A Scattered, Emotionally Weak, Yet Funny and Spectacular Sequel to the 2016 Superhero Hit
Deadpool’s (Ryan Reynolds) latest mercenary operation leads to tragedy, but Deadpool himself survives thanks to his regenerative abilities. The mercenary recovers at the X-Men mansion, where Colossus once again tries to recruit him into his team. Through this, Deadpool meets the teenage mutant Russell (Julian Dennison) and ends up in prison with him for a public murder. Meanwhile, the cyborg super-soldier Cable (Josh Brolin) travels from the future to our time, wanting to kill Russell and willing to do anything to complete his mission.
Cable’s real name is Nathan Summers. His father is Scott Summers, the superhero Cyclops from the “X-Men” series.
Two years ago, the superhero action-comedy for adults, “Deadpool,” shattered the global box office and became the most successful R-rated film in history. Now we have a sequel with more action, more jokes, and many more characters. But did “Deadpool 2” benefit from the increased scale?
Unfortunately, no. The relative limitations of the first film made it focused, entirely centered on Deadpool’s love for Vanessa and his feud with the supervillain Ajax. This allowed enough time to be devoted to both storylines so that the audience would root for the main character in the climax, despite the abundance of cynical postmodern irony in the film. It’s hard to make the public sympathize with an indestructible superman who knows he lives in a Hollywood action movie and often jokes about it. However, “Deadpool” succeeded, and the film became a super hit.
In the comics, Domino’s luck is “scientifically” explained as a subconscious ability of telekinesis. The heroine, without realizing it, changes the world in her favor.
The Problem with Too Much
“Deadpool 2” tries to repeat the trick of its predecessor with a much more complex plot, in which there are three (or even four) key villains alone. But the film turned out too scattered for its passions to break through the shell of mockery. The film wants us to root for Deadpool, for Russell, for Cable, for Colossus, for the super-lucky mercenary Domino, who becomes the main character’s sidekick… You need to be a true comic book fan to feel all these emotional lines, which are mainly outlined with a stamped dotted line. The film often tells, rather than shows, and that’s not enough. In the end, you only root for Deadpool and Vanessa, because their love was convincing in the first film, and it remained convincing in the sequel.