Deadpool 2

I have finally gone and seen “Deadpool 2,” released last month, and I can safely say that I had an extraordinary time watching it. Now I will let everyone know what I thought about it.

Sequels are tough, which writers, directors and actors know. AJ Caulfield mentioned in his review, “The seasoned critics, rosy-cheeked fanatics, and everyday theatre-goers who witness the fruits — squidgy sun-wrinkled or sparkling superb — of their labor know it. Capturing cracks of lightning in a cinematic bottle is, generally, a One Time Only thing. Pushing a pin in what many (save a few curmudgeonly naysayers who thrive off negativity and will find anything to complain about) consider perfection of the Magneto-looking-at-Mystique variety is, usually, Kind of Impossible.”

Caulfield continues, “Except in the case of Deadpool 2, a sequel that forearm-flicks the figurative stacks of “Follow-Up Films Tend to Be Bad!” research papers off our metaphorical desks and subverts the standard — splitting both our sides and the sentiments of its story, proving that sequels aren’t always befitting of being tossed in the bin, along the way.”

The more intense continuation of the first movie, the sequel of Deadpool is in every way over-the-top and overblown as you would think and more. Caulfield noted, “Ryan Reynolds is back in the role he was essentially born to play; despite his disposition that’s as sweet as the maple syrup for which his homeland is revered, Reynolds lets spill from his mouth lashes of self-referential wit (there’s a fantastic moment where the film takes a stab at its own “lazy writing”), sarcastic winks, and sometimes unsavory rib-nudges with ease.” Ryan Reynolds is Deadpool, obviously, and with “Deadpool 2,” you can’t think how much Ryan Reynolds inserts himself in Deadpool.

“Deadpool 2” shows Wade Wilson going in a downward slope and back up again when he is separated once again from his steaming fiancée Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) and starts to seriously think of parenthood, enlists in the X-Men trainee academy and bends the rules to make his own team to punish those of separating his love, friends and becomes a mentor to an angry 14-year-old mutant Russell (Julian Dennison) and finds out that Cable (Josh Brolin), a time-traveling, telekinetic, telepathic jerk of the universe, has made killing Russell his mission.

Out of everyone, Wade take the responsibility to protect Russell from becoming a murdering mutant, and to keep Cable’s futuristic cyborg hands off him.

He won’t be able to do this alone.

Now taking on this responsibility, Deadpool goes to his friend in everything criminal, Weasel, played by T.J. Miller, who is somewhat superfluous in this movie, or pretty much anything at this point, to help him interview people for X-Force, the vigilante group that will help Russell out.

There’s the always lucky, chance-looking Domino (Zazie Beetz, who looks like will be one of this year’s biggest breakout actresses), the rocking cool dad-looking Peter (Rob Delany), the sword-wielding hero, Shatterstar (Lewis Tan), the acid vomiting Zeitgeist (Bill Skarsgard), the invisible Vanisher (Brad Pitt), and the electromagnetic field-altering Bedlam (Terry Crews). The gang’s mission isn’t one easily done, even with Colossus (Stefan Kapicic), Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) and her girlfriend Yukio (Shioli Kutsuna) on, as Caulfield says, “tap as their pseudo-B team, but when has a challenge ever kept the Merc with a Mouth and co. away?”

Caulfield said, “Screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick crafted a Matryoshka doll with Deadpool 2: it’s a commentary about the soul-brightening effects of choosing your own family tucked inside a story about misfit mutants finding strength in numbers hidden within a superhero movie inside a raunchy and R-rated superhero movie all encapsulated by a fourth-wall-breaking, meta-humor-heavy, cheeky-cheeky-cheeky outer layer. And director David Leitch capitalizes on this absurdity, using his past experience co-helming the hyper-violent phenomenon John Wick and the Charlize Theron-topper Atomic Blonde to lasso Reese and Wernick’s written words and splatter them across his cinematic canvas.”

Caulfield continued, “Rather than grabbing cash the ever-consuming public would happily dish out (regardless of any promised potential, if we’re honest) to see the Merc with a Mouth swing his katanas, shake his skin-tight-leather-covered bits and bum, and sic his super-duper group on his adversaries in a second turn on the silver screen, Deadpool 2 reaches its imaginative hands in a different direction: it remembers the smutty, sarcastic film it succeeds, grabs what made the masses fall scarred face over booted feet in laugh-out-loud love with it, and runs wild.”

Is it the most flawless film, even by the frequently more easy limits of superhero genre, to have ever been released in theaters? No, as Caulfield said, “It could have benefitted from smoother delivery, and even restraint, in its bevy of jokes to help buttress all the non-seriousness and alleviate the weight of its jests.” Like the harsh action in “Avengers: Infinity War” left some viewers worn, the quick wisecracks in “Deadpool 2” might have a small amount of fans walking out with a tired feeling. Sure, the movie would have taken off in a springboard first step had the first 15 or so minutes been tighter and more superior. Caulfield said, “And of course, the few quips that sound like they come from the mouth of a shock jock rather than a superhero could have been clipped out.”

Caulfield ended by saying, “But is it a satisfying sequel that solidifies its stance as Not Like Your Average Superhero Movie, inspires jaw drops and genuine laughs, and gives us nearly two hours of Ryan-Reynolds-in-his-magnum-opus-role goodness? Absolutely.”

Spoiler alert: in the mid-credits scene, Deadpool goes back in time and kills off the version of himself from "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and Ryan Reynolds once he gets the script to "Green Lantern." Also, expect cameos from James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult, Evan Peters, Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Reynolds does the voice and motion-capture of Juggernaut.

If you haven’t seen this film yet and loved the first one, see it while it’s still playing in theaters. You will have a laugh-out-loud good time while watching it. To be honest, I thought this film was funnier compared to the first one, although I don’t know if I’m a minority on that or if anyone else agrees. I thought this one gave Deadpool some real legitimate drama in this one, and I think this was better than the first and another one of my favorite comic book movies. Also, what a year for Josh Brolin. To go from playing Thanos to Cable is quite a leap for the man. He's going to be famous for starring in comic book adaptations this year. I give this a solid 9+.

Stay tuned this Friday for the continuation of “Coen Brothers Month.”