With "Deadpool" being a box office smash hit, it was no question that Fox wanted to green-light a sequel as fast as possible with a bigger budget that will complement the more zany nature of the comics and character. Although the sequel managed to make around the same amount as the original in the box office, the response from fans and critics was a bit more divisive in regards to if the sequel was an improvement or a downgrade. The story does lean towards the latter in ways. As Wade Wilson continues to be a hired mercenary, his fiancee, Vanessa, tragically dies after he fails to kill a target earlier in the day. Going though a heavy depression, Wade is forced to work with the X-Men in an attempt to turn a new leaf and find a way to heaven. His calling is found when he meets a young mutant named Russell and tries to help the kid before he gets to kill an abusive headmaster as well as protecting him from a vengeful cyborg from the future named Cable. While the story does indeed get bigger and crazier thanks to the increased budget and various new characters, the choice to kill off Vanessa and the focus on Wade trying to help Russell tends to leave audiences in a bit of a sour taste in their mouth. Vanessa's death feels practically unnecessary as they could have revealed her mutant status, while the plotline surrounding Russell feels a bit lacking as Wade and Russell didn't really show a strong bond and it would have been far more satisfying to just have the plot be about Wade stopping a notable villain from the comics or something. Regardless of the story direction, the tone and humour has actually managed to improve. Since the film isn't bogged down by the typical origin story and flashbacks, it allows the tone to be far more over-the-top and the humour to be plentiful throughout with the same vulgar, fourth-wall breaking and meta jokes the first film is beloved for. Not every joke or dramatic moment lands of course, but it still delivers on all fronts effectively, perhaps even a bit more than the first film.
The characters are also divisive in a way in regards to their representation or usage throughout the film. Starting with the positives, Reynolds as Wade/Deadpool still knocks it out of the park as he goes all in on the goofiness of the character. While some may feel that it's not as natural or balanced compared to his first outing, I think it makes sense in regards to the passage of time and how Wade has gotten use to his powers and zany nature. Julian Dennison as Russell/Firefist is a nice addition regardless of the lack of chemistry he shares with Wade. Dennison is just having a blast in being a wannabe punk and gangster who wants to take his rivals down. Stefan Kapicic as Colossus is great as usual for the polite giant chrome mutant who is beginning to lose patience and tolerance for Wade's violent ways. Zazie Beetz is wonderful as Domino, the mutant with luck on her side who knows how to counter the cynical Deadpool. Reynolds also voices a more comic-accurate and meat-headed Juggernaut who steals the final act of the film in regards to the surprise appearance. The returning comic relief such as T.J Miller's Weasel, Leslie Uggams's Blind Al, Karan Soni's Dopinder, and Brianna Hildebrand's Negasonic Teenage Warhead are also as good as before with Soni's Dopinder managing to have some of the funniest moments of the film. Despite a large portion of the cast and characters being enjoyable, there are also some mediocre characters involved. Of course, there's the aforementioned Vanessa, played by Morena Baccarin, who gets killed and appears as a spirit in the afterlife. Josh Brolin as Cable does do his best in regards to the performance and the humour, but the personality and depth of the character is practically removed and the chemistry between him and Wade is extremely minimal and forced. The character could have been far more benefitted if the story was centred more around him and Wade. Jack Kesy as Black Tom Cassidy was a pointless addition as he was supposed to be the original antagonist before budget concerns were addressed, so he's just used as a race joke. The abusive headmaster played by Eddie Marsan is pretty one-note and generic evil with no real personality to him. Aside from Juggernaut, the villains are pretty weak because of the narrative decisions the sequel offers. Shiori Kutsana as Yukio is just there to serve as NTW's girlfriend with a bubbly personality and barely shows up during the film. The last group of characters to address are the X-Force members assembled by Wade including Terry Crew's Bedlam, Brad Pitt's Vanisher, Lewis Tan as Shatterstar, Bill Skarsgard as Zeitgiest, and Rob Delaney as Peter. Despite the charisma and bizarre nature of the characters and performances, they are only used to be essentially killed off as a joke during the second act. While the joke itself is actually pretty funny in the film, it's a bit disappointing that the characters might never show up in a future X-Force film or even just share more screen-time in the film in general. Overall, there's a fair share of enjoyable and likeable characters, but the antagonists and side characters are fairly one-note or just underutilize throughout the film, something that the first film did far better due to the smaller cast.
Tim Miller didn't return due to creative differences in the approach for the sequel, so David Leitch replaces him and offers a new direction for the franchise. Because of the $110 million dollar budget along with the various comic elements used throughout, Leitch has the sequel to be far more vivid in the aesthetic and colour department than ever before. The first film always carried this industrial, grey look that works with the small-scale nature of the story and characters. The sequel has a more varied colour palette that reflects in the various scenes, set-pieces and locations. Much like the first film, the interior locales are well-designed and characterized such as Wade's apartment, the Ice Box, the Essex Mutant Re-education centre, etc. The cinematography by Micheal Sela manages to improve over Ken Seng's work as he tries to incorporate long takes and shots in various set-pieces, while also utilizing the slow-motion, close-ups, wide shots and sense of enclosement that Seng mastered in the first film. What's not an improvement is Tyler Bates's score. While Junkie XL's offerings were standard as the action sequences used a lot of synthesizers that get old real fast, I can't recall anything Bates composed for the film, aside from the softer, instrumental themes from the original song Celine Dion provided, "Ashes", as well as Juggernaut's menacing choir theme. Speaking of the songs, the licensed soundtrack is just overwhelming with memorable hits in both the theatrical and extended cuts. The extended cut does have some questionable changes to the music beats in certain action sequences, but both versions of the film offer great tracks from the pop genre such as "9 to 5", "All Out of Love", "We Belong", etc. The visual effects are good yet again with Colossus and Juggernaut and the action visuals being the highlights, even if it's fairly standard given the average budget. The action sequences go for a more stylized approach with the violence and set-pieces rather than the grittier beatdowns and shootouts from the first. Every sequence has a grand, comic-book esque feel to it. From the montage of Deadpool killing various gangsters (the extended cut offers a fantastic one-track, wrap-around shot in the Japan scene that should have been in the theatrical version) to the quick apartment ambush, Cable's attack in the Ice Box, the convoy hijack, and the final showdown with Juggernaut and the orderlies. The action is not much of an improvement, rather than a spectacle in ways. As much as I do wish and wonder what Miller's film would have been like, Leitch did a great job in covering the sequel and giving it a distinct flair compared to the first film.
"Deadpool 2" is a weaker, yet, effective follow-up from the first film. The flaws include the questionable narrative decisions with Vanessa, the lack of chemistry given to Wade, Russell, and Brolin, the antagonists, aside from Juggernaut, are really one-note and boring due to the frantic narrative, some side characters feel pointless or underused in their inclusion, and the score by Bates is fairly forgettable aside from a few original songs. Despite these problems, the sequel does actually offer not only positives akin to the first, but even some improvements. The story does feel like an escalation for stakes and world-building despite how messy it is, the tone and humour gets far more moments to shine because of said narrative, the returning cast of characters are just as great as before with Reynolds, Soni and Kapicic working off with the lead so naturally, the newcomers of Russell, Domino and Juggernaut are great additions in regards to the performances and their usage during the film, Brolin still offers an awesome performance for the otherwise underdeveloped Cable, Sela's cinematography only improves from Seng by having tracking shots, the licensed soundtrack offers excellent songs throughout both cuts of the film, the action sequences have a larger scale and sense of style with some memorable highlights, and Leitch's directing has a distinct approach in regards to the aesthetic and feel to the film in contrast to Miller's directorial debut. Overall, I can see how some might see this as a downgrade, but I can also see some saying it's better. Regardless, both films are a blast to watch, though the first one just feels more tight and contained compared to the sequel's bloated comic-book nature.
Verdict: 7/10. Good sequel, but probably needed more time in the writing department rather than a two-year write-up. Still funny and entertaining regardless if being compared to the first film.
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