Deadpool 2 Works, Thanks to Reynolds

Now pondering fatherhood, Deadpool is back to kick butt and crack jokes in Marvel's Deadpool 2, featuring Ryan Reynolds and more than a few F-bombs. Its predecessor ruled the box office in 2016, but does this sequel from David Leitch—which cost a stuntwoman her life—have the power to do the same? It seems so, with the movie getting a solid 85% positive rating from critics and audiences alike at Rotten Tomatoes. Here's what critics are saying:

• "If you love films that keep you guessing, laughing and surprised on the edge of your seat, this is a must-see," writes Colin Covert at the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "More gory, bizarre, offbeat and even obscenely funny than the original," the film "revels in its self-referential perspective" while Reynolds "radiates a bizarre charisma," Covert writes. Not to be outdone is a "delightful" Zazie Beetz as lucky superhero Domino.
• "There's no way it could equal the freshness and irreverence of the 2016 original. Fortunately, the sequel comes off as much more than a cash grab," writes Calvin Wilson at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He mostly credits Reynolds. In "the role of his dreams," the actor "totally sells the character's blend of reckless self-absorption and reluctant heroics." Even so, "another sequel really isn't necessary, but it's in the works anyway."

• Jen Yamato wasn't as impressed. "While the sequel benefits from Reynolds' superhuman charisma," it "merely rehashes and recycles the same wink-wink barbs that worked the first time around" and offers "uninspired plotting," she writes at the Los Angeles Times. Thank goodness for Celine Dion. Her music brings "new life, emotion and a winking, self-aware wit into the action," Yamato says.
• The movie "comes blazing out of the shoot, but dips in its second hour, like a stretched-out piece of taffy," writes Adam Graham at Detroit News. "Still, there is a lot left to like here, and Reynolds and company crank out better, more outrageous laughs than most pure comedies. You'll laugh loud and you'll laugh hard."

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