Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/987221
10 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 MAY 2018 FILM AN interesting wedge has been drawn between the co- lossus that is Marvel Stu- dios and all of the properties that they own in-house, and the film studios that Mar- vel Comics had sold some of their properties to back in the day when they weren't yet a colossus. And speaking of colossi, one of them appears in Deadpool 2 (as he does in Deadpool number one) -- played by Serbian actor Stefan Kapičić and super-powered and steel-plated from head to toe, he's the gentle Rus- sian member of the X-Men (a Marvel Comics property whose film-based offshoots still belong to 20th Century Fox) who comes to offer our 'merc with a mouth' Wade Wilson aka Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) a redemption arc after the love of his life, Va- nessa (Morena Baccarin) falls foul of the mob. And so Deadpool, the su- per-powered mercenary im- pervious to death – much to his chagrin, more often than not – is thrown back into the fray, in this case helping the X-Men deal with a mutant problem child, Russell Col- lins (Julian Dennison). The Merc makes a mess of what was supposed to be a de- escalation situation at the mutant-specialised orphan- age where Russell – calling himself 'Fire Fist' – is wreak- ing a fiery tantrum. The upshot is that both Wade and Russell end up in a maximum security prison where mutants are drained of their powers thanks to a disabling necklace. All hope seems lost, with the unlikely duo predictably ending up at the very bottom of the prison food chain. But then, a rugged and pissed-off war- rior from the future shows up, going by the name of Ca- ble (Josh Brolin). Aiming his (sizeable) guns at Russell for some strange reason, Cable crash-lands into the prison, offering Wade a chance to slip out. But will this merce- nary truly live up to his name and just leave the poor kid in the vindictive future soldier's crosshairs? Deadpool appears to be for Ryan Reynolds what Wol- verine was to Hugh Jackman – an avatar from the X-Men universe who keeps on giv- ing; a fruitful coalescence of actor and character. And in- deed, though original Dead- pool director Tim Miller had to cede his role to John Wick co-helmer David Leitch (ye olde 'creative differences'), the project maintains the same flavour while amplify- ing things just enough. Per- haps this is down to Reyn- olds still having a hand in the DEADPOOL POOLING RESOURCES POOL DROWNING POOL PUDDLE Merc with a mouth Ryan Reynolds is back as the invincible motormouth of the X-Men universe, Deadpool D E A D P O O L 2 ( 15 ) screenplay – co-written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wer- nick – and so guaranteeing that through-line. But as the addition of Cable signals a link to the X-Force mutant team in the comics, the film does go a little bit bigger in the action stakes, and the rewards of that risk are most thrilling. Employ- ing the fourth-wall-breaking device that's stock in trade for Deadpool, here the film allows itself to rip into the over-the-top 90s milieu that both Cable and Deadpool himself emerge out of; with ridiculously 'edgy' charac- ters like Terry Crews' uber- macho Bedlam and showy red-haired alien diva Shat- terstar (Lewis Tan) intro- duced for both action chops and gag-value. But thank- fully, Domino (Zazie Beetz) sticks around, and gives us someone else to root for while Wade continues mak- ing an idiot of himself and leaving a pile of dead bodies in his wake. Dosed with more hi-octane action – or at least, with more pumped-up set pieces and higher stakes – than the original offered up with its more localised origin story for our potty-mouthed and hyper-violent title charac- ter, Deadpool 2 makes for a rip-roaring and comic booky experience that is so slav- ishly tethered to a 'mother franchise'. The same could not, of course, be said of the Aveng- ers universe. And neither does the remaining X-Men franchise give us much hope, with troubled director Bry- an Singer having reduced what's left of it to a damp squib. But it's apt that Deadpool can then be left to let it all hang out – entertaining us with no strings attached Teodor Reljic ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ The verdict Though the franchise has parted ways with director Tim Miller, the sequel does a great job of sustaining the jokey but dynamic vibe of the first film and taking it to another level. While the Merc with a Mouth is fully present and accounted for – with Reynolds putting in a game-as-ever perfor- mance – and the postmod- ern tics continue to provide giggles, it's the upping of the action ante that really raises the stakes here. And even though this sequel attempts its own brand of universe-building, we are, thankfully, nowhere near the top-heav y world of the Avengers saga. In short: smart, smug fun is had. Smart, smug fun from the merc with a mouth