Why We’ve Fallen Out of Love with Deadpool and How He Can Win Back Our Hearts

Aaron Potter
Movies Marvel
Movies Marvel

If ever there was a franchise you’d assume could easily brush off ‘difficult second album syndrome’, it would be Fox’s Deadpool. Lewd, crude, and downright rude, Marvel’s Merc with a Mouth is known for self-consciously poking fun at pop culture on an unprecedented scale. Irreverent and subversive, we expected much from the anticipated sequel. But the second entry in Ryan Reynolds’ passion project lacked the first instalment’s lustre. Deadpool 2 wasn’t a disaster, just not as genre-flipping as even some casual fans of the comic-book character expected. And that doesn’t bode particularly well for the proposed Deadpool 3.

The first movie was celebrated because of how fresh it felt in comparison to other comic-book outings of its ilk. Wisely choosing not to conform to superhero movie standards, Reynolds, the writers, and director Tim Miller instead subverted them while deftly righting the wrongs of how the character was treated in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Quick addresses to camera, R-rated indelicacy, along with a straightforward story helped Deadpool’s actions feel frantic but justified.

But rather than continue this chaotic momentum onward, Deadpool 2 suffers from dated jokes, repeated visual gags from the original film, and an overall sense that it’s trying too hard to defy expectations while at the same time sticking to its tried-and-tested blueprint. Deadpool should be sticking two fingers up to the big-budget Hollywood system, not abiding by its rules. Here’s how we think the franchise can recover its zing.

Make Fun of Movie Tropes Without Adhering to Them

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Ryan Reynolds as Wade (centre) and Morena Baccarin as Vanessa (right).

For all of Deadpool 2’s attempts at parodying cinema clichés, with its references to other blockbuster hits (“Martha!”), Bond-esque opening credits sequence, and countless more, the movie’s biggest sin is to fall into the trap of some of the worst.

After a thrilling opening montage of global kill contracts, for example, we see Wade Wilson’s fiancée, Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), unceremoniously killed off. Surely this is Deadpool 2’s attempt at satirising the ‘fridging’ comic-book concept? Nope, it is indeed your classic case of the love interest dying, purely to give our hero his much-needed character motivation. At this point, it becomes clear that Deadpool 2 isn’t going to be half as revolutionary as it thinks it is.

The original Deadpool made Vanessa (Copycat in the comics) a fully developed and equally interesting character, so much so that we understood — even felt our hearts breaking at — Wade’s unwillingness to show himself for fear of losing her. Quite appropriately, the first film gave the regenerating degenerate motive without falling back on a tired trope.

Love interest-sidelining issues aside, Deadpool 2 reaches a comedic high during the X-Force sequence. A good 10 minutes of the sequel’s running time is spent building up this eclectic mix of B-list superheroes, only to see them meet their untimely demise in the most ludicrous manner possible. However, even though the films seems intent on sending up the popular trend of superhero team-ups, it undoes its good work in favour of clichéd absurdity by having Deadpool, Domino, and Cable join forces by the film’s climax. Heroes coming together can make for an exciting finale, but the earlier gag is undercut by allowing it.

Ryan, if you’re reading this, bring Vanessa back into the film in a meaningful way for Deadpool 3. And at the same time, don’t undermine subversive jokes by a 180-degree turnaround employing tried-and-tested tropes. Please.

Keep Action Sequences Clear and Inventive

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Deadpool, mid-action scene.

Though the first Deadpool movie may not have been perfect, as far as action set pieces go, the extended sequence on the highway was an exciting centrepiece in which Wade Wilson’s knack for dispatching nameless goons was exercised to the fullest. In Deadpool 2, however, the fight choreography isn’t quite as precise. At times, it even feels muddled and unclear, with Deadpool and Cable’s initial bout suffering from a darkly lit location and the future-soldier’s abilities never being fully utilised. From John Wick co-director David Leitch, we deserve better.

You need only refer back to some of the adventures Deadpool has undertaken in the comics to find inventive fight scenarios that could be effectively realised on the big screen. In this respect, the time-travel conceit behind Deadpool 2’s post-credits sequences hints that that’s exactly what’s to come in the next sequel, but why wasn’t this chosen to be the main narrative thrust here? The first arc to 2012’s Marvel NOW! reboot of the universe saw foul-mouthed Wade cross paths with historical American presidents. Show us something as bonkers as Deadpool duking it out with a zombified Abraham Lincoln, perhaps?

And to address Cable, it could be argued that it’s still early days for Josh Brolin’s embattled character. But when the sequel makes such a staunch attempt to be comic-book accurate (BedlamVanisherShatterstar, and Zeitgeist are all genuine Marvel characters), it could have also given Cable an opportunity to deploy his telekinetic abilities. This could have potentially upped the action ante. Think about how inventively Quicksilver’s powers were utilised in X-Men: Days of Future Past. Let’s hope that Deadpool 3 develops Cable significantly, and doesn’t waste any of its other newly introduced characters.

Stakes Should Be Kept Small, Not World-Ending

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Small stakes feel right for Deadpool.

A fault not exclusively limited to Deadpool 2, but most superhero movies in general, is the tendency to raise the stakes. With the introduction of Julian Dennison’s Firefist, we find ourselves in a position where the fate of humanity is yet again at risk.

This entire throughline ends up feeling half-baked as events play out on screen. The twist behind Cable’s reasoning for wanting Firefist dead is immediately obvious, and the future-world we’re trying to save feels small as we get only one scene depicting Cable’s war-torn time-to-come. Plus, there’s never any real danger of Deadpool dying due to his regeneration abilities. Because of this, these Earth-shattering stakes never have the time to feel earned. They’re further undercut by Deadpool joking his way through the plot. It’s a case of plot and approach not marrying here.

Rather than keep the story as contained, personal, and logical as in the 2016 original, Deadpool 2 gives in to to the all-too enticing superhero temptation of thinking that bigger is better. We’re not saying no to time-travel and crazy superhero powers, it’s just that, well, hasn’t the world been threatened enough? In any case, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to see someone as kicked-back as Deadpool as the one saving it. Deadpool 3 has a real opportunity to woo us with a smaller-scale story that doesn’t put the whole of existence at risk.

Aaron Potter
A fervent word whisperer and lifetime Sci-Fi fanatic, Aaron’s pop culture obsession started after watching Terminator 2 far too young. Since then, he’s tried to put it to good use writing for places like GamesRadar, Kotaku, and FANDOM.