Deadpool 2 (2018) (a film review by Frank Ochieng)
Deadpool rules! Okay, admittedly this is an unconventional way to segue into a film review without sounding like a giddy fanboy. Nevertheless, the costumed glib-sounding gladiator is back on the scene in ‘Deadpool 2’ up to his usual trivial tricks in the Marvel Universe. After making a sensational splash as the wise-cracking warrior with the sardonic sense of humour a couple of years back, Ryan Reynolds returns in full force (or is it X-Force as in Deadpool’s ill-fated team of named crime-fighters) as the suited self-deprecating anti-superhero Deadpool (a.k.a. Wade Wilson) out to cause chaos for the colorful baddies.
The first outing was simply heavy-handed frivolity where Reynolds showcased a different kind of super-hero engaged in smugness, sass and goofy-minded swagger. The rambunctiousness in the first entry worked fabulously as Reynolds and that film’s director, Tim Miller, served up an infectiously cockeyed crime-fighting caper loaded with a generous dosage of R-rated action scenes, off-kilter jokes and the perverse playfulness in Reynolds’s free-spirited performance. The 2016’s ‘Deadpool’ was a proven hit from ‘The X-Men’ stable from the get-go.
This time director David Leitch (‘John Wick’) takes over the reins in the equally subversive ‘Deadpool 2’ loaded with sheer nuttiness, a flavoured ingredient in the warped wink-wink world of the ‘Deadpool’ landscape. From the opening scene of Wade/Deadpool blowing himself to smithereens that eventually welcome the spoof-ridden opening credits definitely tips the audience off that this irreverent instalment won’t skim on the anticipated outlandishness that awaits. Cheeky swipes that include salutes to such gems as the Bond/Agent 007 and ‘Flashdance’ sequences will certainly secure the instant chuckles. The credits that flash such gimmicky gags such as ‘the director that is one of the guys that killed the dog in John Wick’ is a hearty hoot.
Granted that ‘Deadpool 2’ does not have the abundance of over-the-top excess ribaldry that the original blueprint featured but it still contains its share of slice-and-dice bloodiness, animated explosions, city street mash-and-smash craziness and yes…Deadpool’s breaking-the-fourth-wall deadpan mouth. Surprisingly, ‘Deadpool 2’ cosies up to its equal balance of pithiness and pathos that effectively works its charm. Essentially, ‘Deadpool 2’ is free to simply concentrate on its goofy-minded gravitas.
Wade/Deadpool loses all hope to live in the aftermath of his cherished girlfriend Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) getting hit by a stray bullet.
He is visited later on and recruited by the massive Colossus (Stephan Capicic) to train for a spot on the X-Men team, a running gag worth a healthy smirk. Unfortunately, Deadpool’s mishandling of trying to contain an angry 14-year old mutant boy Russell/Firefist (Julian Dennison) lashing out ends in imprisonment for him and the disenchanted kid.
Inside the prison facility, an ailing Deadpool must protect them from the ravenous prisoners. However, Deadpool has his hands full when shielding the youngster Russell from the no-nonsense Cable (Josh Brolin), a muscular and menacing time-traveller from the future out to eradicate Russell for the sake of preserving the future to come. Wise-acre Deadpool tangles with Cable in order to save Russell’s butt. During their destructive battle, the super-power tandem bust out of confinement.
Among some of the funnier moments include Deadpool and his sidekicks in Cabbie Dopinder (Karan Soni) and barfly Weasel (T.J. Miller) assembling a super-hero team in hopes of hunting down Russell and his new mountainous menace of a mutant buddy looking for revenge. The so-called X-Force team end up meeting their humorous demises upon their first parachuting mission and only Domino (Zazie Beetz) survives. Also, the gang gathering at Blind Al’s (Leslie Uggams) place while partnering with cantankerous Cable is played for surfacing laughs. Plus, Deadpool’s John Cusack-inspired ‘Say Anything’ mini-radio serenade to win over a moping Colossus is pretty amusing.
Absolutely riotous in its blood-splattered insanity, ‘Deadpool 2’ does its intended job in delivering the overstuffed antics rooted in the free-wheeling nonsense of Reynold’s brand of bouncy badassness. Reynolds and his co-screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick pad the lunacy and give the masses a rootable rogue in Deadpool gloriously tuned into the telegraphed ridiculousness. Reynolds’s Deadpool and his ring of rag-tag renegades, fresh faces and returnees alike, never seem to overstay their wacky welcome. What can one say about this Marvel misfit? How about the repeatable Deadpool rules!
DEADPOOL 2
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Morena Baccarin, Julian Dennison, T.J. Miller, Zazie Beetz and Leslie Uggams
Directed by: David Leitch
Rated: PG-13
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Critic’s rating: *** stars (out of 4 stars)
(c) Frank Ochieng 2019
