Anarchy rules, OK!
Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan returned for a third course of gastronomic delights and competitive celebrity mimicry last year. This time their battleground is Cervantes and Laurie Lee’s Espana. You can pretty much guess what you’re going to see but this third adventure feels slightly less episodic. Plus, there’s an added poignancy in seeing these two pay homage to recently departed legends like Bowie, Lee and Moore. with Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), a fantasy that’s shattered by a case of his two world’s colliding. He seeks solace at both Sister Margaret’s School for Wayward Children and the X-Men Mansion. It’s at the latter that he potentially finds a new calling – as a trainee.
However, his first assignment does not go well. Called to the Essex House for Mutant Rehabilitation, Deadpool’s attempts to defuse a situation involving a troubled, ‘‘robust teenager from New Zealand’’, the pyrotechnically enhanced Russell Collins (Julian Dennison), results in both of them being incarcerated and desuperpowered. And just when life at a packed maximum security fortress of solitude looks like it couldn’t get any worse, Josh Brolin’s semi-cyborg from the future shows up with deadly designs on Russell.
While it could be argued that there’s a kinder, gentler tone to proceedings this time around, there’s no question Deadpool 2 contains just as many questionable gags, features more than a splash of over-the-top violence and is so chock-filled with pop-culture references (for at least two generations) it will probably require many repeat viewings to catch them all.
If the middle section drags, it’s more than made up for by some sharp writing, frequently hilarious fourth-wall breaking and the sheer charisma and chutzpah of Canada’s finest export Reynolds. It’s his enthusiasm and willingness to send himself up that really sells the anarchic comedy. He’s ably supported by a solid cast and celebrity cameos worth the price of admission alone.
Special mention also must go to those behind the sequel’s soundtrack. There’s the inspired use of classic tracks by Air Supply and a-ha, as well as a Dolly Parton-scored fight sequence that has to be seen (and heard) to be believed. And don’t get me started on the Celine Dion-backed Bond-style opening credits.
It’s not perfect and there’s an argument that this is simply the late-2010s version of Austin Powers or The Naked Gun movies, however, you’ll be hard pressed to find a cinematic outing this year that you’ll laugh quite so heartily or frequently at. – James Croot