Deadpool 2 (2018) Movie Review

DEADPOOL 2 (2018) MOVIE REVIEW

One of 2016's most well-received comedies and biggest surprises of the year was Marvel's Deadpool. Delivering both hilarious humour and action aplenty, the film won over critics and die hard comic book fans alike. Now two years later, director David Leitch takes on the task of delivering the fans expectations to the well-beloved original. 

Continuing his life as a crime fighting, low brow anti-hero, Wade Wilson's adventures leads him to an interaction with a young boy who is being hunted down by the time-travelling cyborg Cable. With a killer on his trail and the life of a child-mutant in his hands, Deadpool must form a team of supernatural beings in order to stop Cable and protect the boy at all costs. With Deadpool 1 revolving around the kidnapping of his girlfriend and of course the origins of his powers, it was a no brainer to take the franchise in a new direction with a bodyguard angle and the forming of a team and introducing new characters to carry the franchise going forward. Which the film jokes about which was an admittedly funny moment. Personally I was not a fan of the "big brother" approach the film was going for and while I can commend the idea it was trying, for my money, it did not work in the movie's favour and actually took me out of the experience which was a real shame. Besides this though, the overall story arc and the pacing of the film was done nicely with well timed jokes and the use of surprisingly emotional montages. 

Now its time to talk about what really does matter in a film like this. The comedy. And the acting.  Once again, Ryan Reynolds has proven that he is the only man that can take on the character and persona of Wade Wilson. Throughout the movie he manages to steal the screen when he is on it, even when surrounded by humorous actors like T.J. Miller and others. The inclusion of new characters is always a welcome in any sequel and while the introduction of Domino and X-Force was one of if not the highlight of the movie, this does mean that fan favourites like Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead have to take a step back. However this does create excitement when they do appear on screen and show off their reason for being here, making the characters almost feel new again. Another aspect of the movie I loved was that in the end, there really is no true villain. While there are definitely bad people doing bad things, the overall story shows each characters reasoning for doing what they do, even Deadpool. This kind of character growth and emotional depth is something most mature-rated comedies lack and is a welcome surprise in a film like Deadpool 2. 

Despite the fact that the film does borrow alot of elements from the first film, Deadpool 2 does a great job at compensating for this with the introduction of great characters and plot points. Although some of these elements didn't hit the mark like the original, this sequel was still a great time and ultimately did what was intended. Made me laugh, and for that, I can't fault it. 

OVERALL

7 / 10