The first Deadpool film introduced a mainstream audience to Marvel’s naughty kid in the corner – the foul-mouthed anti-hero who has a pension for blood, while doing some good here and there. The sequel brings the red-spandexed character back for another round, upping the crude jokes, cringe-worthy gore, and acrobatic action, along with a more personal story that examines the struggles of the character, resulting in a worthy and incredibly-entertaining sequel.
While the Deadpool franchise is a tongue-in-cheek spin on the superhero genre, this is a fun, comic-book movie after all, so it’s got the big set-pieces, nod-worthy fan moments, fourth-wall breaking jokes, and Marvel character cameos. What elevates it beyond its parodying nature, though, is that, at the heart of it, there’s an introspective look at who Deadpool is, his curse of invulnerability, and the theme of finding purpose when the world around you is crumbling – and that gives the film an endearing quality.
It’s hard to discuss any story details, but the premise takes a great change of pace from the revenge-fueled romp of the first film (which was a lot of fun), and tasks Deadpool, through inconvenient circumstances, to help save a young mutant from some sketchy folks. The addition of Josh Brolin as Cable from the X-Men lore a great counter-balance to Reynold’s joke-a-second portrayal of the Merc with a Mouth, showing that while the character Deadpool is always a scene-stealer, having a stoic companion to play off of makes his attributes all that much better.
As a sequel, Deadpool 2 succeeds at improving upon the first film in numerous ways, but more importantly, it evolves the character of Wade Wilson and that there’s more to him than butt-jokes and swear-words, which are awesome in their own right too.