You’re so dark. Are you sure you’re not from the DC Universe?
It seems that the prevailing narrative about this movie is that it’s a bit better than the first one. I really have to disagree with that; I think this one is a fair bit weaker than the first one. That’s not to say that this movie is bad. It’s still actually quite good and very entertaining. But something of the pure anarchy of the first film seems a little sanded down and it’s a bit less interested in doing what the first movie did, which was burn everything to the ground, and more interested in replicating what the first movie actually did. The credits sequence is a great example. I don’t get a kick out of silly credit sequences. I loved the wacky credits in the first movie because it was unexpected and crazy and totally new; doing that again is . . . kind of pointless, unless the jokes are really good and they kind of aren’t this time. And for all the talk of David Leitch bringing a new, better vision to the fights, I didn’t really feel that either. There’s nothing here, honestly, that matches the sheer nuttiness of the bridge fight in the first movie, otherwise known as the longest action sequence in history. It’s a pure deconstruction of action movie fight scenes whereas the fights here don’t even feel particularly good. But the cast is game for absolutely anything and that counts for a lot. Reynolds has a smaller emotional range here than in the first film, but Deadpool still feels like the character he was born to play. Josh Brolin is phenomenal as Cable; he’s got a great deadpan, really good chemistry with Reynolds and, believe it or not, some actual pathos. It’s great fun to see Julian Dennison from Hunt for the Wilderpeople in a substantial role as one of the most unlikely supervillains you’ve ever seen; by the end, he’s actually pretty scary. Zazie Beetz is phenomenal as Domino and the movie gets a lot of great mileage out of her super-power being luck. The best action sequences involve her and the weird way that luck manifests itself. Brianna Hildebrand is back, but unfortunately underused, as Negasonic Teenage Warhead. The rest of the supporting cast, to an individual, makes the most of even the small parts. So, it is a funny movie without question, if a little less funny than the first film and with a couple of kind of extended bits that don’t work, particularly a very weird cameo appearance by Matt Damon & Alan Tudyk. And, while the action isn’t exactly stunning, there are a couple of really good scenes: a lengthy car chase and a witty fight between Domino and a group of thugs. If the first Deadpool was a masterpiece, spoiler: it was, then this movie is a bit more run-of-the-mill: a solid, very funny & irreverent super-hero movie/spoof. The first Deadpool wasn’t perfect, but I still gave it four stars. This one doesn’t get up there, but, as sequels go, it is what it is. 3 stars.
tl;dr – sequel is a lesser film in most ways than the first film, but it’s still extremely entertaining and the ensemble cast is brilliant across the board; a bit studied, but a lot of fun regardless. 3 stars.