a DEADPOOL 2 musing
The arrival of DEADPOOL in 2016 was a game changer. It was the first modern R-rated major superhero blockbuster. In an era of PG-13, restrained superflicks, DEADPOOL wasn’t afraid to go there and the box office proved that the movie going public was ready for raunchy, ultraviolent superheroes. This led to LOGAN in 2017, and DEADPOOL 2 follows in 2018, bringing back everyone’s favorite(?) fourth wall-breaking Merc With A Mouth, Wade Wilson. It’s weird to think that those two movies exist in the same universe, and DP2 doesn’t shy away from acknowledging that fact. DP2 also is a movie that thrives on the fancies of the superfan, someone who has seen Every. Single. Superhero. Movie. A lot of jokes can go over the head of the casual moviegoer, and that’s okay, since there’s a lot about this movie that is enjoyable.
Just as the first film establishes (by telling you) that it will be a love story, DEADPOOL 2 tells you it’s going to be a family film. It already has a different vibe, and it might take some getting used to, if you were expecting something similar to the first movie. Yeah, it still has the same over the top, irreverent humor as the 2016 movie, it’s just drawn from different circumstances.
The parts that really worked for me in the first DEADPOOL were those quiet moments, which affirmed the love between Wade and Vanessa. Those scenes are somewhat sacrificed, in service of a different type of family being built, a superhero team. Wade brings together a bunch of heroes to fight the time traveling Cable (Josh Brolin, who we just “saw” the other week as Thanos in AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR). Of course, it’s not as simple as that, but why would I spoil it for you?
Directed by David Leitch, the lesser half of the original JOHN WICK directing team - he directed last year’s awful ATOMIC BLONDE - I wasn’t expecting much. There’s no stairway one-take shot, but an inspired composite slow-mo shot early on (Wade killing his way through a warehouse in real time, while the man being chased is in the foreground and running, but slowed down.) It’s a very Ryan Reynolds indulgent film, and I’m all for it. He gets the character of Deadpool and can really roll with the emotional beats. Josh Brolin gets some pretty good moments, and Zazie Beetz is great although her character is kind of wasted.
The great moments of DEADPOOL 2 propelled me through that rough beginning, and the meta humor piled on top of even more meta humor hurt my head from thinking so hard, and my face from laughing so hard. It doesn’t nail every beat, and to be honest, the shock value has kind of worn off, but DP2 is a really solid follow up.
RATING: PURCHASING FOR MY COLLECTION
(Refer to my rating system HERE!)
