Deadpool 2

The happily profane superhero party continues with Deadpool 2, a sequel that brings the anarchic spirit of the original without necessarily blazing any new trails. Ryan Reynolds, who has experienced a career explosion thanks to this franchise—and, of course, his undeniable talents—continues to break the fourth wall, Ferris Bueller style. While the gimmick definitely leads to some good laughs, it does get to a point that feels a little too cute and repetitive. He winks at the audience so much, he must have some severe eyelid muscle strains. He’s gonna have an eyeball pop out. The film starts with Deadpool dejectedly blowing himself up, complete with a severed arm giving the finger. Then it goes into flashback mode as Wade Wilson cleverly and smarmily tells us why he did such a thing. We also get a repeat of the “Wiseass Opening Credits” gag that got the original off to such a good start. This time, instead of Juice Newton’s “Angel of the Morning,” the credits roll to a brand new ballad from Celine Dion, so the stakes have definitely been raised. Directed by David Leitch, one of the guys who directed John Wick, the film definitely ups the ante on the action front, with gun and swordfights that have some major zip to them. Josh Brolin joins the fray as the time-traveling Cable, another multi-layered bad guy for Brolin’s resume (alongside his brilliant Thanos). It’s not as good as the first one, but it’s still good.