Review: ‘Deadpool 2’ Dead On

Full disclosure? I cannot stand the character of Deadpool. In fact, I hate him. So much so, that when I’m buying comics and I even see him on a cover? I’ll instantly put it back on the shelf. His mere presence in a story is so annoying and subversive to me, that it changes the entire tone of any book.

Also, I’ve never understood Deadpool fanboys either? Them and their giddy, cultish adulation always trying to elevate him to an anti-establishment icon or worse, an ‘anti-hero’ or whatever it is they keep trying to do. Spare me.

In books, his comedy is too broad, his character, wildly inconsistent and just not suited for other books except perhaps, for his own. As far as superheroes go, I rank him right up there next to Bat-Mite or Superman’s Mr. Mxyzptlk.  

That all said; I enjoyed “Deadpool 2” immensely! And as much as I loved the previous movie, 2 surpasses it. They get everything right and I mean everything! The characters, casting, situations, costumes, the layers and layers of unsparing, silly and often, dead-on jokes hell, even the theme-song and marketing were all on point!

The sequel is more densely packed with action, one-liners and even supporting characters, so much so, that you’ll miss jokes while you’re busy laughing at others. The script successfully veers from its signature schizophrenic, self-awareness to hilarity to even surprisingly touching, drama. I was momentarily moved as much as I was entertained. This sequel has everything its fans could ever want and with numerous, slick surprises and blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameos, it easily invites multiple viewings.

So well-executed are the film versions of Deadpool that I think his comic source material could learn a great deal. Instead of continually trying to force him into other various worlds, they should simply bring characters over to come play in his.

The results, like the movies, would make more sense versus the other way around.

So now, after two huge, ridiculously entertaining thrill-rides, I almost hope his next one sucks because I, for one, am really getting tired of eating crow.