Deadpool 2

One of the new century’s best comic-book movies, Deadpool 2 follows Ryan Reynolds’ title character as he’s forced to battle a villainous figure from the future known only as Cable (Josh Brolin). Deadpool 2, much like its entertaining predecessor, boasts an absolutely enthralling (and frequently hilarious) opening stretch that’s heightened by Reynolds’ almost impossibly charismatic performance, and it’s clear, too, that the movie benefits substantially from the extremely-welcome decision not to attempt to outdo the original in terms of action or stakes (ie the movie doesn’t climax with a larger-than-life and hopelessly tedious CGI battle to save the planet). Reynolds’ strong work is matched by an engaging supporting cast that includes Zazie Beetz, Eddie Marsan, and T.J. Miller (and a host of fun cameo appearances), and yet Brolin’s impressively layered turn as the far-from-generic bad guy ultimately stands as the movie’s most unexpectedly engrossing attribute. Filmmaker David Leitch does a superb job of peppering the well-paced narrative with exciting action sequences (eg a mid-movie chase involving an enormous truck), while the picture’s perpetually irreverent atmosphere, rife with amusing winks and nods at the viewer, remains an ongoing pleasure and paves the way for the most rewarding mid-end-credits sequence in ages. And although the picture’s coda goes on just a little too long, Deadpool 2 nevertheless remains a superior summer blockbuster that, most impressively, never loses the human element that made the first movie so compelling.

***1/2 out of ****