Deadpool has always been one of my favorite comic book characters. I love how funny, violent, raunchy, and meta he is. All of those qualities were encapsulated in the first movie, known simply as Deadpool. I absolutely loved that movie. It contained one of the funniest scripts of the year it came out, along with great characters, fun action scenes, and a simple yet endearing story. As excited as I was to see this sequel, there was a part of me that was worried that the magic of Deadpool might be gone, resulting in the concept getting tired and drab. The marketing and trailers helped ease that worry, but it never really left until I saw the movie. After seeing the film twice, I can confirm that Deadpool 2 is exactly what I was hoping for, and I would say it's on par with the original. There are some aspects that are better and some aspects that are worse, but the whole movie culminates in a very fun movie experience that makes me question if I liked the original film or this sequel more.
Deadpool 2 follows Deadpool, obviously. He's living life as peacefully as a Deadpool possibly can when he comes across a young boy with mutant powers. With a man named Cable on their tail, Deadpool must protect this boy at all costs through lots of murder, the creation of X-Force, and many fourth wall breaks.
What I appreciate about this sequel is that it's not a retread of the original. There are a few callbacks to the original with certain jokes and one-liners, but the story feels wholly fresh. And I really like the story. It was told in a hilarious and compelling way, with a surprising amount of heart behind it. It's well written and contains some moments that had me hurting from how much I was laughing. Were there some jokes that fell flat on their face? Absolutely. However, since there were so many jokes that hit and hit hard, I'm willing to overlook those jokes that didn't work.
As for characters and acting, for the most part, they were all great. We saw how perfect of a casting choice Ryan Reynolds was as Deadpool, and Deadpool 2 further proves that there is no other actor that can play this role as well. He hits all of the comedic beats masterfully, and even does well in the dramatic moments. All of his mannerisms and nuances, as well as his dedication and enjoyment that emanates from the screen add to how Ryan Reynolds was born to play this role.
Ryan Reynolds wasn't the only great actor of the movie, though. Josh Brolin was a phenomenal Cable and acted as a great foil for Deadpool. Julian Dennison was an absolutely charming delight. He is someone that I think will be getting a lot more work because of this movie, and deservedly so. Zazie Beetz was incredibly entertaining as Domino, and the way her character is used in the movie is hilarious. The returning members of Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Morena Baccarin as Vanessa, Stefan Kapicic as Colossus, and Karan Soni as Dopinder all have pretty brief roles, but they all do their characters well, and their personalities still held strong on the screen.
The only performance and character that I did not love was T.J. Miller as Weasel. He had some funny moments, but I thought his performance was too one note to be fully enjoyable. Plus, he had some of the worst jokes in the movie. Luckily, he wasn't in the movie for too long, so it wasn't that much of a problem.
Something that Deadpool 2 has over the original is its visuals. The cinematography of this movie is beautiful, with impressive set pieces and great uses of neon colors. The CGI is a massive improvement as well. There were a couple moments where it didn't look great, but for the most part, the special effects were pretty solid. However, the biggest improvement comes through the fight scenes. The choreography, stunts, brutality, and spectacle all took a giant leap up from the previous movie, and the action is all the better for it. They're exciting and gruesome, while still being quite funny.
The one thing that holds the action back is the editing. The way that this movie is pieced together is often choppy and inconsistent. There will be cuts in the movie where it is clear that two different takes were stitched together. This also applies to scenes in general, in which the movie will make awkward jumps from one moment to another without much of a connection bridging the two. The editing never gets as bad as something like Suicide Squad, but it is noticeably wonky.
While I'm complaining, I don't think the emotional scenes panned out all that much. While this film is a comedy, it does try to pull a dramatic moment here and there and they weren't effective. They felt rather hollow and predictable. There was not much to latch on to drama-wise because of how familiar all those moments were. I know I should not make it a big deal because it's a comedy, but the movie tries to go for those emotional moments. I don't think it entirely worked.
With all that said, I thoroughly enjoyed Deadpool 2. It's a very funny and well made sequel that I would say is on par with the original. Even though there are negatives, the positives more than make up for them. If you weren't a fan of the original, this movie might not sway you, but I'd still check it out. You could be surprised. For those who love the original, you're going to love this sequel. If the Deadpool keeps it up like this, I think it can become one of the most consistently great comic book movie franchises of all time.
Final score: 8/10 (Great)
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