I guess lighting can’t strike twice.
Synopsis: After surviving a near fatal bovine attack, a disfigured cafeteria chef struggles to fulfill his dream of becoming Mayberry’s hottest bartender while also learning to cope with his lost sense of taste. Searching to regain his spice for life, as well as a flux capacitor, Wade must battle ninjas, the yakuza, and a pack of sexually aggressive canines, as he journeys around the world to discover the importance of family, friendship, and flavor , finding a new taste for adventure and earning the coveted coffee mug title of World’s Best Lover. (20th Century Fox)
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, and Morena Baccarin
Writers: Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Ryan Reynolds
Director: David Leitch
Rating: 18A (Canada)/R (United States)
Running Time: 119mins
Trailer:
For showtimes and more, check out Deadpool 2 on movietimes.com.
The original Deadpool was a surprise as it was a breath of fresh air in the superhero genre by turning it on its head thanks to a genius script and an excellent performance from Ryan Reynolds while creating a subgenre of R-rated superhero films. Suffice it to say, this sequel had a lot to live up to and perhaps it isn’t fair to have high expectations but this film was a disappointment. It seemed like it had lost sight of what made the original so successful by adding multiple characters to the equation in a shallow and empty way. Despite this, the film still showed flashes of what made the original so great.
The story this time around saw a more serious Wade Wilson/Deadpool (Reynolds), if that was even possible, look to form a team of fellow mutants to protect a mutant boy named Russell Collins/Firefist (Julian Dennison) from another time-travelling mutant named Cable/Nathan Summers (Brolin). Out of all the new mutants, the only one that even remotely made any impression was a woman named Domino (Zazie Beetz) whose power was her good luck. None of these new characters were overly developed which was disappointing considering their potential. They just didn’t get enough screen time to make any real impression although they aren’t exactly leaving the series any time soon as the film was more concerned with setting them in inevitable future films in the series.
Wilson’s need to protect Collins is from a need for purpose in his life as the story surprisingly managed to find some emotional depth beyond its comedic and sometimes over the top nature. The problem with this was that it lacked the right balance between these different tones as they often felt at odds with one another. While this was probably done to get more mileage out of the character, Deadpool is much better as a wise-cracking, smart-ass character. The film did have moments of this but not nearly enough of them. Deadpool’s sense of humor was still there, however, it was more miss than hit this time around. Though he continued with the same fourth-wall breaking and pop culture references, they simply did not work for the most part and weren’t funny.
With the director of John Wick, David Leitch, at the helm, expect some well-choreographed action sequences and in that respect, they did not disappoint but there weren’t nearly enough of them. To be honest, the scenes depicted at the beginning of the film (including one showed in the trailers) would have made a more interesting film. They were still exciting to watch, even with glaring CGI (other than at times that were pointed out by Deadpool himself). This film, just like the original, earns its 18A/R rating. While not at the level of the original film’s opening credits, this film’s opening credits were hilarious. The original had a great post credit scene, however, this film tripled down with three hilarious ones (although I didn’t fully get the references from one of them).
The rest film arguably wasn’t have been there thanks to some lazy writing (and not the parts that Deadpool points out himself) but the one constant was Reynolds’ performance. He was the best part of the film by far and was still fun to watch throughout. He may not have been as funny this time around, however, his effortless charm and screen presence was still there. This was a part that he was meant to play and the film did not change that. Brolin was miscast and lifeless as Cable. He just never looked right in the part which made it difficult to ever take him seriously. Beetz was great as Domino, bringing plenty of energy to the film while having excellent chemistry with Reynolds. Rob Delaney stood out as Peter, the token normal guy with some funny lines.
Overall, while a disappointment compared to the original, this was still a decent action comedy in its own right whose unbalanced story tone wise made it not nearly as fun, funny, or action-packed but was still entertaining to watch thanks to another strong performance from Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool. Fans of the series should still find plenty to enjoy here, however, non-fans won’t find much to enjoy.
Score: 7.5/10
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.
