This movie is another out-of-the-park non-stop action extravaganza from David Leitch. There are as many surprises and turnarounds as there are plot elements, and everything is used and reintroduced in surprising and inventive ways. The violence is rampant and often funny, but always well choreographed and flawlessly filmed.
Content warning: bloody action
Closest comparison: It’s like Snatch by way of Deadpool 2.
Setting: Thriller
Plot: Action
Tone: Action
This show takes the Spider-Man high school drama, combines it with a broader Avengers-style narrative, and wraps it all up in the gore that is much more realistic to the physics at work. The story isn’t as clever as it thinks it is, but it keeps the audience sufficiently curious and pays it off decently well in the end. It certainly lags in the middle and a few of the main side characters are insufferable, but they’re not a big enough part to ruin it completely. If you can stomach the extreme gore, it’s a fascinating watch.
Content warning: extreme violence, extreme blood, extreme gore
Closest comparison: It’s like Spider-Man by way of Kick-Ass with a Dexter (2006) plot woven in.
Setting: Marvel-Adjacent Super Heroes
Plot: Super Hero Origin
Tone: Brutal Action
This movie is equal parts depressing, energizing, and consistently though mildly intense. The acting and cinematography are excellent and constitute almost the entire reason so see the movie, but the writing, while not bad, isn’t great. It’s slow but not especially thoughtful, it’s sad but not particularly meaningful, it’s a villain’s origin story without a big sendoff ending (though it certainly does crescendo). Fans of the other renditions of the Joker will be disappointed that this version doesn’t seem to be having any fun, and fans of Batman won’t be rewarded with the tie-in they’re looking for. It’s explicitly apolitical, but like Black Panther leaves room for everyone to read into it what they want. Ultimately, it reads like an honest look at depressed mentally ill man, and as such it’s pretty good.
Content warning: mental illness, child abuse
Closest comparison: It’s like Inside Llewyn Davis crossed with 8 Mile to make a villain origin story with the pacing and tone of Ad Astra.
Setting: Family Tragedy
Plot: Decent into Madness
Tone: Arthouse Tragedy
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.
