At one point in Deadpool 2, the titular hero, known for breaking the fourth wall to comment on the real world outside his own, acknowledges that a pivotal plot point in the film is "just lazy writing." While it's a funny moment that elicits laughter, the problem is, he's right. This ultra-violent sequel to one of the most successful R-rated movies of all time is often hilarious, but the skeleton holding it together can't really hold up its end of the bargain.
For most people, though, that will be OK. Most viewers will walk into Deadpool 2 hoping for two things: jokes and gratuitous violence. On those counts, it delivers. Ryan Reynolds has given us another pitch-perfect performance as Marvel's "merc with a mouth" (who, for a brief moment in the beginning, lives up to that title by doing some actual mercenary work), and the quips come fast and furious. The movie jokes about everything from the original Deadpool's box-office success to Reynolds' own box-office bombs, from Trump to George W. Bush, from DC Comics to dubstep. There are so many one-liners that you likely won't catch them all in one viewing.
But there are also moments where Deadpool 2 tries to get serious. Like, weirdly, emotionally serious. And those moments don't work.
It's not that Reynolds can't handle them as an actor (he clearly can), and it's not that comedy and tragedy can't live in harmony. Deadpool 2's attempt at injecting high stakes for its screwball, light-hearted hero just falls flat.
One reason is that there is a lot going on. In the wake of a personal [spoilery] tragedy, Deadpool spends a bit of time with the B-tier X-Men we met in the previous film. Then he is sent to jail, where he shares a cell with a super-powered kid with a dark past and an even darker future. A super-serious time traveler from the future, Cable (Josh Brolin), shows up to try to kill said kid before he becomes a villain, which leads Deadpool to recruit his own team of non-X-Men superheroes, the X-Force.
(If some of that reminds you of Looper, yeah, that movie tackled a similar premise, only better.)
A bigger problem, though, is that the movie itself seems barely invested in the plot, even when it pretends to be. The movie doesn't earn its serious moments because it never treats anything seriously. It's a case of "if you aren't going to do something right, don't do it at all." The original Deadpool struck a much better balance in this regard, despite (or even, perhaps, because of) a much tighter budget and much smaller expectations.
Many of the sequel's highest points are familiar, like cab driver Dopinder (Karan Soni) and jokes at the expense of fellow Marvel hero Wolverine. There are a few new things that work well, though. Of the X-Force members, Domino (Zazie Beetz), whose superpower is simply "luck," stands out as a worthwhile addition to the cast.
The flaws in Deadpool 2 would be much more damning if it weren't for the high points of the humor. The post-credits scene rights a lot of the film's wrongs (figuratively and literally), which is enough to make you look past the warts and be willing to spend more time with the vulgar anti-hero. Maybe next time he'll have a better story to tell.
Deadpool 2 (B-)
R (for strong violence and language throughout, sexual references and brief drug material). 119 minutes. In wide release.
