DEADPOOL 2 : Friday 18th May 2018.

'DEADPOOL 2' which I saw hot on the heels of its Australian release on Friday evening in a packed theatre, is based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name who first appeared in the 1991 publication of 'The New Mutants'. Here we have the sequel to the Critically and financially successful 2016 antihero Superhero film 'Deadpool' which off the back of a budget of US$58M grossed worldwide US$783M and collected 28 award wins and another 75 nominations from around the awards circuit. Despite the first films success, plans were already underway for a follow up film even before the release of the initial 'Deadpool' introductory instalment, with 'Deadpool 3' already in development. That first film was Directed by Tim Miller, although he did not return for this segment due to creative differences with Co-Producer, Co-Writer and Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds. Instead David Leitch signed on to Direct (whose previous Directorial outings include 'Atomic Blonde' and the upcoming 2019 'Fast & Furious' spin off 'Hobbs & Shaw'). Although a Marvel Comics character, Deadpool does not belong in the world of The Avengers or the MCU, but rather sits within the 'X-Men' franchise, and as such this is intended to be the eleventh film in that series. The film cost US$110M, and at the time of writing has grossed US$426M, and received positive press.

And so Ryan Reynolds returns as Wade Wilson/Deadpool as the wisecracking potty mouthed physically scarred practically invincible fourth wall breaking mercenary who for the last couple of years, since the end of the first film, has spent his time globetrotting his way around the world killing bad dudes as a one man army. However, one of his key targets gets away, as Deadpool is preoccupied with thoughts of his anniversary with his girlfriend and fiancee Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). That night, having agreed to start a family together, the target who got away tracks down Wilson to his apartment with all guns blazing. In the firefight Vanessa is fatally wounded by the target, who in turn is reduced to mincemeat by an oncoming truck in an act of revenge. Wilson though blames himself for Vanessa's death, and six weeks later blows himself and his apartment to oblivion.

Wilson's body parts are picked up and put back together by Colossus (Stefan Kapicic, returning as the mutant who can transform his body into organic steel) at the X-Mansion (cue various nods to the 'X-Men' film franchise and a blink and you'll miss it cameo appearance by several key X-Men players, and see if you can spot the bust of Stan Lee). Recovering and healing at the stately X-Mansion, Wilson (now a trainee X-Man), Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand, also returning, as the mutant who can detonate atomic bursts from her body), respond to an alert involving the Police authorities and an unstable young teenage mutant Russell Collins, aka Firefist (Julian Dennison, who made his last appearance in 2016's New Zealand feature 'Hunt for the Wilderpeople') who has the ability to violently generate and command fire and flame from his hands.

The standoff is taking place outside an orphanage (aka a Mutant Reeducation Centre) where Russell has been raised and tortured by the Headmaster (Eddie Marsan) and the staff. Russell is threatening revenge for the years of abuse and torture he and the other kids have suffered. Deadpool kills one of the staff, and is then prevented from harming anyone else by Colossus. Wilson and Russell are arrested and fitted with collars which prevent their mutant powers from manifesting themselves, and then locked up in a special mountain prison for mutants, known affectionately as The Icebox. Meanwhile, in a future world, a man returns home to find his house and wife and daughter incinerated.

That man is a time travelling cybernetic mutant soldier named Nathan Summers, aka Cable (Josh Brolin, enjoying his second outing in as many weeks as a Marvel antagonist hot on the heels of his portrayal as Thanos in 'Avengers : Infinity War'). He is out for revenge, for reasons that at this point are unclear to us, by his quarry is young Russell, locked up in the slammer with Wilson. Cable, with all his hi-tech futuristic weaponry and half 'Terminator' style cyborg (which Wilson describes as 'a grumpy old fucker with a Winter Soldier arm') is able to break into the prison with relative ease. Wilson attempts to defend Collins as much as he can with his diminished powers, and ultimately Wilson and Cable blow themselves out of the prison wall sending them cascading down a frozen mountain side. Before hand, Russell overhears Wilson exclaiming that he has no care for the young mutant lad. As Wilson crashes through a frozen lake and sinks to the bottom, he has a vision of Vanessa saying to him to look after the young boy and help him, before dragging himself out of the freezing depths.

With The Icebox semi-destroyed, the authorities have to transport a number of inmates to another facility. Wilson and Weasel (T.J. Miller returning as Wilson's best friend and owner of the bar often frequented by him and other like minded mercenaries) recruit a 'crack' team of other mutants with super powers of some description which he tables as being 'forward thinking and gender neutral' and aptly names the 'X-Force'.

On the new team are Bedlam (Terry Crews who can generate electricity at will), Shatterstar (Lewis Tan, an alien with martial arts skills), Zeitgeist (Bill Skarsgard who has acidic breath), Neena Thurman aka Domino (Zazie Beetz who can manipulate luck), Vanisher (Brad Pitt who is invisible) and Peter aka Peter (Rob Delaney a caring husband and beekeeper who has no superpowers but came along responding to the ad. because he thought it sounded fun and exciting).

The newly formed X-Force mount a daring mission to break Russell out of the prison convoy while preventing Cable from gaining access. They parachute in from a plane, but while coming in to land in gusty conditions, all but Deadpool and Domino are killed in laugh out loud grisly comedic circumstances during their decent or immediately upon landing. Deadpool and Domino mount the truck, chased by Cable who soon makes his way on board.

Immediately a close quarter hand to hand fight breaks out with Domino at the wheel of the now rogue truck and Cable and Deadpool punching, kicking, shooting and stabbing each other out the back. Russell meanwhile is able to break free from his confinement and he sets fellow inmate Cain Marko aka Juggernaut (voiced and acted through MoCap by Ryan Reynolds as a mutant with superhuman strength, durability and healing powers) who agrees to repay the young lad by helping him to kill the abusive Headmaster at the orphanage. Juggernaut destroys the truck hurling them all asunder.

Domino 'luckily' is catapulted into a giant inflatable panda which breaks her fall, Cable winds up under a heap of rubble, and Deadpool is literally ripped in two at the waist by Juggernaut, leaving Russell and his new friend and ally Juggernaut, to escape and make their way to search out the Headmaster. Russell, knowing that he doesn't have a friend in Deadpool having overheard that previous conversation, gives him the two finger salute with the royal fuck you, before existing stage left with his new all powerful best mate.

Being carried home by Domino, back pack style, Wilson is forced to patiently wait for his new legs to grow, which sets up another laugh out loud comedic routine as he sits on the couch with Blind Al (Leslie Uggams) with baby legs setting up a Sharon Stone 'Basic Instinct' moment all of his own. Cable emerges in the room calling a truce to their hostilities and explains why he is hunting down Russell. It seems that in the future, it was the adult Firefist, who killed Cable's wife and daughter by incinerating them in their apartment. Now Cable wants revenge and to kill Russell before his first kill gives him the taste for more, and to prevent him from that merciless future act.

Cable agrees to give Wilson thirty seconds to convince Russell not to kill the Headmaster, otherwise Cable will kill Russell this time. Deadpool, Domino, Colossus, Negasonic Teenage Warhead and her girlfriend Yukio (Shiori Kutsuna, a female ninja, ronin and samurai of Japanese origin who wields a fierce electric whip) arrive to thwart Russell and Juggernaut, but are overpowered by the might of Juggernaut, while Russell begins torching the orphanage and hunting down the Headmaster. During the fracas as Colossus goes head to head and toe to toe with Juggernaut, Cable and Deadpool are given time to try and reason with Russell.

After Deadpool's arguments seem to fail, Cable takes a shot at Russell, but Deadpool jumps in front of the oncoming bullet and takes it for the team. He dies because he has the collar around his neck which diminishes his powers to self heal. Meanwhile, Juggernaut has been dispensed with into a swimming pool, with a sixty thousand volt electricity cable rammed up his arse. Seeing the sacrifice that Deadpool made to save Russell, the young mutant does not kill the Headmaster, so altering the future, so that Cable's family lives.

Cable then uses the last charge he has available to return himself to the future by turning it back in time just a few minutes to the time when they all arrived at the orphanage. Cable surreptitiously places a lead commemorative coin over his heart. That coin had previously belonged to Vanessa which she gave to Wilson on their anniversary night, and which Deadpool had lost to Cable during their fight at The Icebox. This time, when Deadpool takes the bullet intended for Russell, he will be saved by the strategically placed coin. The Headmaster witnesses this and continues to rant and rave abuse at Russell and the gathered X-Force team. Russell is beginning to have a change of heart towards killing the Headmaster, when he is mowed down at speed by Deadpool's good friend, taxi-driver and wannabe Superhero Dopinder (Karan Soni) in his yellow cab. The group leave the scene of devastation, with Cable remaining on as a new recruit to the X-Force. As they do, Juggernaut is seen in the background lifting himself out of the swimming pool.

In true Marvel tradition, there are not one, not two, three or four even but five no less mid-credits sequences. The first sees Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Yukio repair Cable's time-travelling device for Wilson, handing it over and saying that maybe that wasn't such a good idea. He uses it to save the lives of Vanessa and X-Force member Peter; kill the much maligned and misrepresented 'X-Men Origins : Wolverine's' version of Deadpool; and then kill actor Ryan Reynolds while he has just finished reading the script for his 2011 film 'Green Lantern' with the outgoing words 'You're welcome Canada!'

I did enjoy 'Deadpool 2' but not quite as much as the first instalment. Maybe because that first feature was so new and fresh and unlike any Superhero film we had seen before, and this second film treads familiar territory and we know what to expect from the wise arse quick witted invincible Deadpool. That said, this is funny, crass, politically and socially incorrect, graphically violent and there are plenty of cleverly placed dialogue wisecracks that poke nods to numerous other movies that would serve any geek well, including 'RoboCop', 'Yentl', 'Basic Instinct', 'Logan', 'Interview with the Vampire' and references aplenty to other Superhero films in both the MCU and the DCEU. This film belongs naturally to Ryan Reynolds who proves himself again to be a comedic talent and action hero all in one and both Josh Brolin and Julian Dennison who are both cast very well and who both veer off in different directions when you least expect it, proving that the bad guys can turn out good, and the good guys can turn out bad. There is also plenty of other character development too in the form of Domino, Dopinder and even Weasel whose limited screen time is utilised to maximum effect to advance the story plot rather than provide simple window dressing. This is as rapid fire as the first film but with added villains; a better story; some moments of emotion; lots of tongue firmly planted in cheek outrageous humour; and a bucket full of gory bloody violence and dismembered body parts to satisfy all lovers of the genre . . . . and if this isn't for you, then stay away! Josh Brolin has signed on for four films in this franchise, which may include 'Deadpool 3' if it gets made and a planned 'X-Force' spin off series. Watch this space!

This film is worthy of four claps of the clapperboard, out of a possible five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-