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Movie #2 - Deadpool 2


I'm falling a bit behind these last couple weeks. Week #2 was Deadpool 2, which is solid, enjoyable and fun, and so meta. I hate using that word. I'm sorry.

The story picks up shortly after the first movie ended, with Wade Wilson reunited with his love, Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), and (spoilers, but come on the movie's been out for months, if you haven't see it, you can't blame me at this point) they're looking to start a family. So, of course, something terrible happens to Vanessa (she's shot by some bad guys), and that sets up the plot for the balance of the movie. It's Bourne Revenge meets Guy Whose In Mourning and (yawn) this kicks off some bad decisions on Wade's part--despite his being forced into attempting to deal with his feelings by the metal man, Colossus (I know, comic books).

Here's the thing. The movie is fun. The movie is desperately entertaining. Ryan Reynolds is legitimately hilarious. But, meh.

Do you know what's frustrating? Consistently seeing women be the emotional core for superheroes. Its tiresome. Not just their lives, but their inevitable death-by-bad-guy that spurs on the plot is a device that we could perhaps retire alongside many other tropes that continue to uphold gender stereotypes and boring, boring, boring "emotional" scenes with men "coping" with the loss of the one thing that keeps their life together. Again and again, these points of view are men-only, and despite a great cast, and a truly inspired riff off of Mystery Men (one of the greatest films of all time), and the appearance of Rob Delaney (snack!), when the movie boils down to Wade Wilson having to cope with the death of Vanessa, whom, if I remember correctly in the last movie, abandoned, left her heartbroken, and all kinds of other manipulative bullsh*t, again, set up to force an emotional core of the last film. Why get them together just to kill her off? It's unnecessary and harkens back to so many problematic ways that women are used as props in these kinds of movies.

That aside, it's 100% worth 1000 words even if I haven't written them all. Domino's a great character and Josh Brolin's as good if not better than he is in the other Marvel universe (is he contracted to play every villain? Are there no other actors?)...

But we're growing a bit tired of superhero movies, I mean, there are so many superhero movies...

Up next: The Spy Who Dumped Me.

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