Deadpool 2 - Movie Review

Written by Shiggins

This review was brought to you by the writer of those Fairy Tail chapter reviews!

It was inevitable that the most successful adult movie of all time so far, 2016's Deadpool, would get a sequel as quickly as possible. Well-received and tons of fun, despite such a low budget, the movie was praised from the mountains by fans and foes alike. And while I didn't go that far, I still thought it was a fun film that gave me a nice relief from the serious drama of other superhero flicks. And after the raw drama of Infinity War, it was nice to have some warm fuzzy comedy covered in blood.

Note: This is a spoiler-free review.

Deadpool 2 is the direct sequel to the first Deadpool movie, and that means it's all Deadpool all the time. If you're even a little bit familiar with the comics or last movie, you'll know Deadpool has always been a fourth-wall breaking freak of a character that loves to mess around and bug the serious superheroes as he does whatever the hell he wants. And surprisingly, the movies have mostly kept the character sticking to that formula.

Ryan Reynolds returns as Wade Wilson/Deadpool, now taking on his other persona as the "Merc with a Mouth", who is going through heavy emotional issues. And those issues are put to the test when a cyborg from the future, Cable, arrives with the intention of committing murder to prevent his apocalyptic fate. To stop him, Deadpool decides he must gather up as many allies as possible and form a gang known as "The X-Force".

It can't be said enough just how perfectly Ryan Reynolds has taken to the Deadpool character. This is the role he was born to play, and I think he is absolutely aware of that. As much as he can, Deadpool is giving out the swears, the sarcasm and the snark. He's cheeky to his friends, gruesome to his enemies, and often swaps those two around. Reynolds' performance is almost effortless, making him feel so utterly natural. This is easily one of my favourite casting in the past few years of superhero movies.

This is either the start of a great day or the end of a bad one.

Of course, Reynolds steals the show but that doesn't mean the rest of the cast aren't giving it their all. Josh Brolin returns for his second review from me in a row, this time changing his purple face for a metal eye as he marches through the film. Cable is a serious, straightforward character who hates putting up with Deadpool's crap, and Brolin is great at showing just how fed-up the man really is with him.

And the rest are damn fun too. Morena Baccarin as Wade's girlfriend Vanessa, Julian Dennison as the young kid with anger issues Russell, Zazie Beetz (what an awesome name!) as the badass girl Domino, Stefan Kapičić as the honest and kind-hearted Colossus... the list goes on. Everyone gets at least one moment to have fun or be friendly, even if I did find Domino nowhere near as unique as Negasonic Teenage Warhead ("What the s***? That is the coolest name ever!")

The X-Force themselves however, while fun, feel somewhat wasted.

The action is once again violent and brutal, with Deadpool using his regeneration ability to great effect during these scenes. He gets hit by a car and has his entire head spun 180 degrees? Yeah, that doesn't mean the action is over though! Scenes like that can often result in a lack of tension, but they manage to keep it visually interesting so you aren't detached from the experience. At times however, the action scenes do suffer due to the film's obvious lack of a budget when compared to other superhero movies. Sometimes, there is a CGI effect that just looks off. Or a fight between two characters doesn't quite reach its potential. A nitpick perhaps, but I felt like the film wanted to go further at certain points than it was actually able to.

One of the biggest surprises for me was just how straight some of the drama was played. Deadpool's previously-mentioned emotional issues, while honest and sincere, can feel out-of-place when mixed in between some gore and violence and jokes about the anus. It is sweet, if a bit simple, so I wasn't bothered by this. Just surprised.

However, let's finally get to what you all want to know; Is Deadpool 2 as funny, if not more so, than the first film? Answer: Yes.

I feel like he was born to be in this position.

Deadpool's history with the fourth wall in every medium is an abusive one, as he keeps smashing it apart to satisfy his own jokes, and that is when the movie shines. The opening narration he gives to the audience is full of his wit, and its impressive how often he is able or allowed to make jokes about 21st Century Fox, Marvel and DC. This can be a double-edged sword though, and I did find myself not laughing as hard as I could have when Deadpool chose to make a reference to a previous movie, rather than create his own joke. Not all the time, of course. And as you can tell, my favourite jokes are the ones when Deadpool utilises the power of meta.

A lot of these jokes wouldn't land as well as they do if the characters weren't worth caring for, and by golly I cared about them. When Wade has an emotional hug with Colossus, I smiled. And when he used that hug to squeeze the metal arse, I laughed. Simple yet effective, like the best kind of jokes are. And if my use of the word "arse" offended you, then Deadpool 2 is ready to hurt you in every scene it can. So much swearing!

Well, now I ship it! Deadpool x Colossus!

Deadpool 2 might seem disappointing to those who wanted to see the character take on a massive encounter from beyond the stars, or reach new heights of destruction and gore that only a comic book character could do, but the laugh and violence work together to give us a great movie that should entertain all fans of the character's first outing (And no, Origins;Wolverine does not count!). Funny, inventive and ridiculous, Deadpool 2 was exactly the film I needed to see after Avengers; Infinity War.

Oh and there is no post-credit scene. There are two scenes during the credits, but as soon as you hear "You're welcome, Canada", then go home. Pick up your mess because those who leave a mess behind for employees to clean up are d**ks, and don't wait for a final post-credit scene. Trust me on that.

D**ks.

Movie Rating: 8/10

Best Performance: Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson/Deadpool

Best Part: "You're welcome, Canada."

Worst Part: X-Force feels underused.

Did you enjoy the film? The review? Comment below!

The marketing for this film has been genius.

Shiggins:[Admin]
  .

Born under the stars of the Dark Gods, Shiggins owns the power of the Great Eye and is utterly magnificent in his omniscience. If you dare to discover more about someone as great as him, then go ahead. And to all my friends and family members, YOU are wrong and I should be disappointed! Not the other way round!,. You can find out about him or ask him stuff on ask.fm/shigginsishere or go to his tumblr page http://otakugajeel.tumblr.com/