Directed by David Leitch
Starring Ryan Reynolds, Fred Savage and Zazie Beetz
Running time: I dunno, the original was 1 hour 59. With all the cuts and adds, it probably shakes out the same
MPAA rating: PG-13 for chopping out all the fucks and reducing the flow and context of much of the action

by Benjamin Leonard, Best Boy

You may or may not have read my review of the original theatrical release of this movie. Well if you didn’t follow the link, I was dealing with a sick pet and that didn’t end up working out too well. The movie was fine but not as over the top as I’d hoped/expected.

With this new release, guess what?!? I’ve got a new, similar ailment to what took our furry friend from us! Now, at least mine (lupus) seems to have been caught early and is likely manageable. But if, god forbid, something happens to me because I’ve been suckered into watching a new, lesser version of the movie, I’m gonna haunt Ryan Reynolds’ ass to the grave and drag him to hell from there.

So more to the point, THIS version of Deadpool 2, the version you can FINALLY take your kids to (because I see so much adherence to the MPAA’s recommendations whenever I go out to the latest sex-and-blood-and-terror screw-em and-shoot-em-up at the cineplex). Honestly, it’s as equally fine, but in different ways, to the original DP2 release.

If you’ve seen any of the ads, you know they cut in Fred Savage, as kidnapped by Deadpool, placed as an adult in the Princess Bride child’s bedroom set. This makes up for all the footage they had to trim down in order to make the lower rating and still let the movie make sense. They are all entertaining little scenes and there was definitely a point where I was just sitting, waiting for the next one because I’d seen all the action and laughed at all the jokes already. Surprisingly, they EVEN provided context for some of the “off-color” jokes inherent in Deadpool that the younger, target audiences might miss.

I think there might have been a couple small scenes that were originally on the cutting room floor tossed in for good measure too, but it’s been too long since I saw the original to remember for sure. Either way, I wouldn’t rush out to see this just for those.

The only possible things here for that are 1) $1 from every ticket goes to fund Fuck Cancer and 2) the Stan Lee tribute at THE VERY LAST POSSIBLE MOMENT anyone would still be in the theater. If neither of these do it for ya, just stay home. OR buy the ticket to this to fund Fuck Cancer and then sneak into something else.