Deadpool 2
Now with added Cable guy
released OUT NOW! 15 | 119 minutes Director david leitch Cast ryan reynolds, Josh Brolin, Julian dennison, Morena Baccarin, Zazie Beetz
The first Deadpool movie deserved to be a hit for its shock value alone, and in the sequel our fourth-wall-breaking hero, ever modest, boasts about its global box office. But what of round two, now the shock has worn off?
Audiences, always so adaptable, are used to all that talking-to-thecamera stuff. We’ve seen more than enough decapitations, kicks to the bollocks and jokes about anal sex. How can Deadpool keep on shocking us? Or does it try something new?
Deadpool 2’s response to this conundrum is to make things smaller. Whereas the first movie ended with a gigantic CGI punch-up that seemed to go on for hours, what we get in this film’s third act is a more emotional, personal way of resolving the story. Sure, there are still epic set-pieces elsewhere – at one point Deadpool says, “Big CGI fight coming up!” – but eventually the focus falls on talking, not fighting. The difference this makes is huge.
Without the future of the entire world at stake – something we’re perhaps getting tired of in an Infinity War era – this movie’s all about the characters, not the spectacle. Dialogue as sharp, witty and, yes, downright filthy as this script’s reminds us why superhero films aren’t all about the punching; you have to care about the people on-screen, even if they’re crazy, unkillable killers. Although punching’s fun too, of course, and Deadpool 2 is also gleefully, gorily, back-breakingly violent.
This time Ryan Reynolds’s foul-mouthed merc gets to tangle with Josh Brolin’s time-travelling cyborg Cable as the big lug tries, Quantum Leap-style, to right what once went wrong in his past. Brolin’s magnificent, constantly on the verge of ripping Deadpool’s head off while maintaining Cable’s realism and dignity – a tough sell. (For those wondering: the film does acknowledge the fact that he played Thanos, because how could it not?) There’s also a Marvel movie debut for the pyrokinetic Firefist, played superbly by Kiwi Julian Dennison – aka that kid from Hunt For The Wilderpeople – and Zazie Beetz joins the franchise as Domino. She’s perhaps the weakest link here, playing the luck-powered mutant a little too laidback to perfectly land some great lines – though the character’s still fun. Oh, and there’s also involvement from the X-Men and X-Force, but to reveal more would give away too much. Needless to say, they’re all hilarious.
In fact Deadpool 2 as a whole isn’t just laugh-out-loud funny, it’s spit-your-popcorn-from-your-nose funny. From the Bond-style opening credits to the outrageous mid-end-credits scenes that are the funniest you’ll ever see in a Marvel film, this is not only an equal to its forerunner, it could even have improved on it. Our only real disappointment is with the title. Was Deadpool 2: Electric Boogaloo really that hard to pin down? Jayne Nelson
The focus falls on talking, not fighting