Review #1087: Deadpool 2.
Cast:
Ryan Reynolds (Wade Wilson / Deadpool), Josh Brolin (Cable), Morena Baccarin (Vanessa), Julian Dennison (Russell Collins / Firefist), Zazie Beetz (Domino), T.J. Miller (Weasel), Brianna Hildebrand (Negasonic Teenage Warhead), Jack Kesy (Black Tom Cassidy), Stefan Kapičić (Colossus), Leslie Uggams (Blind Al), Karan Soni (Dopinder), Terry Crews (Bedlam), Lewis Tan (Shatterstar), Bill Skarsgård (Zeitgeist), Rob Delaney (Peter) and Brad Pitt (Vanisher) Directed by David Leitch (#905 - John Wick and #978 - Atomic Blonde)
Review:
Deadpool (#779) was certainly an interesting experience, particularly in its pace and its jokes, with Reynolds being a key highlight that certainly proved to be amusing enough to make a sequel easily possible. As described by Reynolds himself, "The first movie is a love story masquerading as a comic-book movie, and this one is kind of a family film masquerading as a comic-book film again." The best thing I can say about this movie is that it succeeds at being good entertainment, particularly by being a fine follow-up to the previous one without just being a "greatest hits" type of film. At 119 minutes, it is slightly longer in length than the first movie (which was 108), but it thankfully doesn't feel bloated, in part because of how fun it is with its cast and action.
Reynolds sells the part just as well (if not better) as he did in the original, having a charm to him that still manages to feel fresh and involving, which generates a good deal of the laughs. Brolin does a fine job, selling this steely role with competency and a fair sense of timing to elevate material that could've been generic in lesser hands. Dennison does a fine job, showing a fair deal of vulnerability and angst that works for his plot thread, selling it well when paired with Reynolds. Beetz does a pretty good job, being fairly charming and good with timing in a movie filled with quick zingers and nearly as quick action sequences. The returning cast-mates from the original (Baccarin, Miller, Hildebrand, Kapičić, Uggams, Soni) aren't as prominent this time around, although they do contribute to a few amusing moments. With the numerous meta gags and things that the film likes to throw at the viewer, one could be tempted to wonder if Deadpool 2 nearly goes off the deep end with trying to be fun. While I find that there are times that the movie doesn't quite sell itself too handily (applying in some part to the first half), there are an abundant amount of moments that click to pull it off. While the film doesn't really have much of a villain, there is enough in its story pursuit that makes it click decently. The movie has an adequate emotional core to where you can be reasonably be invested in what it's selling, especially because the cast looks like they're having fun while doing so while feeling believable enough to seem useful. The action sequences are pulled off pretty well, having an execution to them that maneuvers itself with good motion that you'd expect. It isn't as good as the first film, but there is enough fun and amusement along with some structure to make for a relatively satisfying sequel, and I can't wait to see what will happen next with these characters.
Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.
