The Mercenary with a mouth is back with the eagerly awaited arrival of “Deadpool 2”. The films sees the generally well-meaning but highly dysfunctional Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds), back to taking out bad guys as a contract player but also managing his relationship with Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). When an unexpected event sends his life into a freefall, Deadpool tries to find a new purpose with the help of his X-Men associates from the last film who attempt to recruit him into their organization.
His first mission is to defuse an angry and destructive young mutant named Russell (Julian Dennison), which takes an unexpected turn and lands them both in serious trouble.
One would think that would be enough to cause some major life changes for Deadpool but thanks to the arrival of Cable (Josh Brolin), a cyborg soldier from the future; things are about to get much more complicated and intense.
Undaunted, Deadpool opts to form his own league of heroes and aside from Domino (Zazie Beetz); they seem to be as unlucky or dysfunctional as their leader which makes for some very hysterical consequences.
What follows is an action and laugh-laden adventure which brings even more of what made the first film such a success to the audience as the film takes the bawdy action of the first and ups the ante thanks in large part to an expanded budget and cast.
My biggest concern for the film was that with an expanded budget there would be too many characters and an attempt to do far too much with the film. That did play out at times in the beginning as for me, the first film worked so well as they had to let the characters rather than the action and effects carry it and the rapid-fire arrival of so many jokes and creative profanity made repeat viewing of the film necessary to catch everything.
This time out we get elaborate action and chase sequences as well as a much larger cast. At times it seemed as if this would possibly overshadow the characters and story but Reynolds and Director David Leith never let it cross that line.
They also go back to the core elements in the final third of the film which really allows the film to fully connect with the tone of the original film and brings the film home to a satisfying conclusion. What really sold the film for me was the brilliant and very inspired extended scene during the credits which allows Deadpool to “fix” various issues which perfectly captures the irreverent character and the best aspects of the series where the cast is willing to make fun of themselves as well as the larger universe in which their characters exist.
I cannot wait to see what comes next as “DeadPool 2” is another fun outing for the character and something very different from most comic based movies.
4 stars out of 5
Second Review by
Joseph Saulnier
Right up there with Avengers: Infinity War and Solo A Star Wars Story, Deadpool 2 is among the most anticipated movies of 2018. But does it live up to the genius that was the first film. In some ways, yes. Unfortunately, the caveat here is that in some ways, it does not. Don’t get me wrong, the film is fantastic. Great comedy, great pacing, an actual interesting story, and some much better action sequences than the first film, due in large part to the bigger budget this time around. But that, may have been the bane of Deadpool 2. Sometimes, bigger is not better.
Again, this film is fantastic, and I fully intend on seeing it again, as I am sure there are things I missed from laughing so much, but as with any sequel in the history of film, you have to judge it based on the first outing. It may not always be fair to do this, but it is what it is sometimes.
I will reiterate this one more time. The movie was excellent. So much so that it actually would be a great stand-alone film, even a great film in start the franchise with. The thing is we already had a great film that was well written and creative in what it had to do given the budget. The story was simple, guy’s girl gets kidnapped, now he needs to rescue her. I know there was more to it than that, but that’s what it boiled down to. The story ion DP2 is great also, but they complicated it. Like a lot. Which is good, and not a bad thing at all because (to me anyway) it was a solid story line. But let’s take a different look at it.
Die Hard was great movie. It was very simple, not over the top, a plausible simple story with some great one-liners and a hero you could get behind. Essentially the same could be said about Deadpool (the first). But… Die Hard With A Vengeance was also a good movie. But differently so. It was a bigger movie than Die Hard. Bigger in every way: action, budget, talent, etc. But bigger, is not always better. The same can be said with DP2. Bigger action, bigger budget, bigger talent, but not neccesarily a better movie than the first. But just as good in it’s own right.
Now that we have that out of the way, being as spoiler free as I can, the film was great. The score/soundtrack was superb, the cameos and talent and cameos excellent, and more 4th wall breaking/meta material than you know what to do with, but not in a bad way. Expect some fun surprises, a lot of pokes and jabs at the other super hero movies out there, including the first film and this one too.
One thing I have to wonder is how much time they took to do reshoots, or at least re-dubs, once the Empire… err, I mean Disney, bought Fox. There were many references to the MCU that I think we may not have seen/heard had that deal not gone through. But I will say that I am certainly glad that it did.
Be ready for some WTF moments, some “nearly piss your pants from laughing too hard” moments, and a few moments where you realize they might have been trying too hard. But even with all that, if you enjoyed Deadpool in even the slightest way, you will enjoy this film just as much. Even when it is trolling you.
4 stars out of 5
The Blu Ray release is loaded with great stuff and is a must for fans. Not only is there amazing picture and sound quality but loads of features such as.
Blu-rayTM Bonus Features
- Gag Reel
- Deleted/Extended Scenes
- Until Your Face Hurts: Alt Takes
- Deadpool’s Lips are Sealed: Secrets and Easter Eggs
- The Most Important X-Force Member
- Deadpool Family Values: Cast of Characters
- David Leitch Not Lynch: Directing DP2
- Roll with the Punches: Action and Stunts
- The Deadpool Prison Experiment
- Chess with Omega Red
- Swole and Sexy
- “3-Minute Monologue”
- Audio Commentary by Ryan Reynolds, David Leitch, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (Theatrical Version Only)
- Deadpool’s Fun Sack 2
- Stills (28 Images)
