Deadpool 2 film review: Dead funny sequel for masked Marvel clown
MARVEL breaks the curse of the comedy sequel with a second adventure for Ryan Reynolds’ wisecracking, mutant mercenary Deadpool. Once again the black sheep of the X-Men franchise sends up and celebrates the superhero movie with a riot of in-jokes, foul language, over-the-top violence and tirades to camera.
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It is relentless, occasionally exhausting but frequently hilarious.
Among all the mayhem a very familiar plot begins to present itself.
Cable (Josh Brolin) is a time-travelling, robotic-armed super-soldier who arrives from a post-apocalyptic future to assassinate a 14-year-old mutant (Julian Dennison) before he can grow up to become the fire-spewing psychopath who will kill his wife and child.
As Deadpool points out, this makes Cable into Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator with a tragic backstory and fewer circuit boards.
“You’re an annoying clown dressed as a sex doll,”
Cable fires back, nailing Deadpool’s role as the court jester in a genre that is starting to take itself a little too seriously.
But Deadpool has pledged to protect the boy so he and Cable must trade blows as well as insults.
Deadpool may be a trained assassin with super-regenerative powers but he is no match for Cable’s hi-tech weaponry.
First he makes a disastrous attempt to establish the “X-Force”, a rival team of mutants with a gender-neutral name.
Then he teams up with Domino (Zazie Beetz) whose special power is a constant stream of good luck.
This isn’t the most cinematic of superpowers but John Wick director David Leith puts it to good use in a slick action scene where they fight Cable on the back of a speeding lorry.
But what really impresses is the way the film balances action and humour with genuine emotion.
Deadpool 2 is a true marvel.