Spoiler-Free Review: Deadpool 2

I’m not ashamed to admit, but Deadpool 2 worried me. I thought the first movie hit it out of the park. It was awesome when it needed to be, funny when it counted, with enough charm to make it enjoyable.

By adding an R-rating and fourth wall breaks, it became incredibly popular. Meme after meme, quote after quote. Everyone and their DC loving friend ate it up like the last chimichanga. I wasn’t surprised to see how many people lost their mind when a sequel was announced. The news started with a few set photos and a cute announcement, the major one being the introduction of Cable.

Then things started to get WEIRD. Absurd videos starring Deadpool sprouted up like weeds. They had little information about the movie, and were so utterly random that the humour didn’t strike a chord with me. The Deadpool that I respected in the first film dialled up the wackiness to the point of utter chaos and no charm. These moments of marketing genius along with the billion-dollar hit called Avengers: Infinity War, I was concerned this movie wouldn’t live up to the original. I went into the movie hesitantly, and I was pleasantly proved wrong. Deadpool 2 gave me everything I wanted that I never asked for.

I knew I was in for a treat when I the credits pointed out that the director of John Wick was behind Deadpool 2. In the bare minimum, the action would be spectacular. I could relax. Then the jokes started. I laughed. I kept thinking to myself, if they keep going like this, I don’t need to worry. Like most movies, it started with a necessary action-oriented cold open. Without missing a beat, the plot started. Cable, a time-travelling cyborg, comes to the present to kill a kid to save his own future. Deadpool says “f**k that!” and does his best to stop Cable. Hijinks ensues. Through the classic road trip series of unfortunate events the audience is treated to a load of laughs, tons of ass-kicking scenes, and a whole lot of charm.

In essence, Deadpool 2 is a comedy superhero flick. This means it needs to balance the action and the laughs so that one doesn’t over shadow the other. With a massively increased budget, they are able to explore all the nooks and crannies that were restricted before. To keep the secrets secret, let’s say they gave us a lot more “stuff”. Best of all, it worked. The well-choreographed fight scenes were John Wick quality, and the vast majority of the jokes hit. I left the movie thinking that if superhero movies get stunt coordinators to direct them and the fans to write them, they would all be enjoyable. It sounds like an obvious formula, but you’d be surprised how many times people don’t adhere to it. The movie worked because it went all-out on what the fans want, not what creators think they should want.

In the end, Deadpool 2 was made for the fans. It’s a mega thank you for all the support we shared. In the end, there’s only one reason it works. The creators care. Ryan Reynolds cares. David Leicht cares. Rhett Reece and Paul Wernick care. They want to make a movie they would watch. They want to make a movie we want to watch. Is Deadpool 2 Oscar worthy? Of course not. Is it predictable? Of course! But so what? It’s fun. I’m confident enough to say that I never liked Deadpool in the comics that much. But I like doing characters justice. Deadpool 2 is an X-Men movie loyal to the comics that didn’t over complicate things. The one lesson we should take from this movie is that Josh Brolin is having a fantastic summer.

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