When the writing team of Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Ryan Reynolds make more references to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Deadpool 2 than a full season of Daredevil on Netflix does, Deadpool forces his way into the MCU, and that’s how it should be.
Deadpool 2 is also part of DC Extended Universe, the My Little Pony Universe, and our universe; all of the fourth wall breaking and sidebar jokes at everyone’s expense are what makes the movie amazing and better than the original. The movie is also the perfect anti-Avengers: Infinity War without putting down or taking away from the Russo Bros.’ film.
What’s surprising about Deadpool 2 is how much the film makes you care about the individual characters. There are so many jokes and action sequences that when a personal moment hits the screen, it has such impact that the emotion takes you back. Then Deadpool kicks your legs out and carries you back to the action. As crazy and over the top the film is, you care about the characters and Reynolds takes full advantage of your emotion.
Credit for this film’s success needs to go in the direction of David Leitch. As the director, Leitch was able to control the chaos and ride the wave of action. He exceeds expectations in how he handles Zazie Beetz’s portrayal of Domino and her powers. The insane amount of time that was put into choreographing Domino’s action sequences is apparent, and it was worth every ounce of sweat.
One of the most fantastic aspects of the Deadpool film franchise is its ability to fix past mistakes in the X-Men Universe and beyond, and make the most cynical fanboy squeal. This goes back to the writing team and their ability to push the envelope as far as possible. The final battle is ripped directly from comics with an R-rated twist.
If Johnny Knoxville and his team at Jackass were great writers, Deadpool 2 is the film they would make.
Josh Brolin is serviceable as Cable, and I’m surprised there were not more Terminator jokes. As crazy as the rest of the film was, Cable’s story is relatively simple and the movie avoids the complexity of his origin. Brolin is the perfect straight man to Reynolds antics.
Overall, Deadpool 2 will be one of the best rides you will have in a theater this year. Reynolds and company weren’t holding anything back for a third film and gave you the most insane Deadpool experience possible.
