Initial Reaction
After two viewings
The Good
• Deadpool himself is as funny as ever. Ryan Reynolds keeps up a fantastic performance and really gives it his all.
• Cable is also really good. Josh Brolin, despite being in many movies this year. Has given a great performance.
• Jokes are really funny when they hit, and they hit hard.
• Secondary characters are also really well done. Some anyway. More on that, below in the spoilers
• It has a true charm to it. Making it more distinct than the first. But not outshining it.
• The action was on point. The director really knows how to capture a great fight scene, and there are plenty here to enjoy and marvel at.
• Villain. This point is actually a fairly good one, but also has spoils. So read below if you really want to know. What I can say is that Ajax is nowhere near as memorable compared to the bad guys here.
• The amount of balls this movie has. It just does things, I would never expect them to do. The first movie gave us shocks at what they could say and show. Now they just go and toy with that to the next level. And I loved it.
The Bad
• Plot. It's not the best. It's also not that simple. The first Deadpool was very straightforward even with the time jumps. Here, it's a bit of a mess. Not to mention it's kind of a rip off of T2. But it acknowledges this at least
• Some jokes don't quite land. They reuse some of the same lines from the first movie, and it feels as if it really is lazy writing. As far as it seems, they are trying to make Deadpool's catchphrases more clear. But to me, it was just annoying.
• The jokes seem to build off the story in this. Whereas the first one felt more improvisational and made it seem like the plot revolved around the humour. Here it just seemed like the comedy was slotted into this action film. But it's not all that bad, just let down the overall tone of the movie.
• CGI is actually pretty bad. It's so distracting, it takes away from the comedy they try to sprinkle over it.
• Wade. He is focused on more than the first. And I just didn't like how they were trying to go about it.
• Along with the focus on Wade, the emotional scenes don't mix that well with the comedy like they did in the first.
Other Things
• You're going to want to stick around for the mid-credit sequences. They are some of the best ever in a Marvel movie, and in movies in general.
• There are two mid-credit scenes (almost back-to-back) and no end-credit scenes.
Spoiler Things
• The X-Force joke is so damn good that I can forgive the lack of build in the team up until the very humorous end. Again such a great ballsy move. Props to the studio.
• The villains in this movie, aren't really present in terms of villains. The first Deadpool had a villain, he had to beat him. Done. This sets it up to be all about Cable, but it actually gives us villains that turn out to be the same as Wade. Which is great for a Deadpool movie to show anti-heroes having a connection with the villains they are fighting.
Conclusion
DP2 is not better than the first. It lacks the simplicity and catchy humour that it had. But, it does grab onto you and takes you on a ride that is not as funny, but is just as enjoyable than the original. I don't see it being as rewatchable like the first. But as its own movie, it holds itself up for a fun experience, wonderful character portrayals, and a damn good time.
Wolf Children - 9/10
I'm so glad I took the time to watch this. What a beautiful, marvelous film. From the moment it began I knew I was in for an emotional ride, and admittedly I thought I'd be a wreck by the end, but I wasn't. I don't think this is a sad movie, nor do I think that was the intent. Yes, like any life, there are sad times, unforeseen occurrences, but this is a story of a single mother who gives up everything she has and is thrown into incredible situations to raise her two children up the only way she knows how. But it's also about growing up and letting go, and however sad that is, it's the way of life for both wolf cubs and children eventually.
The story is truly a masterpiece in every way you look at it. It's hard for a cartoon based upon little more than fiction and legend to astound in such a fashion that never once did I question how realistic or unrealistic it was. Everything was extremely well thought out, and the film took on a strict realism throughout its length. If ever anyone were to stumble upon half wolf children and need to raise them in secret, I advise them to watch this, because this is as close to reality as that furry fantasy can get. The only real plot hole I can conjure is what about the mother's family? Did she have family? Did they ever meet the kids? Etc.
The music throughout was superb and tomorrow I definitely plan to look around to go find the soundtrack online. Very ethereal and earthy which was the perfect atmosphere for something this artsy. And speaking of artsy, those that are into animation will be happy to note that there wasn't a frame I found disappointing throughout. It was about 20 minutes too long in my opinion, but as other users have mentioned, it did span 12-13 years. To put this into perspective, if this film were translated into... 5 or 6 episodes of broadcast anime, those few episodes would easily take the anime of the season award. Easy. Everyone should watch this, whether a fan of anime or not.
