‘Deadpool 2’ kicks the crazy up a notch
Wacky superhero sequel pulls together a better story this time. ★★★ review
Deadpool 2 is chock-full of all the cartoonish ultraviolence, meta commentary and pop-culture references you’d expect. Where it surprises — and why it works so well — is how it balances an actually touching undercurrent alongside superhero subversiveness.
Hilariously self-aware and satisfying on multiple levels, Deadpool 2 ( ★★★☆; rated R; in theaters nationwide Friday) continues the relentless lampooning and scattershot jokes of the first movie but pulls together a much better story. The original Deadpool two years ago masked its threadbare plot with puerile humor and the larger-than-life personality of star Ryan Reynolds’ motormouthed mercenary, while the sequel develops its crass title character and his rapidly expanding cast of supporting weirdos without sacrificing its “all bonkers, all the time” raison d’être.
In case you missed the first one, Deadpool fell in love, tried to fix his terminal cancer and underwent a torturous operation that made him nearly indestructible, and thus became everybody’s favorite wisecracking anti-hero. Able to take out a wide world of goons to the tune of Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5, the
Deadpool has the wit of a Bugs Bunny working very blue and gets flattened more than Wile E. Coyote on an average day.
hard-to-kill dude returns in Deadpool 2 wanting to start a family with his main squeeze, Vanessa (Morena Baccarin).
In addition to being slightly babycrazy, Deadpool also tries out for the XMen (as a trainee), which leads him to meeting Russell ( Hunt for the Wilderpeople’s Julian Dennison), a New Zealand teenager raging against the authority at his school for troubled mutant kids. Russell has almost as much attitude as Deadpool himself, but he also has increasingly volatile flame powers (he gives himself the nickname “Fire Fist”) and is the target of time-traveling soldier Cable (Josh Brolin). Part Terminator and part jacked-up middle-age grump, Cable carries a teddy bear and a mean streak from his dystopian farflung future, creating a deadly adversary for Deadpool.
To combat this bad man with a metal arm, Deadpool forms his own supergroup, X-Force. Allegiances shift and high jinks ensue as our cursing, swordswinging protagonist gets incarcerated, blown up, shot, stabbed, defiled and maimed in order to do the right thing.
Reynolds is still the highlight of this franchise: His comic timing, exquisite delivery of one-liners and self-deprecating manner give life to this Looney Tunes- esque character. (Deadpool has the wit of a Bugs Bunny working very blue and gets flattened more than Wile E. Coyote on an average day.)
One gets very used to pointy objects going in his and other folks’ heads, so the often-bloody violence has a desensitizing effect. While there are plenty of gags, some miss the mark — though the hit percentage is decent — and everything involving Deadpool’s supporting friends, bartender Weasel (T.J. Miller) and cabbie Dopinder (Karan Soni), is pretty much recycled from the first movie.
The newcomers are strong across the board, though. Director David Leitch ( John Wick) ups the dizzying action, Brolin chews scenery as a futuristic Clint Eastwood type, comedian Rob Delaney has a fun role as regular-guy X-Force member Peter, but Atlanta’s Zazie Beetz is a captivating standout as Domino, a mutant with luck-altering powers and an aversion to Deadpool’s usual nonsense.
Deadpool 2’ s bingo card of mockery includes clever shots at DC and Marvel films (Deadpool calls Cable “Thanos,” a reference to Brolin’s Avengers: Infinity War villain), Say Anything, My Little Pony, Frozen, Yentl, frequent foil Hugh Jackman (plus his alter ego Wolverine) and Reynolds’ own filmography. Also, it drops the needle on the best Celine Dion movie song since that one with the large sinking boat.
The non-stop revelry is what gets you in the theater, but Deadpool’s identity-defining journey keeps you there — and even doles out some warm fuzzies. He proclaims it a “family film,” following a scene very much not for kids, though Deadpool has a point. Returning pal Blind Al (Leslie Uggams) tells him, “You can’t really live until you’ve died a little” — a poke at his topnotch healing ability as well as a theme that sinks in between guffaw-worthy moments and complete craziness.