I guess I'll start with this: it's funny. Yeah, a little simplistic, but hey, it's been hot out and I think my brain melted a little. Of course, it's only funny for those who like Deadpool's sense of humor. And seriously, Deadpool doesn't shut up. Ever. He's the kind of person I wish I could be, coming up with the wiseass remarks and burns in the moment (instead, I'm the person whose tongue trips over itself -- this is why I prefer writing to speaking, I can go back and fix things).
Now, I know there are people out there who say it's pretty much just a rehash of the first movie. But what do you expect from a specific brand of humor? All those sitcoms on TV? Yeah, same kind of humor over and over again. That doesn't make those shows any less funny for people who love that kind of thing (I mean, how many seasons of Seinfeld were there?). Same with Deadpool -- if you loved the humor in the first movie, you'll love it in the second. And if you complain about it being repetitive, you didn't really love it in the first movie and you can go suck a lemon because you're clearly not the target audience.
Deadpool's humor is of course the biggest draw, but like with the first movie, there's still a solid story arc. Mind you, I was a bit shocked that Vanessa died in the first five minutes, though it worked (and well, nothing that couldn't be fixed in the end credits with Cable's little time gadget -- heh). After losing Vanessa, Deadpool needs to find something else to live for, and while he's pretty selfish at the beginning, he eventually makes it his goal to save Russell, a kid who could destroy much of the world if he accomplishes a single act. He even sacrifices his own life to save Russell from turning into the monster that Cable claims he'll become.
Speaking of Cable, I loved his arc (and when Deadpool called him Thanos -- lol). At first, he's the big bad. But you see he's not really bad -- he's trying to save his family. He's simply a hero that's at odds with another hero (and I use the term hero loosely, since we all know Deadpool is the biggest anti-hero, ever). You can see the logic and good intentions behind his acts, even if he is trying to kill a kid. And in the end, he actually sacrifices being able to see his family again to save Deadpool. Of course, the teddy bear he carries turns from charred and bloody to clean and shiny, so he knows his family has been saved. And it was great how after he turned back time, he still aimed to shoot at the kid and have Deadpool take the bullet. So the outcome would be the same. But this time, the skee ball token stopped the bullet since Cable had clearly given it back to Deadpool.
Even with all the humor, the story arc was pretty serious, and this created a great balance.
My biggest qualm was the short screen time for Juggernaut, and his subsequent quick death. My biggest exposure to Juggernaut was with that old 90s X-Men cartoon. And I loved the conflict of Juggernaut with his brother, Professor X. Now, the relationship was hinted at in Deadpool 2, but by killing Juggernaut off, that squashes the possibility of him showing up in an X-Men movie (since the universes have been established as connected). It's one of those instances that I hope dead doesn't stay dead. It would have been awesome to have an Easter Egg at the end with Juggernaut emerging from the pool, as if he was just knocked out instead of killed. Dead isn't always dead, right? Not in a comic book! I can hope.
Oh, also Domino = love! I can't wait to see more of her. That power of hers is pretty awesome, and I always got to love strong women who don't take shit from anyone (including Deadpool). The rest of the X-Force dying was hilarious, too. Especially since the previews were a red herring and made you think they were all in the fight. Super glad they picked Domino as the survivor, though.
I'm sure when I watch Deadpool 2 again, I'll find a few more things that I like, and other things that bother me, but I think this first viewing I was laughing too often to notice many of the negatives. I mean, that's why I went, to laugh. Mission accomplished.
And I can't wait to hear what's next for all of these characters. Even if we don't get Deadpool 3, I'm sure he'd work well in an ensemble X-Force movie!
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