Movie Review: "Deadpool 2" (2018)

It's time to test the theory of how much insanity, violence, vulgarity, & pop culture reference you can squeeze into one movie and make it not only watchable but that rarest of Hollywood animals- the sequel that surpasses the original. Did Deadpool 2 succeed?

It's hard for me to express with real skill how relieved I am to say that it succeeded in virtually every way that I wanted to see. 

Is that a surprise to you? It's kind of a surprise to me, to be honest. I went into this one with some trepidation; I can't lie. Sequels that improve on the original blueprint are hard to find. It's simply a very daunting task. I actually found myself holding back laughter in the early going because I was (pardon the pun) waiting to exhale. 

When I finally exhaled I couldn't stop fucking laughing. 

I feel that it's almost hideously important to understand what you are getting into and temper your expectations accordingly. I try not to read the reviews of others, but I will take a frame of reference from time to time on the biggies to test the general pulse. What cracks me up is how many folks loved it while still griping about how it didn't "break new ground" or that it "followed the same formula as the first".

Really? What the fuck did you think you were watching? Schindler's List? This isn't Schindler's List...it's Schindler's Fist. This isn't The Crying Game....it's Crying During Anal. It's as unapologetic as a Daniel Tosh standup routine and as vulgar as the shit that runs through my head all day long. God bless it for that.

Sure it's formulaic. It's a comic book movie. The formula has changed somewhat over the years as comic book movies have taken full control of the box office and pop culture, but it follows the same basic blueprint. Thankfully, Deadpool is kind enough in this movie to point out all of those beats for us and explain what comes next in his classic voiceover while reminding us of how much he hates Wolverine.

Ryan Reynolds is made for this role, and if you were really paying attention you could see it all the way back when he made National Lampoon's Van Wilder (still one of my favorites, by the way). He's razor sharp and has the timing and wackiness of Macho Man Randy Savage cutting a Wrestlemania promo. 

You'll probably need to see this one more than once to pick up all of the one-liners, quick quips, background vulgarity, sight gags, & insanity that is thrown at you during this 1 hour and 59 minutes (that feels like a brisk hour and a half). I'm telling you it comes at breakneck pace. It's batshit crazy. 

What makes it better than its predecessor isn't that it breaks that new ground the overly critical fanboys and whiners wanted but that it gives us meaningful new characters while expanding on the returning ones. Morena Baccarin (Gotham) is still blindingly sexy as Wade's girlfriend, Vanessa. T.J. Miller (Silicon Valley) shows that, as Deadpool's best friend and sidekick Weasel, he has the chops to damn near carry a movie and steal scenes. Briana Hildebrand is a fantastic "straight man" as Negasonic Teenage Warhead (trust me, calling her a "straight man" is a joke in & of itself). And who didn't love Karan Soni as America's favorite cabbie, Dopinder?! He gets even better. The man literally didn't get a bad line. Lucky fucker. Colossus is so strangely lovable. It'll warm your heart. 

The newcomers make the most of their time on screen. Zeitgeist, Bedlam, Shatterstar, Vanisher, Bedlam, & Peter have some glorious moments....especially Peter. He doesn't do anything and has no superpowers. He just answered the ad. That's it. He may be my favorite. 

Still, the newbie that will steal your attention and your heart is Domino (Zazie Beetz of TV's Atlanta). Her superpower is luck. That's it. Just luck. However, the way it is done cinematically and comedically is outstanding (and they do pat themselves on the back for it, of course). She gorgeous, snappy, & should be a fun character to watch develop. 

This brings me to the "big baddie", Cable. I think every comic movie should look for talent of this caliber to pull off their villains. Josh Brolin (No Country For Old Men) is just so good at the craft that he almost doesn't belong here. He brings a weight to the character that might just improve on the comic version. He's that good. Much like Thanos in Infinity War, there are layers to this character that you won't see coming, and (if you're anything like me) it'll put a big-ass smile on your face. His whole look was far, far cooler than I thought it would be just judging off of the trailer.

Finally, while it is "formulaic", that's not to say that the writing is shoddy at all on this one. The twists are solid and (trust me here) there's a LOT you don't see on the trailers. This is definitely not a case of "the trailer ruined it". The pace is live action Looney Tunes. 

The things you will love?

• The opening and closing credit design. Super dope shit.
• Colossus and Deadpool together. Period.
• Yukio, Hi!
• Buck's speaking line. It's almost Shakespearean.
• Russell's bad name. It's terrible.
• Regenerating Deadpool. I'm not kidding. I peed myself more than a little. 
• The cameos. So much good shit there. 
• The scenes during the credits. Do stick around. 
• The surprising emotional payoff. The way Deadpool almost ruins it. 
• Again, the breakneck pace of the jokes. Try and keep up.
• X-Men........trainee.
• X-Force. X-Force. Shhhhh.......X-Force.
• Who's in Maximum Security!! I had a spaz-out moment. I'm seriously emotional just typing about it. 

So there you go, folks. It should go without saying that I am very much advocating that you go this straightaway. Quit jerking off and go see it. It's the kind of movie you can jerk off during, and it won't be that shocking anyways. 

IMDB rating: 8.4/10

Big Daddy Stu rating: 9/10 (yes, I liked it that much!)