Deadpool 2
I think there’s something that happens, inevitably, with a sequel to a movie that subverts so many of our expectations of what we expect from a certain type of movie, and “Deadpool 2” does not buck that trend. I’m thinking of “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2,” “The Hangover Part II,” “Shrek 2,” and “Despicable Me 2,” to name a few. The trend I’m thinking of is how, when a sequel to that type of movie happens, it ramps up everything that made the first film feel fresh, and loses something elemental to the success of the first film- it’s ability to build an emotional connection with the characters while being completely fresh. I really noticed it watching “Guardians 2” recently in my Marvel Cinematic Universe marathon, and it’s an issue in “Deadpool 2,” as well. I still really enjoy both sequels, but the originals just go about their business better. Thems the facts.
I love Ryan Reynolds’s commitment to Deadpool all of these years, and his desire to do right by the Merc with the Mouth even after his failed performance in 2009’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” When the first “Deadpool” hit in 2016, it was as if a nuclear bomb landed on what seemed to be turning into a stale superhero landscape, and jolted people with the realization that, “Holy shit, superhero movies don’t have to be the same every time out.” The sensibility that emerged previously in films like “Super,” the “Kick Ass” films and “Kingsman,” but the self-awareness of Wade Wilson in “Deadpool,” a Marvel property, set within the X-Men Universe of Fox, was a gamble that paid off handsomely as it because not just the highest-grossing “X-Men” movie, but also the 2nd highest-grossing R-rated film of all-time after “The Passion of the Christ,” a fact Deadpool gleefully points out in the early moments of this film.
When we pick up with Wade in this film, he is ready to blow himself to smithereens in the apartment he shared with Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), although the reason (Fox killing Wolverine in “Logan”) makes that feel a bit extreme. They are celebrating their anniversary, and also talking about having a family while Wade continues to go out, like a sociopathic Spider-Man, and killing some pretty bad dudes. When he has to leave one of his marks in his panic room to get home to Vanessa, however, he opens the door to tragedy, which brings us to our first image of Wade blowing up his apartment, and his body parts being collected and dragged to Xavier’s School by Colossus to heal up. Wade’s path has lead him down a rabbit hole, and Colossus really wants to see Wade FINALLY become an X-Men, while all Wade wants to do is wonder why he doesn’t see more of them around besides Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand), who has a girlfriend now in fellow mutant Yukio (Shioli Kutsuna). When they catch wind of an incident with a troubled mutant named Russell (Julian Dennison) at an orphanage that has some pretty harsh ideas with dealing with mutants, Deadpool and Russell find themselves locked in a facility that acts as a mutant prison with restraints that keep their powers at bay. It’s here when they find themselves under attack from Cable (Josh Brolin), who has an unexpected connection with Russell.
The level of passion Reynolds has for this character can be seen in not just the fact that he shares a writing credit on this one with Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (who wrote the first film), but in the fact that he seems to relish getting absurd with this character. The opening credits? A Celine Dion power ballad in the vein of James Bond, as well as the snarky satirical “credits” for the writers, star and director, who this time is David Leitch (“Atomic Blonde”). I don’t know how much of a difference the switch in directors, but “Deadpool 2” doesn’t feel quite as nimble and energetically crazy as the first one does. It’s still quite entertaining, and Leitch keeps things moving at a nice clip, but while Reynolds, Reese and Wernick play things straight with Deadpool’s uniquely subversive personality, the film almost feels like a more traditional superhero film in spire of that in how it plays. That’s weird to say since I had the film pegged as delving too much into the idiosyncrasies of why the first one stood out as much as it did in the first paragraph, but it actually just illustrates why “Deadpool 2” doesn’t work quite as well as its predecessor.
So long as Reynolds is playing the character, I’ll always be interested in seeing him on-screen as Wade Wilson, but the supporting cast is what keeps “Deadpool 2” interesting. Brolin as Cable has to be the first place we start, because let’s face it, having him in two different Marvel movies playing two different antagonists within the past month is not something you see. Unlike Thanos, which is more cerebral in his motivation, Cable is basically a badass who is in the picture to make Deadpool’s life difficult, although he has some definite personal motivation that gets us engaged with his role in the film. Brolin is basically having fun here, and when he and Ryan play off one another, it’s a treat. The next person up on the most valuable player chart is Zazie Beetz as Domino, one of the people Deadpool recruits for his own X-Force in trying to save Russell at some point in the film. She ends up teaming with Wade in the second half of the film and like Reynolds and Brolin, Beetz has just the right attitude to match up against Wade when he gets really self-involved, although the whole stretch with “X-Force” is pretty hilarious and fun to watch.
It’s going to be interesting what happens with Deadpool as it looks as though he will finally be able to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe proper. Hopefully, when the inevitable third film in this series comes out, we’ll get an idea of what that looks like, and even more hopefully, the Merc with the Mouth will get back to basics and try and forge his own path again, rather than trying to fit in with the rest of his superhero brethren.
