Deadpool 2 (2018) – Film Review

Director: David Leitch
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Julian Dennison
Certificate: 15

by Roger Crow

The first Deadpool a few years ago was a fun, meta romp, biting the hand that fed it by sending up the X-Men saga while trampling around in the same universe. Fourth walls were broken, as were bones. It was violent, foul-mouthed, action packed and fun. It was also a joke that got a bit tired after an hour, but underlined the fact that some fans were bored of serious superhero sagas and wanted something far more silly.

Ryan Reynolds is back as the Merc with a Mouth, and as the first film made a pile of cash on a modest budget, Deadpool 2 falls into the same trap of many sequels to hit films: more extras, bigger explosions, but gags that aren’t instantly funnier as a result.

“Wise-cracking”

The fact the mutant hero can get ripped apart and shot means the stakes are pretty low. Invincible heroes can be pretty dull until their Achilles heel is exploited.

Thrown into the mix this time is time-travelling Terminator-style Cable (Josh Brolin) and Hunt for the Wilderpeople’s Julian Dennison as the John Connor-style kid he tracks down.
But not everything is as it seems.

Reynolds is on good form as the wise-cracking hero; the action scenes are great, and the ‘baby legs’ scene is one of the funniest things you’ll see in any Hollywood movie this year.

“Huge set pieces”

I’ll admit there was no point when I was moved, but it’s not that sort of movie. It’s another rib-tickling, bone-cracking feature-length sketch which drags one gag out too long at the end, but is never boring.

Zazie Beetz is terrific as Domino, the superhero sidekick whose special power is luck, while rent-a-baddie Eddie Marsan adds gravitas in his brief appearance.

Director David Leitch, who did a great job with Atomic Blonde, juggles the huge set pieces and comedy with skill, and though it would have been as funny with half the budget, there’s no feeling of being short changed.

Daft, occasionally hilarious and pretty forgettable.
7/10