Reissue Review – Deadpool 2 (2018): The Super-Duper $@%!#& Cut
Having watched this Blu-Ray, this is now my fourth time watching Deadpool 2—three theatrical viewings already under my belt. When I heard about the extended cut, I had to get it…and, as an über-fan, I’m glad I did.
After the oh-so-entertaining, home-video-inspired main menu, I—with salivating lips—pressed “play”.
Before we get started, I’m going to put out a warning: This review contains super-duper spoilers for Deadpool 2…
The first 15 minutes is already so chock-full of new stuff—including an extended montage of assassinations Wade has undertaken since the end of the first film, to added scenes of him trying to, fruitlessly, commit suicide after Vanessa dies. We also have, intercut, more sequences of Russell that give us insight into his backstory at the mutant torture home—the Anti-Xavier School for Mutants, if you will—that serves as the backdrop for the finale. Rather than just hazy flashbacks, this is happening alongside Wade’s own scenes, gearing us up for later on, rather than just seeing the two of them thrown together out of happenstance. It makes the flow into the Ice Box scenes so much smoother, without feeling shoehorned in. Makes Russell more sympathetic to see all that play out, first-hand, from his point-of-view, as it happens—rather than later.
We also get more Cable, although, not in the way I’d hoped; in my initial review of Deadpool 2, when it first dropped back in May, I was bummed we didn’t see more of the future that Cable comes from, and my thirst was not quenched, here, with the extended cut. I guess I’ll have to wait until the third chapter for a glimpse into the mutant dystopia from whence he came—perhaps even featuring the debut of Mr. Sinister.
The interactions between Cable and Wade are richer, extended—the bit in Dopinder’s taxi, for instance, on the way to the X-Mansion to seek out Colossus’s help before confronting Russell. It makes me super-psyched to see the pair return in the next one! We get more Negasonic and more Domino; the former is cool, because she felt like a sideshow attraction in the theatrical cut, rather than the show-stealer that Brianna Hildebrand’s performance made her in the first film. A runaway favorite, for sure. As for Domino, I couldn’t get enough! Zazie Beetz does so well, I’m hoping she signs on to do another sequel. A few of her fight scenes are extended, here, and she gets more snarky lines.
The third-act face-slap I loathed so much from the theatrical release—the sequential executions of all the assembled X-Force members—goes down a bit easier, now. It’s a subversion of expectations we have from other superhero genre pieces—like X-Men, The Avengers, and the like. All this hype, just to see it all torn down…kind of neat. In fact, a slick bit of foreshadowing my date picked out from the interview montage—Wade sticking the knives in the headshots of all the others, where he only tapes up Domino’s—is something I swear to Cthulhu I’d never noticed before. Forward-thinking, David Leitch!
The Juggernaut fight—which was always a cool scene in the theatrical—is extended, too, albeit to different music. I love “Welcome to the Party”—makes a perfect addition to a ramped-up, action brawl as we’re treated to. Weirdly, though, it’s been swapped out with “Fly Like An Eagle” by Steve Miller Band and “Fight Dirty” by Guignol & Mischief Brew. Neither addition really hit it out of the park, got me amped-up for the big CGI fight like the French Montana joint did. One change I do not approve of…
The score, too, I just took notice of, this time around, as well as the prevalence of Celine Dion’s “Ashes” (Wade and Vanessa’s theme). Also, watch the music video; it has a ballet double of Deadpool prancing around Dion while she belts out her soulful, epic notes.
Some pacing issues, with so much stuff being added, but the film never stops being entertaining. It’s a Blu-Ray I actually wouldn’t mind dedicating time to sit through all the special features included on the disc…and there are a ton, like cast and crew commentary, more scenes, and Deadpool-style gems.
More jokes, more brutality, and extras for days, Deadpool 2: The Super-Duper $@%!#& Cut is definitely worth the purchase. Feels like a totally different film. Final ‘Risk Assessment: *****/.
If you do decide to buy it, watch until the very end of the end-credits (even those are extended and added-upon, including the one where he goes back to X-Men Origins: Wolverine to kill the Barraka Deadpool)!
Next review: Kin (Aug. 31st)
