Deadpool 2 is still a fourth wall breaking laugh riot, but the story is not as superficially strong as the original although it may be psychologically more devastating in its implications. In this installment, there is no Big Bad, no single personified villain, except loss and trauma. Being invulnerable does not mean that you can’t be hurt. The movie’s narrative meanders and reflects the titular hero’s reason to live as he grasps at straws in order to reclaim that sense of purpose. Just when the existential dread threatens to engulf you, laugh.
The Deadpool franchise is the comedy spoof movie of comic book action summer blockbusters except it does not feel like it because it is genuinely funny and can still stand on its own. It isn’t mimicking. It is mocking. Our titular hero has never been like traditional comic book heroes. He isn’t invested in saving the world or being a hero. He quips and kills an assembly line of bad guys. He has his feet firmly planted in movie production, the real world and the limited Marvel universe. For example, when he decides to assemble a team, he acts more like a casting director, and the eligible team members act as if they are actors in an audition. He acts like us by criticizing their powers or fangirling certain characters as if he was online and watched the same movies that we do.
It will help viewers if one of those movies that you have seen is The Hunt for the Wilderpeople since one of the stars of that film has an unexpectedly large role in Deadpool 2 which feels as if it is a reprise of the character that he played in Taika Waititi’s film. There are even more X-Men references, which somehow surpass the initial installment. Don’t blink! It was also nice to see Zazie Beetz in a more memorable performance as Domino after her brief appearances in the forgettable Geostorm and the surprisingly good, but largely unwatched Wolves. There is a brilliant cameo of a well-known Hollywood star. The rightful Iron Fist, Lewis Tan, is featured in a humorous but small visual gag. Eagle eyed viewers may recognize Bill Skarsgard, but I did not spot Alan Tudyk (love) or Matt Damon (ugh, thank God). Josh Brolin is having a great year and always brings more to his characters than what is on the page. When I saw Oh Lucy!, a producer promised that I would see Shioli Kutsuna’s talents showcased more in this film, but other than some cute banter, she isn’t given much to do except pad her resume although it is nice that a same sex couple is treated as a given part of the landscape.
It took me awhile to get comfortable with the fast paced rhythm of Deadpool 2, but I think that is largely my fault because I was still bleary eyed from struggling to get up early to watch the Royal Wedding, which is not normally my kind of thing—the wedding, not getting up early. It did not help that the movie opened with the How We Got Here trope, which I instinctually despise. I like to pretend to believe that the events unfolding before me matter, but I knew that the opening scene would have no long-term consequences as the ending later confirmed. The violence was definitely more graphic and gratuitous in this installment than the last, but tamer sexually. Maybe I was more sensitive going into the theater because Joi “SJ” Harris, who was Beetz’s stuntwoman and gets a dedication in the credits as Sequana Harris, died in the film. Many of the regulars return and are as delightful as they were the first time, but have less time to make the same impression. I miss the unicorn, but some old gags get dusted off and still get the same laughs.
I never got around to rewatching Deadpool at home, but I will definitely make the time to do so when Deadpool 2 becomes available for home viewing. The main problem of watching this franchise in theaters is that when you are laughing at one joke, you are missing several others. If ever a franchise begged for closed captioning, it is this one since it is rare to genuinely get tickled by cinematic comedy without it feeling self conscious or gimmicky. This franchise manages to mock political correctness without disrespecting the people that political correctness aims to protect.
There will be another installment, and while I enjoyed Deadpool 2, I hope that Ryan Reynolds and the studio can persuade Tim Miller to return and direct the sequel since he is stronger than David Leitch even though Miller has less directing experience. While Reynolds is indispensable to the franchise, is impressive for being able to act through a mask and tons of makeup, especially when he takes counterintuitive action such as the revenge sequence that changes the tone suddenly but perfectly and succeeded his first time as one of the writers to the second sequel, his comments about being oblivious to repeatedly hitting certain tropes shows that he needs someone like Miller to balance his impulses and is more consciously aware of the franchise’s place in the cinematic landscape.
If you enjoyed Deadpool, then Deadpool 2 is required viewing, but I would caution viewers from checking out the franchise unless you enjoy action, don’t mind profanity, violence and sexual content.