The success of Deadpool
(2016) was largely based on the fact that it was a comic book movie that wasn’t
really for kids, which is fair enough because comics are no longer aimed at
kids. The ultra-violence, the profanity, the sex gags, and all the rest ushered
in the age of the adult super hero movie.
It was a huge and deserved hit but it does leave
us with a problem. Having broken all the rules first time round, what do you do
for an encore? If you’ve changed the game then where do you go from here?
Deadpool 2 hedges
its bets. There’s more of the same from the first one but there is also an uncomfortable
reliance on conventional superhero tropes; getting the group together, saving
the vulnerable, the importance of family, and love conquering all. The problem
is that this isn’t really what Deadpool is about.
The film tries hard but the effort seems
misplaced. There’s lots of irreverence – a couple of ‘C’ bombs raise the adult language
stakes – but it essentially feels repetitive. The first two acts are just
spinning their wheels with lots of action but it seems to be more in service of
Deadpool the brand rather than the story.
It’s rude, it’s occasionally inventive, and much
is made of our hero’s cartoonish invulnerability. It’s well done but pointless.
There is a lot of witty voice over but this is lazy writing and a couple of
meta gags about lazy writing don’t excuse that. Speaking of meta gags there are
plenty of jokes but you need to work for them; this is a movie which allows
hard core comic geeks to feel superior. It’s the sort of film that’s
accompanied by small pockets of people laughing too hard to demonstrate they’re
smarter than you.
The story such as it is concerns Deadpool trying
to redeem himself by saving a young mutant (Julian Dennison). In the background
is the unkillable Cable, part man, part machine, and wholly indestructible.
Who is Cable and why is he here? Who knows, other
than those people laughing too hard of course? The film busies itself with
setting up a new super team, X-Force, but this is essentially an elaborate prank.
It’s only when Cable explains himself and the third act kicks off that this
finally feels like a movie.
From here on in it’s pretty good, even if there is
more of that lazy writing in an ending that telegraphs itself a long way out,
and in the final analysis the movie will not disappoint. It is fun but it lacks the brio and wit of the
first one.
Ryan Reynolds is fine as Deadpool though I suspect
this may end up being a career limiting role and Josh Brolin manages to bring
something to Cable which isn’t in the script. Action specialist David Leitch
directs crisply and efficiently and the one thing that has to be said is that it
doesn’t drag.
On top of that there is a post-credits scene in
two parts that may be the best that Marvel have ever done. This, like much of
the rest of the movie, will have the hard core fans in ecstasy but they need to
be thinking about building their brand and reaching out to a few more
agnostics.
