Deadpool 2

****

You’re so dark. Are you sure you’re not from the DC universe?

I loved Cable in this movie. I assumed that they would screw him up, but Josh Brolin nailed it and the special effects made him look great. His gravitas worked really well against Deadpool’s constant stream of jokes. It really felt like a comic book up to the big screen. That is all I ever want from a comic book movie, really.

There were other good performances too. Ryan Reynolds was as good as he was in the first one. Morena Baccarin is sadly in this less than in film one. But Domino–Zazie Beetz–gets added to the mix and she is great. She is a perfect foil for Deadpool’s BS. TJ Miller and and Karan Soni are back, and both are similarly good—but boo TJ Miller the person. Soni’s Dopinder gets a little silly though. Colossus is equally wonderful. I usually really like Eddie Marsan but his accent was quite odd, as was casting a non-powered mutant-hater who runs an orphanage for mutants as the villain. Still, he is fine and it is interesting to get to root for him to not die in a certain way.

Before my conclusion, I have a few random thoughts:

• Why did Celine Dion do the theme song? Does she have a sense of humor? Who convinced her that this would be a good career move? Will she really get nominated for an Oscar for it? I DON’T KNOW.
• I really like the inside jokes for nerds. They toned it down from the first movie, but the Rob Liefeld mocking is wonderful. He co-created Cable, for those who didn’t know. Oh, and Deadpool!
• I went crazy when Rob Delaney–Peter–showed up in the trailer. I was so afraid they would cut him from being on X-Force for having no abilities.
• Cable’s fighting style was awesome. The special effects in this were much better than in 1.
• Speaking of Cable, how do we feel about Josh Brolin being both him and Thanos? I know I was strongly against Chris Evans–Human Torch–becoming Captain America, but that worked out fine. But this is simultaneous casting. Josh Brolin is a great actor though and I have accepted a movie that had Jet Li fighting himself, so, I guess I am okay with this.

Deadpool calls this a family movie, in his 4th wall breaking style, and he is right. If it were not for everything that made this an R-rated movie I would watch it with my parents. My wife had us watch the first one with her parents and good for her to be okay with that, because there are some moments in both of these films where you do not want to watch this with relatives of any relation. Pan’s Labyrinth was a kids movie for the whole family, except children should not watch that level of horror and torture. Deadpool 2 is a family movie, except most families should not watch it together. Or talk about it together. Enjoy!

Deadpool

***½

Just promise me you’ll do right by me, so I can do right by someone else. And don’t make the super suit green. Or animated!

Two Ryan Reynoldses. Green Lantern and Deadpool. Comparison shot from moviepilot.com.

So, so many references! There are references to Deadpool’s comic book origins. References to his first cinematic appearance in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. That quotation above references Ryan Reynold (Deadpool) starring as Green Lantern in the disappointing film of the same name. Personally, I like references because they validate my life choices. If that seems overly dramatic, think of getting references as an attaboy from the content creators to me the content consumer.

Before this review becomes something about me talking about me, I want to talk about Karan Soni’s performance as Dopinder the cab driver. I recognized him and geeked out because he is so good as Capt. Stewart Lipinski on Other Space. He made me laugh in both instances with his similar trouble with women. It reminds me that I need to watch more of that show, but lack the Amazon Prime account to do so. I refuse to incriminate myself by acknowledging that I might “borrow” a “brother’s” login/password.

Deadpool and Dopinder (Karan Soni) talking in the cab.

But enough about me and Deadpool, now I want to talk about how I know Deadpool. By the time I learned of his existence he had already debuted in New Mutants, had two miniseries, been seriously messed up in The Age of Apocalypse storyline¹, and been semi-forgotten. I figured that he, like Deathlok before him, had peaked and would probably just appear randomly every few years to little fanfare. But no, Wade Wilson used his healing powers (he is like a non-mutant Wolverine, except in the movie they make it a triggered mutation, because that’s the cinematic Marvel thing, just like the Inhumans are mutation based on “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”) to come back to life while I was not looking. His career went from promising motor mouthed mercenary, to unemployed mercenary, to Spider-Wolverine. What I find amusing is how he was meant to be an annoyance, not a star. Cable² was Fabian Nicieza’s and Rob Liefeld’s star. And Cable hated Deadpool from the start. By 2004 they had their own monthly comic book together! The trivia I love is that Wolverine was meant as an attempt to make the most unlikely superhero, with his first appearance coming in a battle with the Hulk. He is 5′ 3″, hairy, Canadian, and angry. To underline how unpopular those things are, just think of Hugh Jackman, the man made famous by his portrayal of Wolverine—6′ 2″, does have mutton chops in the role, Australian, and cranky. Funny how some things just work out.

The incomparable Morena Baccarin as Vanessa with the uniquely suited Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson, in Deadpool (2016).

Now back to Deadpool the movie. It jumps all over the place, kind of like this review. It has its moments, but I was left wishing it had been a little bit better, kind of like this review. But seriously, Ryan Reynolds deserves ****½ for his Deadpool. He has the humor, the athleticism, the attitude. He has everything needed to make Deadpool into a star. His lady love is played by Morena Baccarin of “Firefly”, “Homeland”, and Spy fame. I hope this turns her into the movie star that she, like Reynolds, ought to be. T.J. Miller is really funny as Weasel, but I did not like how his role differed from in the comics. I mean, imagine if Wayne Knight—Seinfeld’s Newman—had been a bartender as Micro in Punisher: War Zone and not an arms dealing ally? Oh jeez, have I lost everyone yet? If so, that is fine because what I am about to say will be pretty controversial—Colossus was a disappointment. In a movie that references the Green Lantern suit debacle, Colossus could have looked better. Does anyone else remember when Wolverine first pops his claws in X-Men? That still looks amazing 16 years later. But in the Origins movie he looks at his claws in a mirror 9 years later and they look worse. The voice actor–Stefan Kapicic–also played Colossus very simply as a moralistic, well-meaning schmuck, not like the X-Man who courageously left the X-Men to care for his foe Magneto.³ And the only other X-Man is a female version of Nitro⁴ with the name of Negasonic Teenage Warhead. Brianna Hildebrand does a good job with NTW, but with literally over 150 combined members of the X-Men, X-Force, X-Terminators, X-Factor, Excalibur, Generation X, and Young X-Men this movie goes off the board with not an X-Man?! They do have a nice joke about being unable to afford more than two, and that is what saves it. Lastly, the villain was just okay and it was another damn origin story. It is a hilarious, yet flawed, awesome movie. Do not bother staying for the post-credits sequence unless you love Ferris Bueller.

 

¹ The Age of Apocalypse was my favorite crossover storyline ever. X-Universe #2 is one of my favorite comics of all-time, particularly when Rogue saves Magneto (and not Gambit) after Gambit sacrifices himself to save Rogue. I have literally cried reading it before. That was what I hoped for in the upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse, but that is not what I will get. Imagine the opening part of X-Men: Days of Future Past, but for the majority of the movie. Hopefully the real movie is still good. Oh, and Deadpool is “Dead Man Wade”, a comedy-free enslaved assassin in that world.

² Cable is the alternate timeline child of Cyclops and Phoenix (Jean Grey). He is part viral machine and has telepathic/kinetic power on the level of his mother and Professor X. He is destined to stop Apocalypse.

³ I am oversimplifying, and I am conflating a couple things, but in the Fatal Attractions story arc Colossus’ little sister has died from a Mutant killing virus and Magneto has decided to leave Earth. As Mutants the X-Men are all invited to live on the orbital asteroid Avalon, with/under Magneto. Colossus shockingly consents. But he does not stop the X-Men from sneaking into Magneto’s chamber for a final showdown where Professor X mind wipes, or cerebrally assassinates, Magneto. But not before Magneto disgusted with Wolverine’s folly and nuisance, rips all of the adamantium out of Wolverine’s body, leaving him a bloody mess whose healing factor seems unable to repair damage. That Colossus is an interesting character with shades of gray.

4 Nitro is a villain whose power is to explode and then not be dead. In the upcoming Captain America: Civil War (aka Avengers 4) Ultron’s attack on Sokovia coming from Tony Stark’s creation of Ultron leads to the Superhuman Registration Act (which is reminiscent of the Mutant Registration Act from X-Men: Days of Future Past and X-Men the movie). In the comics it comes from superheroes fighting Nitro and him exploding next to a school bus, killing 60 kids. If they all tie in, somehow, then I am back on board with Negasonic Teenage Warhead.