So, in anticipation of the release of Deadpool & Wolverine, I decided it was time to finally watch Deadpool 2. Nah, I’d never seen it. It came out at a point when I was souring on the non-MCU films, as Fox seemed to just be throwing things together in order to sit on the films rights they’d bought from Marvel decades prior. The X-Men films post-First Class were getting worse (In fact, I’ve never seen a legal copy of X-Men: Apocalypse, and I still haven’t seen Dark Phoenix), while they just didn’t seem to know what to do with the Fantastic Four. Yeah, DP 2 had the on-the-come-up chick from Atlanta, as well as a shredded Josh Brolin playing time traveler Cable, but I just didn’t care. Until now. And I feel justified in my lack of care.
Deadpool 2 kicks off with our hero, and his stripper-turned-girlfriend Vanessa, deciding to start a family – only to have her struck down in a retaliation killing from one of Wade’s assignments. Without the love of his life, he hits rock bottom, as various friends – including Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead – try to convince him to move on. He becomes an X-Men Trainee, and is taken along on a mission at a rehabilitation center for mutants. Turns out it’s run by an abusive religious zealot, who believes mutants are abominations. A scared and confused “resident” (Rusty Collins, for you old school X-Factor fans) is in a standoff with authorities, as he’s about to torch the place with his fire powers. Meanwhile, Cable arrives from the future, to eliminate Rusty, as he will eventually grow more powerful and kill Cable’s wife and daughter in the future. Can you say “team-up”? When it’s all said and done, Cable uses his time machine to save Vanessa, and decides to stay in the present day, to keep an eye on things.
My biggest issue with the movie is it’s kinda boring. The stakes aren’t that high. Plus, I’ve spent quite some time defending the Deadpool character to people who have soured on him, but I sort of understood their complaints here. He’s annoying, and his witty banter is coming from a weird place. I mean, if you’ve read the comics, he’s been something of a tragic figure for quite some time. He laughs to keep from crying. But that’s his everyday life. He’s never really sunk as low as in this film, and it’s not a good look for him. They bring back Negasonic to do almost nothing except to now be dating Yukio – a character we technically met in 2013’s The Wolverine, then played by Rila Fukushima. They introduce some pretty low-tier X-Force characters, only to kill them off for the jokes. As awesome as Zasie Beatz is as Domino, there’s not a ton of chemistry between her and DP. It’s almost like one of those situations where 2 costars refuse to film together, so they each film their portion of a scene, and then the 2 performances are merged in editing.
Anyway, I did not enjoy this film. The whole addition of Cable didn’t swing for the fences as it should have. Now, the marketing for Deadpool & Wolverine harps on how Deadpool “isn’t the world-saving type”, and that’s just supported here in Cable’s motivation. Instead of being a future soldier, returned to the past to stop the rise of Apocalypse, he’s just a dude who’s seeking vengeance against the mutant who will eventually turn his wife and child into crispy critters. I get it. Deadpool can’t take on Apocalypse, but that Nerfs Cable here. He’s Future Punisher, which is fine, I guess, but Cable’s mission is bigger than some self serving thing. He’s trying to save THE FUTURE. And what does he do when he manages to change the timeline? “Ah, they’re good. I’m not going home. Instead, I’m gonna stick around and keep an eye on things.” Um, WHAT?
Having seen Deadpool & Wolverine last night (Don’t worry – I won’t discuss it til next week, after more folk have seen it), I felt it was a much better film than this one. So, that leaves me thinking of Deadpool 2 as something like Power Rangers Turbo – a middling season that had to exist simply to serve as a bridge between Power Rangers Zeo and the Saban Era Magnum Opus that is Power Rangers In Space. So, you could completely go into DP & W having skipped this, but I think you’ll appreciate it more having endured the chore of watching it. Had I watched this in theaters, when it was released, I would have been pretty disappointed. As “homework” for the release of Deadpool & Wolverine, however, it was palatable.
Trailer Park
Joker: Folie À Deux (Theaters, October 4)
I still haven’t seen the first one. I just don’t like the aesthetic of this universe. Sure, Gotham is a dirty city, but it’s not this dirty. Parts are, but not all. And I feel like I can smell Joaquin through the screen. Everything is so dirty and sweaty and I feel gross just taking it in. Maybe some folks like that, but not me.
Speak No Evil (Theaters, September 13)
I’m not a Horror Guy, but this is more Suspense, I guess. Anyway, my buddy Mike is my MCU Buddy and in order to get him to reenlist following Avengers Endgame, I had to agree to start going to things like this. I don’t mind, though, ’cause I kinda like this Blumhouse stuff. Let me just say that I love how James McAvoy is equally capable of being a dapper gentleman and a deranged redneck. We already had a glimpse of this in Split, but he’s even creepier here. I’ll definitely see this.
Will Around The Web
In the pre-Leno days of The Tonight Show, it was a big deal for comedians to get booked as guests. That meant they had “made it”. Well, in my online circles, there’s one podcast that all my friends has guested on, and I guess it sort of became my “brass ring”. Over a decade I’d known the host, and nothing. I’m sitting there, like, “When am I gonna get the call?” Well, the wait ended a few weeks ago, when I, along with my podcast partner Adam and our pal Chad, were invited to join host Mike Westfall on Advent Calendar House. If you’ve never listened to it, Mike’s specialty is breaking down the Christmas specials of our childhood. For our particular episode, we discussed the It’s a Wonderful Tiny Toons Christmas Special, which also served as the series finale of Tiny Toons Adventures. At the moment, Chad is the only guest we’ve had on Remember That Show?, so we already knew how we vibed together. Still, it was nice for the 4 of us to just sit around, chatting about the good old days, before Babs and Buster Bunny were retconned to be siblings. Yes, that happened. You should check out the episode here, or wherever you get your podcasts!
Links I Loved
- My buddies over at the After Lunch Podcast released a great episode where they ran down the TV Sitcom Themes Sweet 16. There are some absolute classics there, but I will say that things took a turn when I realized they were voting with their hearts, rather than their conscience lol. You should definitely check out the episode, and let them know your thoughts if you’re over on Bluesky!
- I’ve always been fascinated by John Stamos and his time with the Mike Love incarnation of the Beach Boys. I mean, they just kept showing up on Full House! Anyway, Vulture did a great interview with Stamos on his time with the band.
Things You Might Have Missed This Week
- It was revealed that Fred Armisen and Garfunkel & Oates’s Riki Lindhome secretly got married 2 years ago.
- In other Hollywood secrets, Wayne Brady revealed that he is a new father to a son, from an on again, off again relationship during the pandemic.
- You have failed this city – in court! Stephen Amell’s Suits: LA series has officially been picked up by NBC.
- According to Mindy Cohen on a podcast, a Facts of Life revival was in the works until a greedy cast member tried to negotiate a spinoff for herself on the side. Now, the project is dead, and my money is on Kim Fields as the culprit!
- I continue to question Jon Hamm’s career choices, as it was announced he’ll be joining a Dungeons & Dragons (huh?) podcast (HUH?!).
- Jordan Peele is reportedly reviving the series Scare Tactics for USA Network.
- After CEO David Zaslav said that Warner Bros Discovery “Didn’t need the NBA”, he ate those words after his scrambled bid to match Amazon’s offer was declined by the NBA. Now, WBD is suing the NBA for not accepting their offer. Could the WBD Board just fire that dude already?!
Let’s not beat around the bush here. Yeah, I know I’m late this week, but only one thing could have had the West Week Ever: American Politics. I strive to avoid the topic in these divided times, but this week had everything a wrestling fan would love: A Nancy Pelosi heel turn, Biden vacating his title, Kamala getting her title shot in November, and JD Vance is in the corner, fucking couches? The Attitude Era is BACK, baby! I mean, you can’t believe everything you read, but considering Vance comes off like an Ewok who wished to be “A Real Boy”, I’m kinda believing that couch story. I have no clue what’s gonna happen next, and I really can’t take many more surprises at this point. I mean, what’s next? Is Jimmy Carter gonna announce he’s going for Term #2? Dan Quayle’s been mighty quiet the past 30 years. Is Matt Gaetz’s face gonna melt the next time he’s under TV lights? ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN! And that, my friends, is why American Politics had the West Week Ever.
