I know I said no more superhero movies for a while, but this week it was either Deadpool 2 or Show Dogs. I stand by my choice. Based on the trailer I saw for Show Dogs, I wouldn’t wish the film on anyone. But Deadpool 2 was a treat. It has all the things I like best in superhero films, too – one main character, for instance. That’s nice. And also it’s under 2 hours, which is REALLY nice. And they’re not saving the world, or the universe, or Reality Itself – we’re not subject to the same tiresome level of Spectacle Creep that has been plaguing Marvel for a while now. If you had to watch a superhero movie to help get rid of fatigue from watching superhero movies, Deadpool 2 would be the one to watch.
Foul-mouthed mutant mercenary Wade Wilson (AKA. Deadpool), brings together a team of fellow mutant rogues to protect a young boy of supernatural abilities from the brutal, time-traveling mutant, Cable.
There’s something refreshing about Deadpool. Maybe it’s the way he breaks the 4th wall, which was fun for a bit but got old after about 10 minutes. Maybe it’s how culturally relevant it is? Deadpool 2 is wonderfully self-aware; there’s all kinds of references to all kinds of things and they’re hilarious. I love how irreverent Deadpool is. Nothing is safe. And I especially like all the homoerotic humour, it’s funny AND sexy. And there’s a LOT of homoerotic humour. There’s also a lot of non-homoerotic humour too. There’s a joke about Winnie the Pooh (and the scene it was in) that was worth the price of admission. I laughed so hard throughout this entire movie, it was wonderful.
I’ve changed my mind about the way Marvel makes movies. Used to be that I believed that each movie should stand on its own merits and that you shouldn’t have to see every other film in the franchise to know what’s going on. Now I know that this assertion is silly. Two reasons: One – anything you don’t get, you can just look up later, and Two – everyone already has seen all the other Marvel movies. Even if you don’t get every joke or reference, the plot moves quickly enough onto the next thing that it doesn’t matter. Never having read any comics ever, for example, I had to look up the Juggernaut to see what that was about. But not knowing didn’t wreck the movie for me. I think it’s okay to acknowledge that we don’t watch movies anymore, we watch franchises.
Deadpool 2 had a particularly great cast and they worked so well together. I loved Ryan Reynolds’ chemistry with Morena Baccarin was impressive and believable. Julian Dennison plays a very convincing Troubled Teen, though he was more badass and less funny here than when he was hunting for Wilderpeople. I loved seeing all the celebrity cameos – Brad Pitt, Bill Skarsgard, Alan Tudyk. There was fan service! Josh Brolin is a handsome guy. I mean I think I already knew that (I’ve seen Goonies) but it’s nice to be shown that he’s all-kinds-of Still Got It. I liked Zazie Beetz too, both the actress and the character she played were hilarious.
So is Deadpool 2 worth watching? Yup, I’d say so. In fact you should watch it sooner rather than later. Partially because it plays well on the big screen and partially because I worry it won’t age well. Whenever your humor depends on what’s culturally relevant today, your movie becomes less relevant and less funny tomorrow. But aside from that I don’t have a lot of criticism for Deadpool 2, it was a very fun way to spend an afternoon and I would happily watch it again.
Rating: [star rating=”3.5″]