By Joshua Raymundo

Staff Writer

Stars: 4 ½

Although sequels in franchises are notorious for being lackluster in comparison towards the first movie, “Deadpool 2” displayed a masterfully crafted character starring in a socially-conscious,  satiric, yet enlightening film.

Perhaps the most prominent reason as to why “Deadpool 2” was successful was because it embodied one of its most prominent themes: rules were made to be broken, and Deadpool certainly broke many boundaries.

Whether it was Deadpool’s constant usage of breaking the fourth wall, or cursing absentmindedly in the face of danger, Ryan Reynolds’ effectively encapsulated the humor and wit of a maniacal hero, and thus brought a new energy to the superhero arena.

In the first Deadpool movie, Reynolds portrayed his character as satirical, dark-humored, cunning, and at times, soft-hearted. The majority of the film was comprised of Deadpool cracking incredibly inappropriate jokes and bending and societal standards to make them his own, something that viewers certainly enjoyed.

Not only did “Deadpool 2” uphold this ridiculous standard, but director David Leitch took the franchise to another level. Leitch managed to keep the hilariously sadistic nature of the first Deadpool movie in the second film, while simultaneously making “Deadpool 2” more effective in regards to portraying a holistic character. Deadpool’s tragedy earlier on in the movie motivates him to act genuinely from his heart; a rarity but definitely a surprising and pleasing twist for such a vulgar character.

Although the plot armor definitely seemed thick at times, it was negated by Deadpool consistently breaking the fourth wall. For example, he noted that Domino, played by Zazie Beetz, had an unrealistic superpower, and thus undermined the the movie writers’ credibility to create an effective storyline. At another point in the movie, Deadpool looked directly at the camera and expressed his unfulfillment with the film by bluntly stating, “that is poor writing.”

Essentially, it was witty and unique moments such as these that emphasized the creative path that Leitch took in making this film, and thus highlighted how Deadpool strays from and ridicules the normal standards in Hollywood. This is certainly a refreshing and much needed spin in the movie industry, as contemporary superhero movies tend to avoid deviating from the norm and thus follow nearly identical storylines.

Similar to recent Marvel movies, “Deadpool” upheld the trend of diversity amongst their actors. Two asian actors were featured in this movie, including Shatterstar, played by Lewis Tan, and Yukio, played by Shiuri Kutsuna. In fact, Yukio and Negasonic Teenage Warhead, played by Brianna Hildebrand, were shown to be in a relationship, a clear portrayal of progressivism in the movie. Moreover, the film featured a few African American actors, including Terry Crews who portrayed Bedlam, and Zazie Beetz who played Domino.

Unfortunately, the film had a few shortcomings. The stunts and jokes at time were borderline ludicrous, which at times detracted from the main focus of the film. Moreover, the movie was chaotic at parts, with characters saying one thing but another happening. Understandably, chaos is the inherent nature of the Deadpool franchise, but there still were many unclarified moments.

All in all, the movie was entertaining and hilarious, yet at times incredibly somber and nearly gut-wrenching, and thus gave new depth to an already fantastic franchise.