www.sapphiremeraldmagazine.com
By: Kofi Poku
1).
2016’sDeadpool was a project that Fox wasn’t keen on.It spent years in development hell. A leaked two-minute scene from test footage was warmly received by fans which led to the film being greenlit.
Deadpool was a surprise hit, making over $700 million during its box office run. Fox quickly greenlit a sequel after the success of the first film.
2).
Though it has double the production budget and a longer runtime, Deadpool 2 fails to be as fresh as its predecessor. The movie tries too hard to recapture what made original film so special and is forgettable because of that.
What set Deadpool apart from other superhero franchises was its edgy humor and hyper-violent action scenes.
The action in Deadpool 2 is over-the
-top but not creative. It’s not organic. It’s as if
the action set pieces were created before the story and then the story was built around them. This is most
apparent during the X-force prison transfer convoy action sequence that occurs near the end of the
second act.
In the opening of the film, Wade takes on dozens of men at once during his mercenary mission. Later in
the film, he creates a team to take on a similar task. He has no reason to do this other than to have the
comedic sequence that follows the formation of the team. There should be a logic to comedy in a film. It
ought to come from the characters and how they interact with each other. Without real character emotion
fueling action sequences, they come off as artificial.
Much of the humor is derivative, relying on references to the original film. There is a scene where Wade
says he’s going to do a superhero landing before he does one. It’s the same setup and punchline from the
original film. Pointing out the impractical but visually appealing superhero landing is funny the first time,
but not the second. Breaking the fourth wall is a trademark of the Deadpool character but it is grating in
this film. It’s used to explain away bad story elements. Pointing out an ineffective storytelling mechanic
doesn’t suddenly make it good.
The film begins an opening scene that spoils the ending of 2017’s Logan. Wade Wilson says he
wants to die because of what’s happened to him. The film flashes back to who Wilson continuing
his work as a mercenary after the events of the first film. He kills several men in highly violent
scenes before returning home to the love of his life, Vanessa. His lifestyle catches up to him
leading to tragedy. The tragedy hits Wade so hard that he tries to commit suicide by blowing
himself up. He survives his attempt and recovers at the X-mansion. Colossus recruits Wade to be an X-
man. He, along with Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead, try to deescalate an incident at a mutant
orphanage between Rusty Collins and the authorities.