<Review by: Daylynn DeSouza>

Directed by David Leitch. Starring Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Morena Baccarin, Julian Dennison, Zazie Beetz, TJ Miller, Briana Hilderbrand, Karan Soni, Leslie Uggams, Eddie Marsan, Bill Skarsgard, Rob Delaney

Running time: 2 hours

There’s no shortage of comic book movies coming out this year, but there might as well have been because Deadpool 2 definitely kicks the shit out of all but one of them (Avengers: Infinity War). ‘Why is that?’ I hear you ask. Now that I’ve managed to sneak in the obligatory 4th Wall Break in this review and plagiarise my review of the first movie with some #LazyWriting – something that I’ll continue to do throughout the rest of this review – let’s find out.

This movie is everything the first one was and more. More 4th Wall Breaks, more X-People, more Dopinder, more double entendres, more cameos, more mutants, more emotion and more brilliant marketing, including Ryan Reynolds in a unicorn mask singing ‘Tomorrow’ from Annie on a South Korean TV show called ‘King of Masked Singer’. There’s a teaser trailer that has Deadpool do a painting like Bob Ross, a music video with Celin Dion and a funny one with David Bekham. And some really brilliant posters including one that is inspired by the ‘The Creation of Adam’ by ‘Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni’, which is quite apt since this movie is a real work of art.

The first Deadpool movie was a ‘romantic’ movie, this one is a ‘family’ movie that focuses on Deadpool trying to save a young boy named Russel (Julian Dennison) from being murdered by Cable (Josh Brolin). The need to belong somewhere, the pain of wanting something so bad and not being able to attain it and the struggles of being a parent are all topics this movie covers. I was not expecting to get misty-eyed during this movie but I did, as did many others in the theatre. And, from what I’ve read online so did Rob Liefeld, the creator of Deadpool.

“I cried at the end of Deadpool 2. Part was the nostalgia of the particular track blasting but mostly the emotion that they had landed the plane in such spectacular fashion. The plane is the movie in this analogy, there is no important plane landing sequence I’m referencing.” – Rob Liefeld (https://twitter.com/robertliefeld/status/994935439386595331)

The movie also manages to explore Deadpool’s relationship with death beautifully. Something that’s been done in the comics a lot, to the point where he and Thanos get into an argument over who is best suited for her (Death is an actual entity in the comics and both Deadpool and Thanos want her). It’s simply astounding how this movie has managed to balance out action, comedy, violence, heart and emotion; hopefully we see more like it from future FOX endeavours. One character that was finally introduced that is sure to be a fan favourite is Domino (Zazie Beetz) who’s mutant ability is ‘Luck’. She can basically manipulate the odds to work out in her favour. It’s possibly one of the coolest things to watch in the movie. Oh, and Dealpool kills bad people with a chainsaw at one point in the movie. It’s very stylistic, as people simultaneously move in slow motion and real time in that scene.

Also, thankfully, since this is a movie made by adults for adults it actually has a soundtrack with songs we’ve actually heard off and Dubstep! (I love Dubstep). Much like Guardians of the Galaxy, but better because there’s no kids in the theatre asking you who sang the damn thing. The movie also manages to poke fun at a slew of things including Ryan Reynolds himself and his stint as The Green Lantern, The other X-Men movies, X-Men Origins: Wolverine and it’s Butchering of the Deadpool character, Logan, Hugh Jackman, the DC Extended Universe, Batman, Winter Soldier, The Marvel Cinematic Universe, the budget of the movie itself, CGI, The Karate Kid and Superheroes. Like the first one, this movie is also crammed full of Easter Eggs and references, It’s definitely worth a watch or seven.#LazyWriting

There are plenty of reasons to watch this movie including multiple 4th Wall breaks, supporting characters like Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), Blind Al (Leslie Uggams), Weasel (T.J. Miller), Colossus (Stefan Kapičić ), Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) and her Girlfriend Yukio (Shioli Kutsuna), Dopinder (Karan Soni) and Peter (Rob Delaney), but the best reason of all would be that it’s in 2D because it actually had a good plot and didn’t need a cheap gimmick like 3D, which is the intellectual equivalent of walking into a dark room, rubbing your eyes really hard and then opening them so you see spots. I guarantee that nobody will leave the theatre disappointed after watching this movie. And, if you do… then you’re dead inside, nobody can help you, and you will die alone. #LazyWriting

Seriously, it’s surpassed all my expectations. I was afraid it wouldn’t live up to the first one, but it did.