After the success of the first Deadpool (2016), you bet I was excited for this sequel. Although I would argue that the first film was the stronger of the two, Deadpool 2 is still a fantastic film. I think what makes the Deadpool films so successful is the fact that they are familiar and yet different. At their core, these are superhero films; largely in part due to the success of the Disney MCU films, superhero films are arguably more popular now than they have ever been. The Deadpool films certainly fall into this genre as they adhere to many of the common themes and tropes of other superhero films, yet at the same time these very thematic elements are mocked and critiqued by a fourth-wall-breaking “hero” who is nowhere near the same brand of “heroic” as the other superheroes who have appeared on screen so far. The audience gets their superhero film, but they get their attention drawn to the more ridiculous aspects of the genre and are encouraged to laugh at it. With the MCU more or less taking over the box offices and DC attempting to catch up, it is refreshing to watch a film like Deadpool 2 that offers something that is both familiar and unique all at the same time.
What I find really interesting about the story is that, in a way, it mirrors Deapool’s (Ryan Reynolds) response to difficult situations. Cable (Josh Brolin) comments that Deadpool avoids dealing with serious issues through his use of humour and I feel that the story of Deadpool 2 deals with its serious subject matter in a similar way. Unlike the overuse of bathos of the MCU films like Infinity War, the serious moments are not undermined by a silly moment – they are straight up mocked. I find this parallels the way that Wade Wilson/Deadpool deals with his problems – he uses humour to cope with his cancer diagnosis in the first film, and humour to deal with the main traumatic moment of the second film. Any time the audience is presented with a dark or unsettling event, there is enough humour added that we are forced to laugh at it in order to process what we are seeing. (Spoiler: Did you laugh at any of the deaths of the members of the X-Force? Those were pretty horrific deaths, and yet that scene was pretty funny.) The comedy in this film can be used as a coping mechanism, just as Wade’s humorous quips help him cope with his situation. If you were to remove all of the humour, this would actually be a really dark film.
Another really impressive aspect of this film is the cast of characters. Not only did favourites from the first Deadpool return, but there were some fantastic new characters like Cable, Russell (Julian Dennison), and Domino (Zazie Beetz) added to the roster. I need to take a moment and say that Zazie Beetz did a phenomenal job as Domino and I absolutely adored all of the little nuances of her character. I was also really impressed to see that Yukio (Shiolo Kutsuna) was added as a girlfriend for Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand). This is really the first time we have seen an openly gay couple in a superhero film and I think it is important to note that it wasn’t flaunted as something out of the ordinary/something deserving of a lot of attention or a shocking revelation. There was no unnecessary fuss made – it was presented as something completely normal and I think that makes a powerful statement. It wasn’t something that needed explaining or justifying; it just happened and everyone was on board with it.
What I found really interesting about the cast was that there were quite a lot of cameos. It is as if everyone wanted to jump on board after the success of the first film, even if it was only for a few seconds of screen time. And thanks to these cameos we finally got to see some other X-men in Deadpool 2, even if their presence was brief (my two favourites were in that room so I am more than happy). And it was really incredible to see some big name actors get involved as well (Spoiler: Matt Damon made yet another cameo in a superhero film alongside Alan Tudyk, and Brad Pitt even showed up on screen for a few seconds.)
Last, but not least, the music and sound effects really made this movie come together for me. The music of the first film was very good, but I feel that it was better in this sequel. I mean, Deadpool 2 had a James Bond-style opening credit sequence featuring a song from Celine Dion – the music in this film set the bar pretty high. And I doubt I will ever hear Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” the same way ever again. Not only were the songs great, but I really loved the sound effects used for Cable. During his fight scenes, the mechanical sounds used to accompany his movements added a nice touch. To cap it all off, Juggernaut’s operatic theme music is both brilliant and hilarious and I really enjoyed that it was played during the credits so that everyone could truly appreciate how brilliantly ridiculous that piece of music is.
Deadpool 2 was a lot of fun and really hope we get to see more of these characters in the future, especially Domino. As Deadpool says in the film, he’s looking for a team that can carry on the franchise for another 10 to 12 years and, so far, I would not complain if that were to happen. Deadpool may reach his cinematic expiry date some day but for now I am happy with this sequel and can’t wait for more.
