Still good, not as good as the first

Rating: 7/10 (9 September 2018)

The first Deadpool, aside from being funny, was a well deserved spin on the superhero genre. So I was excited to see where this movie would take the character. And while it still is gleefully funny and raunchy, it is not quite as good as the first movie. And I think it's because the script this time around was weaker than the first. While it is true that the script never really subverted a lot of the superhero genre as it does blatantly copy all the cliches without much of the clever subversion the movie claimed, I felt that the movie was charming enough to really look pass the glaring issues with the first movie's script. This time around the story was just so much weaker than before, being written around a kid who is just not very good in this movie sadly, although that's because of the poor material he works with, as the character Russell is just not very likable or funny, outside of getting his ass kicked a few times which was funny (child abuse is bad regardless, but still it was funny). And it is in general weird that Deadpool would actually care about this character. It never felt like something he would do, although I am going to give the benefit of the doubt and say that it is true for him in the comics. The action, while not terrible, just felt kind of lazy and uninspired. Which is a shame considering director David Leitch's work on the first John Wick film. The only time I can ever say I felt any thrill was the fight on the prison transport. But other than that it's just by the numbers.
A big surprise was that the jokes and gags that callback to the first film wasn't the biggest problem with the film. Sure they do feel stale and a little lazy (although some callbacks are still funny), but for the most part I was still laughing and having a great time. Sure the constant sex jokes and pop culture references do get old, but the movie still does have a ton of wit to make the movie thoroughly funny regardless of duds that are in the film, largely thanks to Ryan Reynolds being perfect for Deadpool. Cable and Domino do make great editions to the film, as are the return of Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (who doesn't get a lot of good lines in this movie like she did in the first film). The visuals and production are also a step up from the first film too, and also the intro is one of the funnest I've seen in a long time, although probably not as funny as the first film. Plus an absolutely brilliant post-credit scene.
It might not live up to the first Deadpool film, but it still is a fun ride regardless. Although I am rather worried that the third film will suck considering the trajectory of trilogies, plus the much weaker writing overall.