Successful Sequel

Rating: 7/10 (22 May 2018)

Deadpool 2 masterfully pushes the wild humor and emotion to new heights, which sufficiently covers up narrative flaws and a misstepped social commentary.
Compared to Deadpool, Deadpool 2 seems more comfortable handling the elements that made the original a success. The humor is bolder and more self-aware because the audience is already familiar with the characters. Ryan Reynolds masters the tricky balance between heavy emotion and outrageous wisecracks because the audience is trained to expect a joke for every heartfelt scene, and the movie gladly obliges. Every trick in the book is used to evoke emotional responses, but the winks to the audience make such manipulation acceptable, even welcome.
For those worried that Deadpool 2 is more of the same, they needn't fret. The movie introduces a handful of new characters, each well-acted and funny in their own way. There are also some celebrity cameos sprinkled in. Sure, some of them are there solely to make a joke or two, but a couple of the new characters clearly places in future movies.
Compared to some superhero movies, Deadpool 2 has a streamlined narrative and pulls off a highly successful third act. The climax of the movie not only avoids the Marvel "villain problem," but it's also packed with great action, hilarious jokes, and solid character moments. This success overshadows some plot inconsistencies in the first and second act, which are minor but might bother some hypercritical audience members.
Despite Deadpool 2's undeniable strengths, two features hold it back slightly. First, the subject of death is handled with such inconsistency that it seems jarring. One character's death is an unspeakable tragedy, while another's is just a comic bit. The movie missed an opportunity to make fun of the careless treatment of civilian deaths in comic-book movies, but instead fell into the trope. Deadpool 2 also tried to make a progressive commentary on diversity in superhero films, but its minority characters did not have particularly strong roles. Thus, this commentary seemed a bit undeserved and out-of-place.
For fans of the original Deadpool, the sequel will not disappoint. The movie capitalizes on what it did well in the first movie and the result is a riotously entertaining, surprisingly emotional, and satisfying second installment.