When the original Deadpool arrived in theaters, it was a breath of fresh air. Comics fans may have already been familiar with the smart-assed “merc with a mouth,” but in the context of modern superhero movies, both the character and the self-referential style of the 2016 film were a subversive delight. Deadpool's creators clearly knew how silly superhero movies had become, recognized that audiences also knew it, and mixed it all up into an R-rated romp that brought in more than $780 million worldwide, while costing just a fraction of the price tag on an average DC or Marvel tentpole.
But studios and filmmakers learned the lessons of Deadpool quickly, with James Mangold’s Logan embracing the visceral intensity an R-rating can allow, and Marvel practically lampooning itself with Taika Waititi’s hilarious Thor: Ragnarok. We now live in a post-Deadpool world, and with the element of surprise no longer part of its arsenal, the inevitable Deadpool 2 has to go about the more traditional business of crafting a sequel that delivers on fan expectations, while also giving them just enough of a fresh twist that the entire thing doesn’t feel completely cynical. The result isn't as novel as the original, or as effortlessly kinetic, but it is nevertheless a joke-packed action film that continues to deliver on the character's potential, while opening up the door to an even bigger series of sarcastic superhero adventures.
Warning: mild spoilers for Deadpool 2 below.
Even though the film is about a character who's all swagger and almost no smarts, Deadpool 2 heads in an unexpected direction early on: it makes Deadpool — also known as Wade Wilson — doubt himself. After a personal setback, Wade (Ryan Reynolds) begins to question the point of the superhero business, and it's only after Colossus (Stefan Kapicic) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) bring him in as an X-Men trainee that he begins to come around. Deadpool is Deadpool, however, and his arrogant bravado is able to turn even the simplest mission into a complete and utter disaster. Soon, Wade is rendered powerless and thrown into prison alongside a young pyrokinetic mutant named Russell (Hunt for the Wilderpeople’s Julian Dennison). With his healing abilities gone, Wade would prefer to wallow in his angst and simply fade away, but when a time-traveling cybernetic soldier named Cable (a grim Josh Brolin) arrives from the future with murder on his mind, Wade is drawn into donning the Deadpool mask once again. This time, however, he decides to recruit some allies to fight alongside him in his own superhero group: X-Force.
X-Force shenanigans make up some of the film’s most memorable moments
Some members of X-Force have already been highlighted in the film’s trailers, but those quick two-minute clips don’t reveal that the X-Force shenanigans make up some of the film's strongest moments. (Atlanta’s Zazie Beetz, as Domino, is particularly memorable.) Where the original movie was able to upend all expectations about what a superhero film should be, Deadpool 2 upends expectations about superhero team-ups. And coming off the heels of Avengers: Infinity War, the satire couldn’t be more perfectly timed. It’s no spoiler to say that the X-Force sequences are hilarious, unexpected, and utterly outrageous at times, displaying a freewheeling willingness to cross every line imaginable, in ways that provoke as many cringes as laughs.
The meta jokes the first film delighted in are all there and accounted for — Deadpool calls out DC movies, The Goonies, Batman, and Ryan Reynolds’ own less-stunning career performances, among countless others. But they don’t pack quite the same punch this time around. They’re expected at this point, table stakes for the Deadpool character, and many of them have already been spoiled in the movie’s many trailers. Instead, Deadpool 2 feels most confident when it gleefully does the exact opposite of what the audience expects — or, in many cases, what the audience wants — while snarking and smirking the entire way.
It’s a mission statement that the film delivers early, in a James Bond-esque credit sequence that literally incorporates the imagined reactions of an outraged audience into the visuals themselves. It plays almost as a dare for the audience to play along, and whenever the film is able to zig when the audience expects a zag, it simmers with palpable energy. What detracts from the proceedings is that sometimes Deadpool 2 does exactly what viewers should expect, resulting in a movie that feels decidedly uneven at times. One moment the character, and the film, are actively surprising the audience, squeezing out laughs at a rapid clip. Other times, it’s like watching yet another Deadpool commercial or TV spot, with his bro-humor schtick growing less interesting with every passing quip. Deadpool, it seems, is hilarious in doses, and the constant marketing barrage has the side effect of making the actual film feel a little less special.
It won’t be long before audiences start clamoring for a Domino spin-off
But Ryan Reynolds certainly delivers in the title role. Deadpool continues to feel like the character Reynolds was destined to take on, and he’s able to deftly combine a self-effacing sense of humor with his now-familiar nasal delivery to create as character that’s nearly impossible not to like, no matter what horrible things he says or does (and there are a lot of those). Reynolds is even able to generate real audience sympathy for Wade in some surprisingly touching moments. Josh Brolin as Cable pulls off a similar trick; he’s a menacing half-cyborg most of the time, but by the end he’s actually summoned some vulnerability as well. That trick of combining ironic humor with a touch of authentic human emotion was key to the first film, and the same holds true in Deadpool 2. Rounding out the lead trio in the film is Beetz’ Domino, who is able to give Deadpool a run for his money from nearly the moment she shows up on screen — and it likely won’t be long before audiences start clamoring for a Domino spin-off film.
It does feel like something is missing from the overall mix, however, and that’s likely due to the difference in visual style between the two films. In the original, first-time feature director Tim Miller was an action dynamo, his whirling dervish of a camera creating action sequences filled with so many absurd stops, starts, and operatic slow-motion moments that they seemed to be mocking modern action filmmaking itself. The approach felt intrinsically tied to the Deadpool character; if the performances and script were a knowing wink and nod, why shouldn’t the directing be as well? Deadpool 2’s David Leitch, on the other hand, has already developed his own kinetic style of action directing, in movies like Atomic Blonde and John Wick. His approach gives the action scenes and fight choreography in Deadpool 2 an undeniable sense of energy and fun, but for the most part the movie plays things straightforward. As a result, Deadpool 2 never feels quite as giddy as Miller’s film.
The fantastic post-credits scenes surpass what Marvel is able to pull off
As far as complaints go, that isn’t a deal breaker — particularly not when Deadpool 2 does so many things right. After its uneven second act, the film barrels towards the finish line with nary a missed note (save for a standard-issue throw-down between two CG characters; despite Deadpool cracking wise about it, a tedious CG fight is still a tedious CG fight). To top it all off, the film ends with some truly fantastic post-credits scenes that play with the format and arguably surpass the credits scenes of most recent Marvel films.
That’s the big takeaway from Deadpool 2: this little-franchise-that-could is able to do some things better than even the mighty Marvel Studios can. And despite the periodic weaknesses, it’s nearly impossible to walk out of this film without wanting to see where Ryan Reynolds is going to take this character next. Deadpool proved that audiences were hungry for a superhero as self-aware as they are; Deadpool 2 proves that character can actually ground an ensemble. With filmmaker Drew Goddard (The Martian, Cabin in the Woods) tackling an X-Force movie next, there’s going to be an entirely new playground for Deadpool’s snarky schtick and silliness — and it’s likely going to be there for many years to come.
Deadpool 2 opens on May 18th.
'Deadpool 2': Film Review
Marvel's foul-mouthed antihero learns to play well with others (sorta) in a sequel from 'Atomic Blonde' director David Leitch.
Glance quickly at the poster for Deadpool 2 (tagline: "From the Studio That Killed Wolverine") and you might worry slightly. Look at all those characters, most of whom you don't know from the last film. Are you walking into the same kind of costumed glut that threatened to turn the most recent Avengers film into Infinite War on Character Development?
Rest assured that, as in all things Deadpool, there are some very self-aware, very funny jokes built into this overstuffed poster. (And some very fun things left out of it.) The fact is, while this sequel does move the fan-favorite "Merc with a Mouth" toward the kind of hero-team storytelling favored by "universe"-minded entertainment megacorps, it does so on the snarkster's own terms; actually, this pic arguably feels less beholden to convention than the climax of the first film. Deadpool might make a joke about climaxes at this point, but let's keep things clean. Deadpool 2 is, if less of a surprise than its predecessor, just as funny; if it's less sexy, that doesn't mean you're not going to get to see the protagonist walking around with no pants. (It just means that if the sight turns you on, you ought to be ashamed.)
As we start, Ryan Reynolds' Wade Wilson/Deadpool is roughly where you'd expect him to be two years after the first movie. He's using his new powers to slice and dice much bigger opponents, taking out whole gangs of bad guys at a time, still getting his jobs through the divey hitmen-only bar called Sister Margaret's. (Returning as that bar's proprietor, T.J. Miller is sufficiently underused here that, if it's true his offscreen troubles have led to his firing, few fans will miss him in future films.)
Wade still lives in erotic bliss with girlfriend Vanessa (Morena Baccarin); heaven help them, they've just started talking about having kids. You see? Deadpool wasn't lying when he told us a few minutes ago that this filthy-minded picture was "a family film"! But what about that part right after, when he warned us he was going to die?
Before long, a shocking attack has brought Deadpool so low that he's ready to follow Logan into the Marvel-hero hereafter. But if you thought Infinity War's milk-every-moment finale encouraged a cynical attitude toward superhero deaths, don't worry: Deadpool's screenwriters aren't going to make you wait a year to learn where to direct your grief.
Soon, Wade is being cared for at Professor Xavier's estate, and being none too careful with the furnishings. Colossus (the CG metal hulk voiced by Stefan Kapicic) wants to cure Deadpool of killing people and make him an X-Man — X-Man trainee, people keep reminding him. But on their first official-ish outing, Deadpool gets into trouble trying to rescue an emotionally disturbed young mutant, Russell (Julian Dennison, of Hunt for the Wilderpeople), who calls himself Firefist for reasons that will be self-evident.
Long and twist-filled story short, Wade is soon going it alone, trying to rescue Russell from a time-traveling cyborg soldier played by Josh Brolin. This Terminator-tough character is called Cable, though you, like Wade, may slip up and call him Thanos once or twice. (Deadpool mocks everybody from Hawkeye to Green Lantern here, at one point deflating the entirety of the Zack Snyder-ized DC Universe with an on-the-money zinger.)
Cable has brought some nigh-unbeatable weaponry along from his dystopian future, and Wade realizes he'll need help. He recruits a slew of new superpowered oddballs for a crew he dubs X-Force. Most exciting of these newcomers is Domino (Atlanta's Zazie Beetz), whose mutant power is that she's lucky. Again, you may share Wade's fourth-wall-breaking concern that this alleged gift will be hard to dramatize onscreen. Leitch puts those worries to rest in one of the picture's more enjoyably violent episodes.
There's action aplenty throughout the film, but Deadpool 2 doesn't bog down in it as many overcooked comic-book sequels do. With Reynolds' charismatic irreverence at its core, the pic moves from bloody mayhem to lewd comedy and back fluidly, occasionally even making room to go warm and mushy. On the latter front, the filmmakers walk a fine line between embracing Deadpool's mock-everything appeal and needing to make Wade a credible, emotional human. Whenever it threatens briefly to slip into corniness, though, the movie regains its balance. If sequels built on the backs of X-whatever mutants are going to thrive into the future, this installment needs (as did The Lego Batman Movie) to convince its loner protagonist that a family of trusted partners isn't something to fear. And after one surprisingly moving version of A-ha's "Take on Me," it manages just that.
One final note: It should go without saying at this point, but any moviegoer who hops up once the credits begin will be sorry. While its most delightful surprises are toward the beginning of the credit roll, it's worth sitting through to the end — especially for any viewer who was too distracted by the decapitations, fireballs and impalings of the final battle sequence to make out the lyrics of the Carmina Burana-ish chorus playing in the background.
Production companies: Kinberg Genre, Maximum Effort, Twentieth Century Fox
Distributor: Fox
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Morena Baccarin, Zazie Beetz, Julian Dennison, Karan Soni, T.J. Miller, Stefan Kapicic, Brianna Hildebrand, Eddie Marsan
Director: David Leitch
Screenwriters: Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Ryan Reynolds
Producers: Simon Kinberg, Ryan Reynolds, Lauren Shuler Donner
Executive producers: Stan Lee, Jonathon Komack Martin, Kelly McCormick, Rhett Reese, Ethan Smith, Aditya Sood, Paul Wernick
Director of photography: Jonathan Sela
Production designer: David Scheunemann
Costume designer: Kurt and Bart
Editors: Craig Alpert, Elisabet Ronaldsdottir, Dirk Westervelt
Composer: Tyler Bates
Casting directors: Marisol Roncali, Mary Vernieu
Rated R, 119 minutes
Too soon? With Avengers: Infinity War still in cinemas, the world is hardly screaming out for another effects-laden saga of superheroes banding together to defeat a baddie played by Josh Brolin. But Deadpool is in a different league – or at least a different age rating. Where most superhero movies have gone family and broad, Deadpool went adult and rude, and revelled in the possibilities a UK 15 or US R rating opened up in terms of “strong bloody violence”, “strong language” and “crude depictions of sexual acts”, to quote the British Board of Film Classification. Not to mention a generation’s worth of pop-culture references only an older audience would appreciate. The gamble paid off handsomely: Deadpool became the second highest grossing R-rated movie in US history after The Passion of the Christ. And that audience will need little persuasion to return for the sequel – just the mention of a running gag about Barbra Streisand’s Yentl will probably be enough. But now that there’s a lot riding on it, this sequel is presented with a challenge: how to send up the genre without looking as if you are part of it?
What made the first Deadpool, and saves this one, is the way they mix emotional sincerity in with the meta-movie wisecracking. The comedy comes from a place of pain, and Ryan Reynolds’ ability to flip between both registers so effortlessly is a superpower few actors possess. Thus, this second instalment begins with Reynolds’ Deadpool attempting to kill himself. Given his capacity for regeneration, he fails, of course. After a few hilariously gory fight scenes and another Bond-movie parody title sequence, it’s explained how it came to this: Deadpool has become tragically separated from his true love Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). His relationship with his “surrogate family”, the X-Men, also gets off to a bad start when they team up to confront a teenage mutant Kiwi firestarter named Russell – played by Julian Dennison, the kid from Hunt for the Wilderpeople. On the trail of Russell, for reasons initially unknown, is Brolin’s mean, tooled-up cyborg soldier Cable, who doesn’t need an Infinity Stone to travel back in time. “You’re so dark. Are you sure you’re not from the DC universe?” asks Deadpool.
Snappy, self-aware, fourth-wall-breaking lines like that flow fast and rarely miss their targets in the ensuing adventure. The lines between good guys and bad guys are refreshingly blurred, and the movie is at its funniest when it genuinely subverts the formula – as with Deadpool’s ill-prepared attempt to assemble his own “X Force” superhero team. But there are still boxes to tick in terms of moral lessons about guilt, revenge and (stop me if you’ve heard this one before) “family”. Not to mention regular crash-bang action set pieces. The cartoonish excess is often gratifying, but even when a big CGI fight scene is prefaced with Reynolds saying, “big CGI fight scene coming up”, it is what it is.
The movie’s other major weakness is its continued foregrounding of the white guys at the expense of the consciously inclusive cast around them. Only Brolin’s Cable gets anything resembling a fleshed-out character. Dennison gets some space to make an impression but he’s virtually reprising his Hunt for the Wilderpeople persona, and Deadpool’s bromance with Colossus is the most meaningful relationship in the movie. More problematic is Deadpool’s cool, new African American accomplice Domino, played by Atlanta’s Zazie Beetz (at one point he refers to her as “black black widow”). Her superpower is luck, which gets the plot out of many a corner, but doesn’t extend to the script giving her any decent lines. Baccarin is largely out of the picture, Brianna Hildebrand’s enjoyably snarky Negasonic Teenage Warhead is underused, and her new Japanese girlfriend’s sole personality trait seems to be having purple hair. Worst of all is Karan Soni’s taxi driver Dopinder, a weedy, emasculated Indian stereotype whose superhero aspirations make him the beta-male butt of the joke. Looks as if the writers haven’t got up to speed with The Simpsons’ Apu controversy.
Such concerns might not bother Deadpool 2’s core audience too much, but they implicitly suggest that core audience is white and male, and that everybody else ought to just lighten up. It’s easy to do so, given Reynolds’ undiminished charm, and the generous flow of weapons-grade gags. But now that it’s no longer the underdog, Deadpool is in severe danger of punching down rather than up.
