Deadpool 2

Two years ago, Fox graced us with Deadpool, the first big-budget R-rated comic book film that actually made a profit at the box office...a record-breaking profit. At the time, the idea of Deadpool as a movie was surrounded with wonder and controversy, how the world managed to get the movie made was wondrous, and of course, people were understandably concerned about the subject material. But, it was a largely loved film. Even I graced it with the highest rating of 5 out of 5 on my old rating scale, and it was one of my favorite films at the end of the year.

Unfortunately, Deadpool did not age well. The jokes got stale after the second viewing, and now most people that I know who look back upon it do more groaning than laughing. Nevertheless, the box office returns of the first Deadpool film cannot be ignored, and due to that, the team behind it has graced us with yet another film. Now that we're all wiser and a little more ready for this brand of humor, does Deadpool 2 make us laugh, or is it a waste of time?

For the most part? Deadpool 2 works just as well as the first did upon initial release.

The most important thing that Deadpool 2 learned from its predecessor is to change the formula a little bit. One of the most common complaints I see about the first film was that it was mostly a by-the-books origin story with a lot of referential humor. The old referential humor got very stale, and adding that to the bland story, that's what made the original so boring after a while. Instead of taking that route, the sequel changes things up a bit with a more unique sequel take, with a few decent twists and turns, and a more meta humor style than before. It make it a little more sweeter and fresher this time around, though it's hard to say how it'll fare in the future.

Alongside this new brand of storytelling, the cast of Deadpool still remains one of the best ensembles for a superhero movie of this caliber. Ryan Reynolds is still bringing his A-game, and the returning cast like Brianna Hildebrand, Morena Baccarin, and TJ Miller, is also brilliant. Big ups also go to the newcomers like Josh Brolin and Zazie Beets who bring upon their own unique color to the screen. The setback of losing Tim Miller, the director of the first, doesn't hold back the film production-wise either, and the score is also pretty clever as well.

Issues with the film are minor, but do bring down the overall quality for me just a tad. For instance, there is a slight tendency for the humor to become overwhelming, which is very in character for Deadpool, but it also kinda blends around him in a way where you sometimes feel like you'd just wish for the movie to get on. It honestly feels very much longer than it actually is because of scenes that drag out to get a joke or something across. It gets really, really tiresome sometimes, but if you look over it, there's a lot to be enjoyed here as well. Mileage may vary.

So, all in all, I'm pretty impressed by Deadpool 2. It's not a perfect film, but it really does manage to beat the dreck that became the first film in the retrospect of many, and that's enough to earn it a 7.9/10. As said before, for all we know, it may end up being looked back upon less fondly like the original was, but for now, I say we enjoy it.