‘Deadpool 2’ is Entertaining
Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool 2 | Credit: 20th Century Fox
This film reintroduces us to Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds), whose life has taken a dark turn. In the midst of his downward spiral, he assembles a team together to try and save Russell (Julian Dennison), a teenager with special abilities.
Deadpool 2 is quite fun, with Ryan Reynolds coming through with all of the silly humor that we expect from Deadpool. The writing is still irreverent and the film goes out of its way to poke fun at other films, superhero movies, and franchises. There are also multiple Yentl references, which is always fun.
I find it interesting that this film uses the superhero movie tropes while making fun of the genre. Deadpool 2 is focused on Deadpool taking a personal tragedy and seeking to save someone else because of it. Some of his motivations might be different than we’d normally see, but many of the elements are still there. He also has to assemble a team of other superheroes and fight others with superhuman abilities — a staple of the genre.
Of course, this film handles those things differently than we might see in other movies, but the beats are very similar. All the while cracking jokes at other MCU and even DC films. Deadpool 2 is also entertaining and engaging as it goes through all of the familiar beats.
This film, I think, doesn’t have the same level of rebelliousness that the first one did. In many ways, Deadpool feels like a direct answer to the studio system and how superhero movies are made. There’s a scrappiness to that movie, and its small(er) budget helped reinforce that.
Deadpool 2 retains some of that, but I don’t think it’s as subversive as the first film. And that’s okay. It also doesn’t feel like this big breath of fresh air like the first film was. And that’s also okay. I still think that Deadpool 2 is a fun movie, even if it doesn’t live up to the highs of the first film.
Julian Dennison in Deadpool 2 | Credit: 20th Century Fox
One of the best parts of Deadpool 2 is the other characters we see interacting with Deadpool. We see some familiar faces, but we are also introduced to some new characters who bring out new sides of this beloved character.
Domino (Zazie Beetz) is such a fun and inventive superhero — it turns out that being lucky is an impressive and useful superpower! She brings so much to this film and holds her own with these really big personalities. It’s fun to see Zazie Beetz keeping up with Ryan Reynolds, matching his wit and intensity beat by beat. Even when she’s in the background, she’s giving her all and is a ton of fun to watch. She is able to bridge the gap between comedy star and action star, which is not an easy feat.
Josh Brolin stars as Cable, a time-traveling cyborg seeking to avenge his family’s tragic death. Cable is a great foil to Deadpool; his gruff, no-nonsense manner is the complete opposite of Deadpool’s silly and whimsical type of violence. Watching these two characters together makes for some hilarious moments. It also makes me excited for the forthcoming Deadpool & Wolverine, where I’m certain we’ll see a similar dynamic between the leads.
Of course, there’s Russell, the teenager with superpowers who’s just figuring things out. There’s a rage inside of him as a result of all of the mistreatment that he’s faced throughout his life. And, after the first movie, we know that Deadpool knows something about those big feelings.
Through Russell, the film also gets into the evils of racism, the suffering that people with disabilities have endured, and the superhero genre’s obsession with thin people. There are a lot of humorous moments with Russell, but this character also brings some important emotional grounding.
These characters pair well with the OG members of Deadpool’s inner circle to bring some fun and hilarious moments to the big screen. These new superheroes also provide great opportunities for Deadpool’s personal growth, revealing new sides to him.
Zazie Beetz, Bill Skarsgård, Ryan Reynolds, and Terry Crews in Deadpool 2 | Credit: 20th Century Fox
Deadpool 2 is a fun movie filled with humorous moments, violent action, and even some heartwarming scenes. As an added bonus, we even get some character growth, which is always lovely to see.
This film does make me curious about what we will see in the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine. After two movies of Deadpool sharing his love for Wolverine/Logan/Hugh Jackman, it’s going to be fun to see how they finally interact. Thankfully, we won’t have to wait very long now!