Crusader with wit

Superhero movies rarely defy the law of diminishing returns when the sequels start pouring out, but Deadpool 2 is that precious oddity we all ought to cherish, especially as it released close on the heels of that snoozefest called Avengers: Infinity War. The most foul-mouthed X-Men character (the always excellent Ryan Reynolds) returns in this David Leitch-directed movie to protect a teenage fire-starter (Julian Dennison as Firefist) from turning into a superpowered villain.

When it comes to humour in such movies, I prefer Deadpool to Tony Stark (aka Iron Man). The former has a delicious wit and is steeped in pop culture, while the latter is just another smug, prissy superhero. While the first Deadpool had some well-executed ultra-violence and enough cuss words to send Pahlaj Nihalani into a tizzy, the sequel has an equally good script written by Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick and Reynolds, but with delicious toppings of hilarious cultural references.

Even the opening credits are the funniest I have seen in a long time and refer to Leitch as “one of the guys who killed the dog in John Wick”. That was a pleasant enough teaser of what followed next. In a lovely scene at a “prison”, Firefist says he wants to be the first plus-sized superhero in order to allow people with higher body mass indices to have lofty ambitions. Kudos to whoever decided to cast the winsome, pudgy star of New Zealand’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople.

Karan Soni as the Indian-American taxi driver, Dopinder, who harbours superhero ambitions as well, gets called “Brown Panther” in one of the movie’s many chuckleworthy moments. It being Trump’s America, the film makes references to Jared Kushner and how Fox News is “pumping the hatred”.

A still from Deadpool 2

The movie appears less surefooted only in moments that involve Josh Brolin as Cable, a mutant from the future who needs to kill Firefist to avert his family’s imminent death. His dourness was well-suited to Thanos, the villain of the latest Avengers iteration, but is out of place in this ridiculously quippy movie.

The movie zigs deliriously when it should have been zagging when Deadpool decides he needs an “X-Force” to tackle the baddies on the road. Rob Delaney as Peter, a goofball who has no idea why he’s part of the elite team, and Zazie Beetz as Domino, whose superpower is to be always dangerously lucky, are sensational. There’s even Brad Pitt in the midst and it’s a doozy of a moment when he walks in and out of the screen. Deadpool 2 is a prime example that more superhero movies must aspire to: woke rather than vapid and soulless. Reynolds’s barn-storming performance is a gentle reminder that a hero with a sense of the zeitgeist is what the world needs. To paraphrase Stendhal, politics in a commercial Hollywood superhero movie franchise is like a gunshot in the middle of a concert, something vulgar, but something impossible to ignore.

I watched Deadpool 2 at a plush movie theatre in Kiev during my recent visit there. For a country that is nearly as affordable as India, it was eye-opening to see that Ukrainian movie theatres believe in offering a comfortable movie-watching experience, unlike Indian ones that believe in eye-gougingly expensive prices. The seats were nicely spaced out and for someone as tall as me, it was an unalloyed delight to fully stretch my legs. It’s clear that Indian theatres think audiences don’t mind being packed like sardines in poorly constructed cinemas. The snack bar was the Rolls-Royce of snack bars. Everything from popcorn to sugary drinks was available at half the Indian prices and it’s a sad commentary on how over-commercialised Indian theatres are.

My only quibble is that it was a genuine task to find a theatre that showed the movie in English and not Ukrainian. It was a tad deflating to see IMAX theatres running this gorgeously mounted movie only in the dubbed version, which forced me to go to a regular movie hall. Having said that, I was glad to watch the movie at its potty-mouthed best rather than listen to incessant beeps at an Indian theatre.

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