Stars: 3/5
Fans of “Deadpool 2,” I ask for mercy as you read the following: I did not enjoy Ryan Reynolds’ second round as the foul-mouthed bad-boy of the superhero genre.
As a lover of the X-Force saga, I was really looking forward to seeing my personal favorite character, Domino (Zazie Beets), and I was impressed by how director David Leitch brought her unique powers the screen. Domino is an exciting, creative force throughout the film, as is the rest of the supporting cast led by Josh Brolin’s Cable and Stefan Kapicic’s Colossus.
Cable is a time-traveling warrior hell-bent on destroying Julian Dennison’s Firefist, a teenage mutant exploring the boundaries of good and evil. In a possible future, Firefist kills Cable’s wife and child — Cable carries his daughters scorched teddy bear throughout the film to determine whether he changes the fate of his family.
For the most part, “Deadpool 2” works as a fantastic ensemble film, with a richly developed supporting cast. Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) is just as delightfully droll and unimpressed as ever, but gets the addition of girlfriend Yukio (Shioli Kutsuna) making her the first openly queer superhero in the Marvel cinematic universe.
However, the real draw of the first Deadpool was Reynolds’ cheeky, outrageous turn as the titular character. This film loses much of what makes the character enjoyable, by taking a dark turn within the first fifteen minutes of the movie.
Spoiler Alert: Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) — Deadpool’s girlfriend who he works so hard to save in the first film — is dead within about ten minutes of the start of the movie.
So, much of the first half of the film is spent watching Wade wallow in grief, attempt suicide and accept his own death. Sure, there are funny bits and one-liners ­­— and many jabs at other superhero films — but ultimately, the film is dry and leaves much to be desired until about 90 minutes in when Cable and Deadpool ultimately join forces.