This movie has a slick aesthetic and a stock plot. The sleek visual style is definitely the draw here, but the story is good enough to keep the audience’s attention through to the end.
Closest comparison: It’s like The Untouchables by way of La La Land, without the singing.
Setting: Crime
Plot: Action
Tone: Adventure
This movie is a paragon of adaptation, sticking incredibly closely to the source material and making only the changes necessary to deliver the same emotional beats on the big screen. It is the masterpiece Denis Villeneuve was born to film, making his previous work look like practice by comparison. The few parts I didn’t like or made me uncomfortable were taken directly from the book, which made me feel the same way reading them and instead of being drawbacks only serve to make the film a better adaptation. And it manages to convey convoluted political intrigue with ease, due in no small part to the outstanding acting, which is second only perhaps to the cinematography.
Closest comparison: It’s like Blade Runner by way of Ad Astra.
Setting: Sci-Fi
Plot: Political Intrigue
Tone: Arthouse Drama
This is another one of those ‘80s kids-on-bikes movies, but this one doesn’t hold up well to its reputation. Most of the main characters are grating, the adventure is resolved mostly by luck, and the comedy is too looney tunes to compliment the otherwise straight-faced tone. Sloth is meant to be funny, but just comes across as making fun of the mentally handicapped, and the pirate captain’s name is a dick joke but always said without a hint of humor. We never even find out anything about the Goonies: what ‘Goonies’ means, which characters are Goonies, or why it seems to matter so much to them. The adventure parts are decently executed for the most part, but the rest of the movie is just mildly irritating.
Closest comparison: It’s like The Sandlot (1993) by way of Hudson Hawk.
Setting: Kids On Bikes
Plot: Adventure
Tone: Action Drama / Screwball Comedy
This PG-13 re-cut version of Deadpool 2 does a great job of removing (most of) the blood and language. Framing the story in a ‘Princess Bride’ storytelling setting works brilliantly, allowing them to cut around the R-rated bits and throw in new footage and jokes where needed. There are several new scenes that work well, including a Stan Lee post-credits tribute, though if you’re not familiar with The Princess Bride those jokes may be underwhelming. The original cut of Deadpool 2 was slightly better, just because the timing and filming of the scenes was designed for it, but this is a better introduction to the character if you shied away from the other films for content reasons. It’s still irreverent and crass, but toned down considerably.
The self-aware crassest superhero delivers again on everything we expect. If crass humor and ultraviolence don't bother you then you'll have a blast with this film. It's just about as good as the first one and in my opinion better in several regards, like better action scenes and more flushed out treatment of the villain(s). Surprisingly good performances where you least expect them with a few dashes of cameos for the fans. But you already knew whether you were going to see it before you read this.
This film has all the great cross-over action scenes we've been waiting for. Each character gets a time to shine and dialogue that fits them well. If you haven't seen all of the other movies leading up to this I think most of it will still make perfect sense, but you'll miss some quips and inside jokes. Also, be aware that while this film is mostly fun there are some much darker moments, including a torture scene. All in all, though, the film is certainly worth the hype.
Denis Villeneuve (the director) has a tendency to just let his movies trail off, which I don't particularly appreciate but which works better in this film than in his others. The acting is precise, the cinematography as always is beautiful, and the tense traffic jam scene is fantastic. While the story is engaging I find myself wanting more of a take-away than this film provides, especially with the themes it deals with. Some of the characters' motifcations were more said than acted, which I would have liked to have seen done better. All in all, though, I understand why this was so well received initially, and I recommend it to people who like modern police thrillers (and can handle seeing some cut-up bodies).
