'Deadpool 2': More, but not always better

At several points during “Deadpool 2,” Ryan Reynolds’ Wade Wilson (aka the foul-mouthed superhuman mercenary Deadpool) cites “lazy screenwriting” as reasoning for some particularly flimsy plot developments.

It’s meant to be a goof, of course, as the Marvel character frequently breaks the fourth wall to comment on the very comic book universe he inhabits. Those bits generally work in “Deadpool 2,” at least as much as they did in the funnier moments of the 2016 origin story. But also like the original film, quipping occasionally about the lazy screenplay doesn’t excuse some of its clunkier moments.

The sequel finds Deadpool on a quest to be a better hero. After a frustratingly cliché tragedy sours an otherwise energetic opening (and derails the humor for a good 30-minute stretch), Wade tries to stop his killing ways and join the more traditionally noble X-Men. That doesn’t work out so well, of course, and soon he’s trying to form his own superteam in an effort to protect a troubled teenage mutant named Russell (Julian Dennison, the young standout from the Taika Waititi comedy gem, “Hunt for the Wilderpeople”).

The teen needs saving from Cable, a time-traveling cybernetic soldier played by Josh Brolin (don’t worry, the movie makes the obvious Thanos reference for you). He wants to end Russell before he grows up and murders Cable’s wife and kid in the future.

Although it operates on a significantly larger budget than the first film, “Deadpool 2” finds itself making many of the same mistakes. The plotting never really clicks together — some scenes ramble on without any narrative function for the sake of a joke, while the more compelling aspects of the story get rushed over. It takes too long for Cable to become Deadpool’s primary adversary, then the movie side steps that unconvincingly in favor of a couple other underdeveloped baddies.

Luckily “Deadpool 2” wants so desperately for its audience to like it. Reynolds throws everything up at the screen, and enough of the film’s crass banter results in solid laughs. The movie manages to throw in a few (mostly incredibly violent) surprises for fans too, and “Atlanta” star Zazie Beetz steals the movie from Reynolds every time she’s onscreen as the luck-inducing mutant hero, Domino.

Even with all the good, it’s strange to see a movie that gleefully throws mud at certain story conventions while lazily embracing others. “Deadpool 2” has its cake, eats it too, and slices it into a million bloody pieces as well.

Watching “Deadpool 2” is a fun experience for fans of the foul-mouthed vigilante, but the “just enough” attitude employed by director David Leitch and screenwriters Reynolds, Rhett Reese and Paul Wenick won’t give the film a long shelf-life. The jokes are just funny enough. The plot is serviceable enough. The CGI is, well, still pretty mediocre.

At least the film knows how to leave on a high mark. The mid-credits sequence nails the inherent appeal of the Deadpool character, providing the most violent happy ending in recent memory.

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Tyler Wilson can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com