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Following two years of being a successful mercenary, Deadpool/Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) along with Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead go to the aid of unstable mutant Firefist/Russell Collins (Julian Dennison), involved in a dramatic standoff with police at an orphanage, the ‘Mutant Re-Education Centre’.

After offering necessary help to Russell, Deadpool is wanted by Cable (Josh Brolin), a time-traveling cybernetic soldier, instigating Deadpool to be more considerate than normal through Reynolds’ hilarious dialogue and fast-paced action.

Meeting new characters along the way, we get to know Domino (Zazie Beetz, Geostorm, 2017), a mutant with the best of luck on her side.

This sequel achieves what many sequels attempt, to be just as good if not better than the original, arguably. Taking a producer and co-writer job alongside screenwriters Paul Wernick and Rhett Reece, Ryan Reynolds has done a terrific job in not toning things down for the censors, making it absolutely clear that the team are on a winning streak. Action genre director David Leitch, (John Wick, 2014, Atomic Blonde,2017) does not disappoint with taking over Tim Miller’s directing duties. His eye for frenetic action and detail for quick pacing bring a big advantage to this follow-up.

Josh Brolin’s recent work as protagonist Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War (2018) demonstrates the depth of his acting, in portraying the tortured Cable in this case he is able to bring a strong essence of loss, trauma and vengeance. His comedic timing is just as great, fantastically bouncing off Reynolds. As a newcomer to the Marvel universe, Zazie Beets brings sass to her role as Domino in an enjoyable performance. Also, character actor Eddie Marsan (Ray Donovan,2013, River 2016) oozes seediness as headmaster of the Mutant Re-Education Centre.

To sum up, Deadpool 2 is a superb sequel that delivers on a promise of filthy humour and a glorified, unapologetic sense of violence for Marvel. There’s depth in the script, characters and movie, and although self-referential like its predecessor, the film takes us on a journey that’s not quite like it was anticipated to be…and that’s a good thing.

Matthew Currey