe (I’m treating it as a separate universe than the X-Men films since aside from Colossus, there are no other A-list X-Men in sight), so for better or worse, Deadpool is sticking around for the long haul.

Overall I think Deadpool’s success is more better than worse (though Jay would surely disagree).  Deadpool 2 is an entertaining movie that can co-exist with movies like Avengers: Infinity War (and Deadpool is probably the superhero best served by being removed from the Marvel Universe, as evidenced by Fox keeping him separate from the X-universe for all intents and purposes).

The comparison between Deadpool 2 and Avengers: Infinity War brings up an interesting contrast.  Since I was frustrated with the lazy writing in Infinity War, I should have been equally frustrated with Deadpool for the same reason.  Lazy writing is lazy writing whether or not a superhero breaks the fourth wall to acknowledge it, right?  Then why did I give Deadpool a pass when I held lazy writing against Avengers?  The answer, I think, is because Marvel is asking me to take seriously that half of the universe was wiped out with a magic glove, whereas Deadpool is up front about how stupid and meaningless this all is, that everything can and will be undone, and figures out a way to have fun with it.  And that is why for as long as they are making superhero movies, there will be a place for movies like Deadpool 2.

 

 

18 thoughts on “Deadpool 2”

  1. Liz A.

    Yeah, still not a Deadpool fan. I just can’t. The first one… It wasn’t awful, but my sense of humor isn’t served by it. Ah well. There are way more people who get it than don’t. Enjoy.

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  3. Justin Kelly

    “Deadpool 2 is stupid and it knows it. It will do anything to make you laugh, and it will succeed. ” These two sentences literally sum up exactly how I feel about the movie. It’s hilarious, insane, and often nonsensical, but that’s how deadpool should be. Great review.

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  10. Screen Zealots

    This review totally nailed it. I absolutely HATED the first “Deadpool” movie but I thought this one was hilarious. The whole high winds bit was incredibly funny (I’ve seen the movie twice and the jokes, no matter how juvenile, still hold up), and I Domino is a crazy good character. (Louisa)

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  13. rambling kori

    As a huge comic book reader I am not really a fan of comic book films (minus Hellboy, didn’t like the Hellboy comic, but I enjoyed the films). Comic book films to me do not transition well because they take bits and pieces from all over the place and make things up as they go. At this point I feel like I am watching all these films out of obligation, since on connects to the other. While Ryan Reynolds gets the personality of Deadpool down, I agree that the writing is extremely lazy.

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  14. sportsattitudes

    Best movie I’ve seen so far this year. A labor of love sent out to all Deadpool fans existing or new, commenting right after seeing it the makers gave a great deal of thought to each and every frame committed to the screen. And no doubt, my glowing review of Deadpool is in some part constructed from disliking Infinity War so much…and it being released so closely to Deadpool. I get that R-rated superheroes are not everyone’s thing, but at least those who venture into Deadpool’s world are seeing the best that type of genre can offer. It’s been awhile since I’ve laughed that much. If you’re on the fence about seeing it, jump off said fence and do so.

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