Fanboys Anonymous

Normally, I tend to do the Fanboys Anonymous REVIEWPOINT segment in podcast form, but for Deadpool 2, I happen to be in a position where my equipment isn't readily available and an editorial is much more convenient, so indulge me in a written form of this type of breakdown.

Wisecracking mercenary Deadpool battles the evil and powerful Cable and other bad guys to save a boy's life.

Deadpool 2 is the type of movie that you know well in advance if you want to see it or not. If you watched the first one and enjoyed it, you're going to want to watch this, of course. Equally, if you thought the first was awful, didn't enjoy the humor, didn't get the references or anything along those lines, there's literally no reason for you to watch the sequel, as you're mostly getting the same type of vibe.

However, it is different from the first in that it seems to have more of a cinematic "normal movie" style to it, instead of the aesthetic from the first one.

Admittedly, this was a bit disappointing to me. It felt like this film didn't have as many jokes as the first one, and I didn't enjoy some of the characters as much this time around, nor some of the new additions.

For instance, Russell was more on the annoying side to me than a source of a lot of fun. I tend to think a good portion of that was down to the actor himself, but maybe some of the blame rests on the script.

I liked Cable, but he didn't feel 100% like Cable to me. Maybe in an X-Force film, I guess. Domino was okay, but not too crazy of a standout. I think she's getting a little too overhyped as some major revelation, whereas I thought she was just fine.

Colossus was neat, as always. Negasonic Teenage Warhead wasn't much of a presence in this film, sadly. I would have liked to see more of her, although I did laugh at the Yukio and Deadpool relationship.

Random side note that doesn't have to do with this movie itself, but I went to see it with my girlfriend in 4DX and even though that was fun in the sense of a different experience, I definitely don't think that gimmick was worth it. If you're considering doing that, I'd recommend reconsidering. After the third time air was blown into my ear to represent a gunshot, I got bored of the experience and would have rather just had a better screen.

That being said, I still enjoyed the movie and I still laughed pretty damn hard at certain moments in particular.

I loved the James Bond style intro sequence (along with the song, Ashes). Speaking of music, I'm definitely getting that version of Take On Me for sure.

After having set up their relationship in the first film, the dynamic between Wade and Vanessa was surprisingly sweet in a way I didn't expect it to be.

Without getting into more specifics, I would say that this didn't live up to my expectations, but it was still a fine movie that I'd give a thumbs up to.


Onward to the spoilers section, we can start talking about actual details that stood out to me.

I was a fan of pretty much every little wink and nod, and I really wish they had put more of that type of humor in it, as, like I mentioned before, I didn't think there was anywhere near as many this time around.

The Vanisher, played by Brad Pitt? Hilarious.

Peter was funny, too, but I think they killed that joke with the commercials, as by this point, if you've watched those, you've seen most of his scenes.

Killing off Vanessa was sad, even though I saw it coming from a mile away as soon as it seemed like a sequel film was going to happen, but I'm really happy that they went with the end credit sequence of Wade going back in time and completely undoing everything so that she's still alive. Great decision.

Fucking Juggernaut? Dude, I've always been a fan of that character and it was interesting to see him being treated like a true monster.

Big thumbs down to Russell, as I said. I didn't think his jokes were funny, and I think recasting and going with a different actor would have maybe saved some of them.

I liked how the name of the hospital was Essex, but didn't like the villains of that side of the story. They didn't do much for me.

Blind Al, solid. Weasel, not as good as last time and it seemed like T.J. Miller and/or the writers just didn't try with him. Dopinder was a step down a bit, I think, and lost some of his charm by trying to be a little too funny.

Actually, that is part of the impression I got from a few things, where it suffered from the comedy sequel problems I've seen in plenty of other series. When you take a joke from the previous movie and improve on it, it's fantastic, but if it doesn't land, it is worse than if you didn't have that joke. Some people LOVED the segment dealing with his baby legs, but I wasn't one of those people, so that felt like it went on way too long in my mind.

Flipping back to a positive, though, I absolutely loved the quick cameo of Beast, Quicksilver and other X-Men characters being in the mansion and just shutting the door. I also was a huge fan of the joke that X-Men is a dated metaphor for discrimination in the '60s or whatever the line was. That got a big laugh out of me.

Black Tom Cassidy? So weird that we have seen him in live action movie form and we still haven't seen Avalanche. Very cool to throw him in the movie, even for just a throwaway part like that.

Martha joke +1
Killing the X-Men Origins: Wolverine version of Deadpool + 1
Hawkeye joke +1
Thanos +1
Winter Soldier arm +1
The sun's getting real low + 1
No Bob? -1
The cure for blindness +1

Generally speaking, this was a case of something that I was hoping would be a laugh riot that I really absolutely loved, and I didn't, but I don't subscribe to the idea that everything has to be either the best or worst thing ever. There are gray areas, and when it comes to Deadpool 2, I think it goes around to different shades here and there.

Overall, I do say see it, but I have to admit that I'm not as enthusiastic as I thought I would be, nor even as enthusiastic as I was while leaving the theater last night. After giving myself a day to think about it, I'm a little more down on the film than I was, but who knows what I'll think upon a second viewing. I may even like it more.