Deadpool 2

"You're dark. Are you sure you aren't part of the DC universe?" Deadpool asks Cable, the villain in this installation of what should be a long-running franchise. This meta stuff is what fuels most of Deadpool 2, it's kind of as if the writers just did their own Mad Magazine parody.

Ryan Reynolds returns as the foul-mouthed, quipping anti-hero (the level of profanity approaches David Mamet level). Since we last saw him, he's been acting as a mercenary. In the grand tradition of Marvel's Uncle Ben, he lets a criminal escape, which comes back to haunt him. He tries to kill himself, but since he can't die he's taken in by the X-Men, who make him a trainee (again, the only X-Men available are Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead. In a funny shot the other X-Men are seen hiding).

Then the main plot kicks in, which is borrowed gleefully from the Terminator films (Deadpool even calls Cable John Conner at one point). A teenage mutant who can shoot fire with his hands will grow up to be a mass murderer, and Cable has come from the future to kill him. Deadpool, showing heretofore unknown paternal instincts, wants to save him.

The plot is secondary in Deadpool 2--it's all about the gags. Some of them are very funny, as when Deadpool calls Cable Thanos (they are both played by Josh Brolin) or when Cable tells Deadpool he's not a hero, he's a clown dressed as a sex toy. In the mid-credit scene, Deadpool will shoot Ryan Reynolds before he can make the lamented Green Lantern film. A surprise cameo will show a famous actor playing a character called The Vanisher.

But all of this stuff doesn't add up to anything significant. There's a lot of yuks, but we really don't care about the characters. When Deadpool has a long death scene (he says he hopes the Academy is watching) we know he's not going to die--Deadpool 3 is certainly already in the works. How can you worry about a character who can't die? The only really interesting character is Domino, a chick who is extremely lucky. She calls it a superpower, though Deadpool doesn't. She's played by Zazie Beetz, expect to see her in the next film.

I enjoyed Deadpool 2, but compared to other Marvel films it's a sugary snack. Those can be refreshing, but you don't want to make a diet of them.