Deadpool (2016)

[Gaith]

Caught the very first Redbox blu rental! And... it's fine. I enjoyed it. But Mutant Wade wasn't bad-looking at all, with barely a hint of asymmetry on his face, so his fretting over his hideousness was pretty damn weak. I was sure the movie would end with Vanessa chewing him out for being a moron, and not knowing a thing about her/women in general, and how put off they'd (not) be by his new visage, so I was annoyed when she didn't:

Compare to (to take but one example):




Kudos to Reynolds to sticking with the project for a whole decade; he earned his success. But the sequel had damn well better be much more innovative in content as well as style, because while I did enjoy the flick, I was left wishing we'd gotten a Negasonic Teenage Warhead outing instead.

Grade: B-

 

[Gaith]

Deadpool 2
The start felt messy and unfocused but once the plot kicks into gear (when the "antagonist" arrives and instantly begins to drive the plot) it's firing on all cylinders 'til the end. With the doubled budget there is much more focus on fun OTT action sequences and less on the crazy humour of the first film. Way less subversive and more risk adverse than the first, now everybody is in on (and wants in on) the joke. However, there are a few comedy sequences/ideas that are hilarious inventive and unexpected. It's a blast and much better than I was expecting.

Best bit for me (and super spoiler):

Reveal message

Almost the entire X-Force dying in horrible and funny ways mere minutes after the super-team recruiting montage trope.

As one who wasn't too impressed with the first, I also totally enjoyed the movie, which I saw at a theater in Delhi, India, in English with English subtitles. (They also silenced the "melonfarmer" swear, and somewhat clumsily added a 15-minute commercial-filled intermission halfway through.) Despite its many mediocre entries (I'm not even a big fan of Logan), I really love the X-film series, and hope it continues apart from the MCU, and that Dark Phoenix gives the new Class the excellent showcase denied them in the decent but misguided Apocalypse.

I'm not a comics reader, but there was a tangible energy to this movie, much like Ragnarok, that felt like the superhero movie genre going go-for-broke bananas in a way just about all other such flicks are too self-serious to try. I love the MCU, for instance, but even their lighter and jokier movies such as Ant-Man the Guardians Volumes are mostly structured and directed in the style of classic/traditional adventure films. Ragnarok and Deadpool 2, OTOH, move so fast and go in so many wild directions that they feel genuinely fresh and different. And, maybe that's the ideal way for the X-series to differentiate itself from the MCU going forward. Of course, what with DP2 leading into X-Force, it's easy to picture the First Class bunch being left behind...

Deadpool 2: B+

 

[ThrowgnCpr]

I loved the sequel, probably more than the first movie. It was fun.

 

[Gaith]

This was so professionally and well done that, despite the opening disclaimer, I really thought it might be a Fox-sponsored home media viral gimmick and not a fan film. Very impressive work:

 

[hbenthow]

First Captain Kirk, now Captain America. Which Captain will Vic Mignogna play next?

 

[Zarius]

 

[TM2YC]

I'm on board for 'The Princess Bride' framing device but it seems a missed opportunity not to have made this full PG.