The wise-cracking, smart-ass, non-PC, adults-only sleeper hit of 2016 is back, as wise-cracking, smart-ass and non-PC as ever but with one big difference. Deadpool was R-rated. The sequel is MA-rated. I have no idea why. The language is still fruity, the violence is still gratuitous, the sex is still more simulated than stimulated.
The only thing different is the element of surprise. That may be it.
The banned subjects of all the big censorship furores of Australian film history (such as All Quiet on the Western Front (1930s), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Salo (1976), Caligula (1980), Romance (1999)) were eventually released. Societal mores and tastes change over time, but there’s nothing like some familiarity and exposure to dampen expectations and quell shock value.
So to say that Deadpool 2 is as good as Deadpool is actually a criticism, as witty and sometimes hilarious as it is. There is nothing in Deadpool 2 to progress our understanding of the characters. There is still no backstory. Or much of a front story. There is an odd after-life side plot that solves some plot blockages, but even most of the jokes are for all intents and purposes recycled from Deadpool, either self-deprecating or at the expense of the X-Men and especially Wolverine.
At this rate Deadpool 5 will be G-rated. At least then I can succumb to my kids’ nagging me to see the film. They’ll probably understand the jokes too.
