Deadpool 2 (2018) * * *

Directed by:  David Leitch

Starring:  Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Josh Brolin, Zazie Beetz, Terry Crews, T.J. Miller, Stefan Kipicic, Julian Dennison, Eddie Marsan

Deadpool is still a wisecracker who doesn't hesitate to break the fourth wall to call out "lazy writing" or obscure pop culture references.    But, unlike his previous film, this sequel gives us occasions in which the superhero actually cares about something...and we believe him when he says it.   Honestly.  Who woulda thunk it? 

The 2016 original was self-deprecation and snark run amok, while bludgeoning us with bloody violence.    This follow-up expands Deadpool (Reynolds) into more dimensions and the violence, while plentiful, isn't gory, but more cartoonish.    The tone is lighter, and yes once again Josh Brolin presents us with a multi-layered antagonist with his own reasons for wanting to kill the teenage mutant Deadpool wishes to save.    Deadpool 2 could've given us "lazy writing" or more of the same formula as the original, but it dares to at least make an effort to go in another direction.    David Leitch, who directed the ultra-violent John Wick (2014) and last year's Atomic Blonde knows his way around an action scene, but without people populating them we care about, then what's the point?

The opening scene has a depressed Deadpool blowing himself to bits.   Partly because of his sadness and partly because the movie Logan had its hero die, Deadpool figures he has to up the ante.   Then, we see how he got that way.    Deadpool takes a pounding in this movie, including being torn in half by the monster Juggernaut and having baby legs sewed on to him which eventually grow into real regenerated legs.   But, he keeps fighting and being a wiseguy.   Maybe he figure he must laugh so then he will not cry.    And he has plenty of reasons to cry. 

Deadpool makes it his mission to protect the teenage Firefist (Dennison), a mutant full of rage because he has been abused all his life.    A time traveler named Cable (Brolin) has other ideas about Firefist, and for reasons which are understandable, so for long stretches Cable and Deadpool battle each other before a plot twist which I didn't expect and found rather refreshing is injected.   Cable is as serious as Deadpool is, well...not.    They play well off each other.

One hilarious subplot involves Deadpool putting together a team of superheroes known as X-Force, named so because the name X-Men disrespects women in his eyes.    What happens to his new team gives us the biggest laughs in the movie, as well as a superhero named Domino (Beetz), whose superpower is her incredibly good luck.    The results speak for themselves.    Deadpool is mostly a superhero comedy, but it is less obsessed with blood and snark, and more interested in at least giving us a reason to care about Deadpool himself.