Film Disappointing
I really loved Deadpool for its mix of heartwarming and sacrigeously funny. I expected a fun romp in Deadpool 2. Did I get what I wanted? Yes and no.
While the plot is admittedly far more original than the first movie, not only multiple jokes are taken spot on, but even minor plot details are ripped straight off from the original, that made them much less funny and more predictable. It had however a terrible opening that almost felt like it undid most of the original movie.
This said, Deadpool 2 is not a bad movie, with a topnotch soundtrack plenty of new characters, most of which work magnificently, especially the revamp of a certain villain, and the ones who don't, like Yukio, are simply too forgettable to hate.
Was it wrong of me of expecting Deadpool 2 to be more than the original Up to Eleven? Or maybe was I fatigued by Infinity War two weeks ago to properly enjoy it? I would reccomend skipping it and watch it, no pun intended, on Cable
Film More of the Same
It feels like it has been ages since the last one, but after months of teasers, trailers, shout outs, set invasions, and alternative viral marketing finally we have Deadpool 2, the alternative comedy superhero franchise about a fast talking, possibly unkillable, potentially annoying man. The most simple, spoiler free review I can give is that this is more of the same but with a bigger budget. It’s more excessive violence, more quipping, more movie references, more fourth wall breaking. You will love/hate/like/ignore/shrug over it.
But me, I sort of like Deadpool for the same reasons I sort of liked The Borderlands franchise; it has the same over-the-top violence, the same over-use of terms like "fuckin A" and "badass", teh same confidence that it is going too far, even when it all feels kind of safe in this day and age. It also has wacky, laugh a minute gags, sometimes not quite as funny as the movie thinks it is. It has a progressive attitude baked into its writing, even though it's usually superficial and overwhelmed by the subject matter. I have friends telling me it is the best thing ever, but to me, Deadpool 2 is reasonably good. Fine. Decent. As is Borderlands.
This time around, Deadpool 2 insists it’s a family movie, though that’s a bit of a fib. Plotwise, the whole thing feels like a comedy version of the Bruce Willis movie Looper with added superheroes. This is fine. Earlier on, without going into spoilers, there is a somewhat lazy, disappointing writing decision with one of the main characters, but Deadpool 2 manages to recover by approaching the consequences of that decision in a novel way. It ultimately works as a nice contrast to the movie’s sorta antagonist Cabal; a killer cyborg with a po-faced, super edgy backstory. Deadpool seems to be painfully aware of its crappy 90s roots, and all too happy to take an axe to them.
Deadpool 2 is afforded a bigger scope this time around, but stops short of becoming the grandiose spectacle other Marvel movies turn into. for people looking for a gently obscene comedy vehicle, they can’t go wrong.
Film The same, but more
The first Deadpool movie was to a certain extent lightning in a bottle. There has been R-rated superhero movies before but none so deliberately and gleefully rude, crude and explicitly violent (or at least, none successfully so.)
There being no reason be mess with a winning formula, the sequel takes everything popular with the first film and turns it up to eleven (literally, in one particular sight gag.) More swearing, more bloody violence, more fourth wall defying meta jokes. Popular characters like Colossus and Dopinder get more to do - the former is notably more funny than his straight man shtick from the first movie. If you enjoyed the first film then you will enjoy the second.
However, the approach is not ENTIRELY successful. There are so many meta jokes and violations of the fourth wall it veers dangerously close to irreparably damaging any immersion. Some of the attempts to shock genre savvy viewers come across as twists for twists sake, and rather mean spirited ones at that. Overall a perfectly decent and enjoyable sequel but not anything that will change anyone's opinion on the franchise, or the character.