Deadpool 2 (2018) (Movie Review)

   I’ve loved comic books and superhero’s my whole life, which is why it hurts me to say that I’ve never been a fan of the Deadpool character, despite the fact that he’s one of the most beloved comic book characters ever conceived. I can certainly understand the appeal, and while I love him as a supporting player, I just never found him interesting enough to be the figurehead of his own franchise. I didn’t think the first movie “Deadpool” from back in 2016 was bad by any means, but it really didn’t leave a huge impression either. So, I wasn’t really looking forward to it’s 2018 sequel titled “Deadpool 2”. However, I’m committed to seeing every installment in the “X-Men” film series, as it’s my favorite long running franchise under the sun. Upon the release of “Deadpool 2”, I sat down, hoped for something passively fun, and … I actually liked this one. That’s not to say it knocked my socks off, but it was a refreshing little escape, and unlike its predecessor, this one actually left me wanting to watch it again. I laughed, I was touched, I was deeply entertained and it finally made me appreciate the “Deadpool” films as a special add-on to the “X-Men” franchise. 
  

  Following after the first film, Deadpool has become a world traveling mercenary working for higher, but more importantly, our anti-hero is excited to start a family with his girl Vanesa. Unfortunately, work follows him home one night, and during the chaotic house invasion, Vanesa finds herself at the receiving end of a bullet. Now, with his love life in shambles, Deadpool wants nothing more than to just die and be reunited with his love. The X-Men try to take him on as a trainee, but that goes south fast. Then finally, Deadpool comes across the path of a young mutant boy called Fire Fist, who can’t control either his flame powers or his emotions. While the boy is out of control, he’s not bad, and really just needs guidance, which gives our anti-hero an opportunity to do something useful with his immortal life. Regrettably, his first chance to be a father figure fails, and the boy’s anger fuels him to take the lives of a team of doctors who kidnap and torture mutant children. To make matters worse, a heavily armed assassin named Cable has just arrived from the future, and aims to kill the boy in the past before he can grow into a savage killer that will slay his entire family. Now, caught between Cables need for vengeance and Fire Fists need for revenge, Deadpool sets out to be the mediator and bring these two broken souls together into one family … namely Deadpool’s family. 
  

  This movie gives us a lot more of Deadpool in costume, which makes it consistently more entertaining than its predecessor. I still can’t call myself a fan of the character, but Ryan Reynolds is still infectiously likable in this role. 

Seriously, I think he’s right up there with the best of comic book character portrayals on film. It’s a performance that has me consistently engaged in Deadpool as a screen presence, even though I’m not necessarily a fan. Beyond that, this film accomplished the unthinkable and really made me care for all the people involved, and I even found myself feeling for the man behind Deadpool’s mask. While I didn’t care for his relationship with Venesa in the first film, I felt that this movie conveyed the exact right amount for me to care for them without overstaying their welcome. It was just enough to give the movie a heart, and I found myself genuinely caring when the drama hit our characters. Normally in a case like this, I’d complain about extreme tonal shifts, but somehow this film knows how to balance its comedic nature with the seeds of human drama. The film is very self-aware that it’s just a goofy comedy, and it knows not to take itself too seriously. 

This way, when we have those dramatic character moments, the scene can just play out, let us connect to the characters and then segue right back on track with its goofy nature. Deadpools arc is also very good, and I loved his determination to connect to this troubled kid. I felt the first “Deadpool” film played out like a basic boring revenge flick, and I didn’t care about Deadpools goals in the slightest. This time around, there’s no main villain for him to concur, and instead he just needs to quell the fires of two people fueled by extreme emotions. This was an engaging premise that I was able to get behind, a surprisingly rare break away from the traditional comic book formula, and it got me to cheer for Deadpool as he set out on his quest.  

   Julian Dennison plays the boy named Fire Fist, and holly cow, what a talent … like, everything about this performance was excellent. Weather he was being sympathetic, goofy or angry, I believed it, and saw he was giving 110% with whatever emotion he needed to convey. Then there’s Cable played by Josh Brolin, and once again, this is another solid portrayal on an iconic comic book character. Seeing Cable on the big screen is a treat I thought I’d never experience in an X-Men movie, yet seeing him in all his glory took me right back to when I was a kid watching the 90’s “X-Men” cartoon show. While the concept of a time traveling assassin has been done to death, it all worked here as Cable wasn’t a one-note villain. He was an obstacle who set things in motion, but he also aided our hero’s, and had a dynamic backstory of his own, one that even Deadpool could relate too. Beyond that, Josh Brolin just has this magnetic screen presence, and manages to offset Deadpool’s goofy nature, while still fitting perfectly into the film’s loony design.

     

  We do get one noteworthy villain in the form of the Juggernaut, and this was another welcome surprise that I didn’t see coming. When the boy breaks away from Deadpool, it’s Juggernaut who takes the place of his family figure, and subsequently leads him down a more violent path. While Juggernaut was featured as a supporting villain back in 2006’s “X-Men 3: The Last Stand”, I never felt like he got the chance to really shine on screen. After all, he’s one of the greatest villains in the entire X-Men line up, so I was overjoyed to see him in the spotlight for this movie. He also looked and acted more like the Juggernaut then he did in his previous movie appearance. I especially loved Juggernauts theme song, as when the action went down and that theme music of his kicked in, I was pumped. 

  The one thing I can surprisingly always count on with these Deadpool movies is that they excite my inner X-Men fan boy better than most of the other films in the series. If this series was just Deadpool alone, I probably wouldn’t have given either of these films a single look, but thankfully it remembers to keep the X-Men part of his series, and it’s awesome for it. The metal skinned Colossus is back, and played wonderfully again by Stefan Kapičić. Just like how Deadpool is devoted to making things better for the boy, I loved Colossus determination to make him an X-Men. I loved seeing their friendship develop, and it’s just great to see more of one of my favorite X-Men characters who’s only ever gotten the shaft in previous films. It was also cool when a crisis would go down, the X-Jet arrived on scene, a news reporter announces the X-Men are her to help, then Colossus steps off the jet with Negasonic Teenage Warhead at his side, and I just got chills all over, like I’m watching a real X-Men film. One of my favorite jokes is when Deadpool questions why there aren’t any other team members in the mansion, only for the entire cast from the “X-Men first class” movies to be huddled in one room and quietly trying to avoid contact with their new visitor. That scene alone was brilliant, and probably one of the greatest cameo moments of the whole franchise. There were also some little nods and winks to the previous “Logan” movie, which I liked, but it does raise the question of just where the heck in the “X-Men” movie time line are we? 

  We also get to see the origin of the “X-Force” team, which was another hook for a comic nerd like myself. I loved the use of The Vanisher, as the film joked weather or not an invisible man was really there, only for it to be Brad Pit the whole time … that was absolutely hilarious. 

Also, for the longest time I’ve wanted to see Domino in an X-Men movie, so it was a real treat to see her get a main role in this film. Zazie Beetz fit the role like a glove and it was an absolute delight to see her “good luck” powers on display. As her name suggests, she can do something mundane that will in turn be the launching point for a domino effect, in which several events will fall into play, and always end in her favor. That was great to see captured in this film and Domino can easily be ranked among my favorite female leads of the franchise. There were also a number of names dropped like Black Tome and Mojo World, which common audiences probably won’t understand, but had a fan boy like me perk up in my seat. Like holly cow, is it possible to get a sequel set on Mojo World where the wicked alien Mojo is the main villain … that would be extraordinary, and perfectly fitting into Deadpools world. 

   Naturally you can’t have a fun comic book movie without some stand out action highlights, and this film hits that mark in just the right amounts. The opening montage of Deadpool traveling to various parts of the globe, and taking out criminal operations was great, and the little snippets we see make for great action set pieces on their own. I especially love the setting and choreography of this brief bathhouse fight, and I wish it was its own scene as opposed to a fragment in this opening montage. The scene where Deadpool first battles Cable in the prison was very white knocked and brutal. However, the big show stealer by far was the Car Chase, in which Deadpool and Domino aim to rescue the boy from a prison convoy before Cable gets to him. Many fans praised the highway battle from the first “Deadpool” movie as one of the greatest action set-pieces of the whole franchise, but I think this car chase from “Deadpool 2” puts that one to absolute shame. It is just so creative, so exciting and so firmly crafted that it just takes the cake. Comic-Book movies in general have been stepping up their game with car chases to make them fit with their specified hero’s. Deadpool however, was at a disadvantage as he didn’t have super powers to utilize in a chase, unlike either Antman or Black Panther whose capabilities added to the ingenuity of their respected action scenes. Still, Deadpool took the bare bones of car chase scenario and just got creative as hell with the details of an armored cars capabilities, and the comedic potential of Domino's powers on display in a situation like this. 

  That brings me to the comedy of “Deadpool 2”, which worked better then I expected and had me laughing harder then I have in a while. While I’ve been praising this film for pandering to my inner “X-Men” fan boy, it also works great as a strait forward comedy. Truthfully, I feel comic book movies of this sort are the one thing keeping the comedy genera alive, and it’s such a rare treat to go to a movie like this where I can just open-up and laugh till I cry. My absolute favorite joke that had my sides hurting was the big parachute sequence. After all the build-up and marketing of the “X-Force” in appearing in this film, I thought their big sky diving disaster was an absolutely hilarious way to subvert my expectations. I will admit that like it’s predecessor, there was some dirty hummer that just didn’t do anything for me. I still can’t stand T. J. Miller, and the one joke with Deadpool’s “baby balls” had me face palming myself so hard it left a mark on my forehead. Still, l liked most of the comedy in the film, and I really liked the subtle use of pop-music that didn’t fit with certain situations. The soundtrack in general was great, and I absolutely loved Celine Deon’s “Ashes”. On that note, I loved the whole opening credit sequence that was paired with this song, as it was a colorful stab at James bond intros, while still maintaining Deadpool’s sense of hummer.   

  Now we come to the climax of the movie, in which Deadpool and Cable join forces to prevent the boy from making his first kill and getting him away from the Juggernaut in the process. The battle takes place in an orphanage of sorts, where the evil scientist torture and experiment on mutant kids. Fire Fist sets the place a-blaze, while our hero’s brawl with the lab people, and combine strengths to fight the Juggernaut. Once again, I love the simplicity of the setting, as the destruction and explosions on display all feel real and practical. Also, keeping with this films trend of giving me something I’ve always wanted to see in an X-Men movie, this final battle features a showdown between the Juggernaut and Colossus, which was a dream come true to finally see in live action. I’ll admit I prefer a fight with real actors as opposed to two CGI characters, but it some how works in the realms of this film, and they even mock the fact that it’s a big CGI fight. One thing that has gotten a little too formulaic for me is that once again we have a climax with our hero’s rescuing mutant kids from evil doctors. I feel that concept has been done to death in these “X-Men” movies, in fact even the previous “Logan” ended with our hero’s protecting a group of kids from bad guys in lab coats. I also didn’t care for Deadpool’s drawn out death scene, because I knew he wasn’t really going to die, so why drag this un-funny, un-emotional death out to the point where I just want it to end?
  

  I’ll say this, I loved the mid-credit scene in which Deadpool uses Cables time travel box to correct some problems. I especially loved when the film cut to footage of “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”, with the real Deadpool interrupting the fight between Wolverine and the Weapon 11 version of the character. That joke alone was worth the price of admission, and it was a great excuse to see Wolverine in the film, even if it was just stock footage. 

I should also quickly mention the two different cuts of this movie. The first is the "Super Duper Cut", which draws out certain sequences, including more scenes at the X-Men Mansion ... which for me is the one thing that makes this extended cut worth checking out. Then there's "Once Upon a Deadpool", which edited around the violence to make it PG-13 and broadcast friendly. This version also adds a new subplot, in which Deadpool is reading out the events like a bed-time story, to a grown-up Fred Savage, and basically satirizing his part from "Princess Bride". I'd personally only recommend the "Super-Cut" if you want more of Colossus, and I'd only recommend the "Once Upon a Deadpool" if your a younger viewer, who's not ready for R ratter material.        

  In general, I love how these “Deadpool” movies can be part of the “X-Men” films, while also existing in its own world. It’s like how “The Tree House of Horror” series can be seen as its own entity, even though it’s still part of “The Simpsons” TV show. I can’t say that I need another “Deadpool” film, as both the formula and goofy tone can easily buckle and get repetitive, but I was also pleased with just how much I enjoyed this film. It wasn’t phenomenal, but it gave me exactly what a film of this nature should. It was very fun, highly entertaining and was just a fun little escape. It didn’t need any high stakes, and had just enough emotional material to make it work. That’s not to say I’ll be ranking this quiet as high as other films in the series, but it’s certainly among the films I like, and overall, I do think this was better then the first “Deadpool” film.      

Thanks for reading my review of the 2018 comic-book movie “Deadpool 2” ... and continue to enjoy the movie you Love!